Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
Facing an opponent ranked under 40 for the first time, Flick's German team immediately halted the pace of eight consecutive wins. On Tuesday night, away to the world's 10th-ranked rivals, the Netherlands, who are one place higher than themselves, "Freud's Germany" won a satisfactory 1-1. Flick praised the disciples: "The way they play, the way everyone behaves in the process is really wonderful: brave, fresh, confident. 1 to 1 can satisfy us, even though we want to win more. Kicker magazine commented after the game: "Germany has regained its footing, but it needs to improve further before participating in the World Cup." ”
Germany drew 1-1 away to the Netherlands, and Flick was satisfied with his disciple's performance.
Once again
As Flick said, the German team played in a satisfactory way and in good spirit, especially considering that it was a friendly in the sprint stage of the season. Everyone was eager to prove themselves on the pitch and worked hard to follow through on the coach's deployment, replacing the tension of being caught up in last summer's European Championships. Thomas Mueller's opening record before half-time was the result of this desire and effort.
Still, some old problems arise. Unlike their opponents in Israel or the World Cup, the Netherlands is the first team since Flick took office to actually cause trouble for Germany on the offensive end. As a result, even in the time when germany has a spectacle advantage, the Dutch team's two "small forwards" Mullen and Memphis Depay can use their speed advantage to create a killing machine. After substitute striker Bechwein equalised in the 68th minute, the morale-boosting Dutch team created a number of dangers in germany's defensive three zones, including Memphis's anti-offside insertion into the center of the penalty area and Krell's trip from behind the flank – fortunately, referee Posen, after reviewing the video, thought Krell was touching the ball first and cancelled the penalty.
Claire tripped Memphis in the penalty area after losing his position, but the referee cancelled the penalty award after watching the video.
Müller, who scored the 43rd goal of his national team career, noted: "We lost control of the game a bit from the 65th minute, it was too easy to lose the ball. "Flick affirmed the team after the game and admitted that the team only played good 60 minutes," overall, I'm happy, but I know we need to play that for the whole 90 minutes. ”
Déjà vu? Between October 2018 and September 2019, Germany and the Netherlands met as many as four times in the UEFA Nations League group stage and then in the European Championship qualifiers. In the European League, the Netherlands won 1 and drew 1; in the European preliminaries, they won 1 game each, and Germany pushed the Netherlands to qualify in the first place. In those four games, germany was almost always a tailspin, often controlling the situation in the first half and gaining a score advantage (5-1 in total), but collapsing after changing sides (2-10 in total). Even in the European preliminaries, which won 3-2 away from home, Germany lost the 2-0 advantage established in the first half until the last minute when Nico Schultz was lucky to kill.
Müller opened the scoring with his left foot before the end of the first half, making up for the regret of the last penalty kick at the post.
In short, the impression of these German-Dutch duels is that the Dutch team is accustomed to letting the Germans make moves first, or even a little deliberately sell flaws, and then see the moves, even if they are punched one or two times first, they will not panic, there is always a way to attack later, and this game is probably the same. In other words, facing the German team in the reconstruction period, whether it was when Ronald Koeman was in charge, or now that Van Gaal is back in charge, the Dutch team has shown ease and has more certainty and cost to win.
Musiara stood out
With the old enemy as a reference, if the German team wants to make a difference in the World Cup at the end of the year, there are indeed still many places to improve, especially defense. Once the Dutch played with speed and depth, Neuer would be in trouble. For example, in the 35th minute, Memphis quickly sent a direct pass after taking the ball on the left side of the midfield and turning to get rid of Gundogan, Mullen counter-offside to press over Rudiger, inserted the left rib of the penalty area to form a semi-single knife, and finally just hit the ball in the side-netting under the pressure of Rudiger. A similar test is something the German defender has never had before when facing weak opponents. And in the four consecutive UEFA Nations League group matches in June, there will certainly be more and more serious challenges against Italy, England and Hungary.
Rudiger's pressing force caused Mullen to deflect off target after countering offside.
On the offensive end, although the German team played several wonderful matches, but similar to the previous game against Israel, the group still had more penetration mistakes and the quality of the shot was not high. Sane, who started in place of Draxler, was active, but Havertz's role weakened and Werner still did not have a strong sense of existence. Instead, substitute centre-forward Lucas Nmeisha has made two shots on goal in just 10 minutes, showing a lot of running and activism, and he will have more changes when he holds the ball than Werner, who is not good at backplay. Once Reus and Gnabry return, Flick will also make more adjustments to the frontcourt combination. Exactly what kind of permutation and combination is the best solution, there is no clear answer.
Happily, on the key position of the offensive and defensive conversion, the "2" of the 4231 formation, Flick got a new answer. With Kimmich and Goretzka both absent, Musiara, who has recently played regularly in the No. 6 position at Bayern, came out. Against Israel, Musiara played the No. 10 position in the first half, and in the second half, Muller withdrew in the second half to replace Gundogan, while in this game, Mu Jr. partnered with Gundogan to double the back and performed amazingly.
In the face of the Netherlands' high pressing, Musiara can always deftly take the ball out of trouble and quickly hand the ball to his teammates in the vacant position, which is reminiscent of Thiago in the 2020 Champions League final. In the 29th minute, Mu Jr. quickly picked up a counterattack after stealing Memphis near the midline, and Memphis was forced to pull on the jersey to commit a tactical foul, so he received a yellow card. When Germany scored into the attacking third zone, Mu Jr. would run out of the open space in time to receive it, and even complete the penultimate 2nd and final passes, and this goal came from this way - this goal can not help but recall the 2-2 draw in Hungary at the European Championship, and Mu Jr. inverted the triangle pass in almost the same position, and finally helped Goretska equalize.
Musiara's steadiness and dexterity in the No. 6 position are impressive.
In fact, let Musiala play in the No. 6 position, which Frik has tried as early as when he was in charge of Bayern. In last season's 3-3 home draw with leipzig RB, Kimmich was sidelined due to injury and replaced by Xavi Martinez, who left the game with an injury in the middle of the first half, so Flick sent Musiara. It was also after Xiao Mu appeared that Bayern, who had been inferior in the midfield confrontation, immediately reversed the situation. This was followed by a visit to the Berlin Union, with Mu Jr. continuing to partner Goretzka in the double-back position.
Entering the season, with Nagelsmann using more 3241 or 3151 formations at Bayern, coupled with The long injury stops of Kimmich and Goretzka, and Toliso's injuries from time to time, Musiara has been basically fixed in the middle and has more opportunities to play in the No. 6 position. With the continuous accumulation of actual combat experience, Xiao Mu's habit of dribbling forward with his head bowed as soon as he took the ball in the winger or the No. 10 position (and therefore easily lost the ball) has also changed, and he has paid more attention to observation before taking the ball, and the rationality of handling the ball and the awareness of defense have been significantly improved. This progress was fully reflected in this match against the Netherlands. To limit Mu Jr., Van Gaal replaced KopMenas with Vejnaldum after halftime. And Mu Jr. was replaced by Neuhaus after playing 68 minutes, which was also the main reason for the German team's loss in the final stage.
Whether it's for Bayern or Germany, the 19-year-old Musiara is a new answer to improve the team's ability to pass and break highs. And his growth not only put Neuhaus and Weigel, who returned after a gap of 5 years, in an awkward position, but also threatened Goretzka's position. Flick said: "Jamor has been very good at the No. 6 position. He knows how to protect the ball and create space, is good at one-on-one breakthroughs when attacking, and can dribble and assist quickly. Defensively, he did a great job with Gundogan today. Both played well and Jamor proved he was an option for the position. ”
Raum and Shi Jr. were also winners
In addition to Musiara, Raum and Nico Slottbeck in the backline are also an important takeaway for Flick this international break. In a friendly match that beat Israel 2-0 3 days ago, Raum, who played at home, was recognized as the big winner. But against a much stronger opponent, the rookie, who only made his fifth appearance for the national team and was inexperienced at a high level (this season was only his first time in the top flight, and the European experience was even more inexhaustible) unsurprisingly paid tuition.
Raum tried to get rid of Dumfries' defense.
Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Sane received the ball in the middle and carried it to the right rib, attracting almost the attention of the entire Dutch defence. He clipped the left rib of the penalty area in time, and Raum calmly stopped the ball to face De Ligt, who was in a hurry to make up the position, and Freiburg goalkeeper Freiburg goalist Freiken, resulting in a left-footed high. After missing a great opportunity to extend the score, Raum had to bear a greater responsibility for conceding the ball. Frenki De Jong's left rib slanted just over Raum's head, and Dumfries's header, which was quickly inserted into the bottom line from behind Raum, sailed back into the goal to assist Bechweine's right-footed volley into the net.
Despite being out of the ordinary at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Raum's performance is definitely not bad, and there is still no shortage of highlights. In the 21st minute, he picked up Havertz's diagonal cross and inserted it into the left side of the penalty area, sending a precise left-footed cross, but Werner's header hit the lintel. Müller's goal was due to the combination of Schlotbeck, Raum and Werner's consecutive passes on the left.
Flick's requirements for the two full-backs in this game are much the same as in the previous game, that is, Raum's side has more forward freedom, and he has to press quickly with every turn to attack, while Claire on the other side is just waiting for an opportunity to participate in assists. Coupled with Sane starting and having more balls, Germany's attack is clearly left-leaning.
Raum can be said to be the epitome of the new German team that is currently in its formative years. He already has a lot of amazing traits and a lot of potential; he's improving fast, but you also have to accept the many deficiencies he has at this stage, allow him to make mistakes, and expect him to learn his lessons, not to do it again next time, and to become stronger.
Niko Schlotterbeek has played two consecutive games.
The same goes for Sloterbeek, who came from last year's U21 European Youth Championship team, like Raum. For the Israeli debut, freiburg's new star showed his strengths in the ball and snatching in 90 minutes, but was paralyzed in stoppage time and gave a penalty. Frick continued to have Schrodbeck at left centre-back, while Rudiger, who was on leave in the previous game, replaced Jonathan Tower. It follows that Flick is generally satisfied with Schrodbeck's debut, an object he can develop boldly, especially in the absence of other left-footed centre-backs in the squad.
So when Jules returns, what will Flick try? Will Jules replace the unconvincing Cler as a half-centre-back and half-right? After all, when he was at Bayern last season, Flick often let Jules play right-back.