Jürgen Klopp’s Germany went into the game off a strong 2-0 win over Serbia, yet came out of it unable to build on last game’s momentum. Today’s 0-0 draw closely mimicked the 1-0 loss to the same Greece team a week ago, and concludes Klopp’s first run of games in charge of Die Mannschaft. While the “B-team” has shown more promise than its counterparts from the first two games, the rebuild has a long road ahead. Germany kept the ball for the most part but were shockingly lackluster in front of goal,
allowing a resilient Greek team to claw a point from the game. Germany now sit 3rd in their four-team UEFA Nations League group, 3 points behind Netherlands and Greece. Here are some awards from the match.
Jersey Swap: Konstantinos Tzolakis
Tzolakis has had a great start to the season, being part of the Hull City team that has taken the Premier League by storm. His great run of form has evidently continued into the international break, as he managed clean sheets in both games against Germany.
Granted, much of Germany’s failure to score tonight was their own fault; Tzolakis certainly had a part to play and delivered when he needed to. He made a number of saves to keep Greece from conceding and remained focused throughout the game. Of all his saves, his denial of David Raum’s rocket halfway through the first half comes to mind. While Greece’s entire defensive line is worthy of the award, Tzolakis edges out a jersey swap for this game.
Der Kaiser: Philipp Treu
This award was between Jonas Urbig, Malick Thiaw, and Treu. Thiaw was significantly better than his fellow centre-back Waldemar Anton, who could have been sent off on multiple occasions. Thiaw’s great physical presence was of significant help to Germany defensively, and he maintained composure well. Urbig began the game with a fantastic save that surely reminded fans of a Manuel Neuer from many moons ago, and that set the tone for what was a very solid performance between the sticks. It may be safe to say that Germany might not miss Neuer all that much.
But Treu wins Der Kaiser, for he essentially ran the right flank and was far more effective going forward than his winger Lennart Karl. Treu made up for Karl’s mediocre performance by overlapping into the final third effectively and getting into the right spaces to shoot. It is only a shame he could not finish as well as fans would have liked, but since Treu stepped up when Karl couldn’t, he wins this award.
Fußballgott: Tom Bischof
Bischof fulfilled his role in midfield perfectly today, combining brilliantly with Aleksandar Pavlović. The two bossed the midfield, and Bischof did well to translate Germany’s dominance in possession to chances at almost every turn. He orchestrated the goal that was eventually ruled offside due to an apparent handball by him, which was an unfortunate sequence of events but nonetheless does not detract from his brilliance in midfield today.
This is the version of Tom Bischof that Bayern Munich fans have been waiting to see.
Der Bomber: Derry Scherhant
If there is one singular positive that fans can take away from this international break, it is Derry Scherhant. Of every German forward on the pitch today, Scherhant was the singular force that appeared lethal — trying to create chances and get into position to take shots. He did both to an incredibly satisfying degree, although if his finishing was slightly better, Germany might have taken home all three points tonight. Scherhant’s highlight was his assist in the disallowed opener: a masterful display of speed, accuracy and explosiveness.
Scherhant was a force to be reckoned with tonight, and fans will hope to see him picked and get minutes in future national team squads. He showed up with hunger and drive: something none of Lennart Karl, Florian Wirtz, or Jonathan Burkardt did. Karl and Burkardt in particular were quite lackluster, missing far too many chances and looking seemingly uninterested in the game. Their replacements, Saïd El Mala and Nick Woltemade, were no better either, and it leaves Germany with a key question about the composition (and quality) of their attack as the Euros reckon in the distance.
Scherhant was a close contender for MOTM, but he did quieten down in the second half, and since Germany failed to score, it would be disingenuous to give the best award to a forward.
Meister of the Match: Aleksandar Pavlović
Pavlović was the best player on the pitch today. He is almost single-handedly responsible for Germany’s 70% possession: winning back the ball and making immaculate passes to not only keep it but also begin attacks through his midfield partner Bischof. In all honesty, either player could have taken this award tonight. The midfield pairing was a joy to watch in what was a rather depressing game, and it leaves fans with a key silver lining of hope for this German team in the upcoming years. This pairing is present and the future for Germany, but it remains to be seen if that will be the case for Bayern as well. If anything, this was a great indicator that it will be.
That’s all for awards tonight! Do you agree with the picks? Who would you have chosen? Tell us everything you think in the comments below!
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