The two-striker worked, Kai Kai Havertz was eye-catching, and Flick took the first step towards redemption

Sports Weekly All-media reporter Huang Sijun

In their first match after Qatar's World Cup defeat, or the debut of the European Championship cycle on home soil, Germany, who aimed to test and train their troops, easily beat Peru 2-0 in Mainz. Whether it's the result of a clean sheet win (Flick praises "the team is passionate to defend" and stresses the importance of not conceding a goal), or Philkruger and Kai Havertz in the new 4222 formation, or the high score of "older rookie" Marius Wolff at right-back, it shows that Flick has taken the first step towards self-redemption.

Kai Havertz assisted Phil Kruger to open the scoring as Germany beat Peru 2-0 in a friendly match.

The new formation works well

Germany's starting line-up came as no surprise, with 11 players in full line with mainstream media pre-match predictions. Because the German team has been practicing this set of personnel and play in Frankfurt for the past five days, and Flick also previewed the double arrow of Timo Werner and Phil Kruger in the pre-match press conference, which is the first time that "Toothless" has started in the national team. Behind them are the most technically talented Havertz and Wiltz, Kimmich's back-up partner is Emre Jan, who has been selected for the first time since Euro 2021 in the summer, and the far right of the four-man defence is 27-year-old newcomer Wolff. The three Dortmund players selected this time (in addition to Jen and Wolff, as well as Nico Schlotebeck) started en masse, while only Kimmich was left for Bayern, and Goretzka and Gnabry did not replace Jen and Timo Werner respectively until after switching sides.

Phil Kruger played as a double striker at Werder Bremen (partnering Dukesch, who is also tall but accustomed to cruising outside the box), while Timo Werner's best season of his career so far, 2019/20 with Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig, was also a double striker (paired with tall Hick or Yusuf Poulsen). Flick no longer insisted on a single striker and made such an adjustment, which was already quite anticipated before the first actual battle, and it can also make people see the hope that Flick of "one tendon" finally learns to teach according to his aptitude.

After the two goals, Phil Kruger celebrated with a high fived with Marius Wolff, who provided the assist.

Most importantly, Flick didn't "copy homework." He has his own unique design for how to use the pair of high-and-fast two-strikers. In the high-post defense and backcourt organization offensive state, Timo Werner, who has the advantage of speed and athleticism, is often at the front, while Phil Kruger will retreat to the No. 10 position. So when defending at a high post, the German team's formation was actually 4231; When attacking at the back, Emre Jan will retreat into a third centre-back, as he did today at Borussia Dortmund, with two full-backs immediately pressing sharply, while Timo Werner and Kai Havertz correspondingly converge to form 3151. Only in the half-time attacking state will Timo Werner and Phil Kruger stand side by side more to form two attacking three-zone midfield contact points.

This design received the desired effect in the first half. In addition to the two "real centre-forward goals" scored by Phil Kruger (in the words of "The Kicker"), Germany had two other must-score chances created by a fluid combination, one was when Wiltz and Timo Werner's back-to-back shots were saved by Peruvian goalkeeper Galesse on the goal line, and once when Wiltz fed the pie, and Phil Kruger got up in front of the small penalty area and was protected by Hoffenheim veteran Advencula. Coupled with the corner kick before the opening goal, Phil Kruger's header was subconsciously blocked by Gallese on the goal line, and Germany created five necessary chances in the first 45 minutes and took a 2-0 advantage, and Phil Kruger could have scored a hat-trick at half-time.

Kai Havertz finally played well

Two goals deserve a special book. The first goal was fired by Schlotebeck with a long pass from the left side of midfield, Kai Havertz crossed the ball in the centre of the box in the right rib offside, and Abram cleared near the penalty spot, so Phil Kruger took the lead. The second goal was Havertz quickly moved to an open field on the right after receiving the ball in the middle circle, Wolff strode diagonally over the right side of the penalty area, and Phil Kruger was alert and crossed into the centre of the penalty area with his right foot. Such a direct, efficient and effortless attacking method has only been seen at the World Cup in Qatar in the first and last of the match against Costa Rica, and is by no means an unconventional method.

Former Germany coach Loew also visited Mainz to watch the match.

Playing in this way not only gives full play to Phil Kruger's ability to grab points in front of goal, but also allows Timo Werner to show speed and sprint advantages in the process of rapid conversion. Flick is generally satisfied with the effect of the two-striker, "We have a lot of hands in the middle. Timo Werner has a lot of deep runs and he is valuable to the team. Phil Kruger, who has scored five goals in five appearances since being selected for the national team, said: "The German national team should be flexible and can adapt to one or two systems. ”

Most importantly, Kai Havertz, who has never been able to find an "exclusive place" in the national team, has finally played well. He gained unprecedented freedom in this formation, showed extreme commitment, not only teamed up with Wolff to open the right corridor, but also often quickly retreated to the defensive third zone to receive the ball, which was simply everywhere. Despite the wasted penalty opportunity in the second half (which was pure bad luck, on the one hand, the penalty bounced back into the net and personally added to the net to constitute a successive touch foul, on the other hand, Gallese committed a foul with both feet in front of the goal line before Havertz shot, but because he did not save the ball or clearly interfere with Havertz, he did not need to be sentenced to a heavy penalty), some handling of the ball in the attacking third zone can be more clean, but Havertz is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of this new formation.

Kai Havertz has finally secured an "exclusive place" in the national team.

Kai Havertz is accustomed to moving between the striker and the attacking midfield, and the most comfortable position is neither the centre nor the right wing, but this area. Before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2020, Kai Havertz was in this "exclusive position" and became Bayer Leverkusen's top scorer for two consecutive seasons. But since being selected for the national team, whether in the 4231 formation or the small fast three striker that Loew changed to after the 2018 World Cup, Havertz has struggled to get this "exclusive position". Loew and Flick are constantly adjusting Havertz's position on the pitch, while Havertz is only occasionally prominent, and his performance is inconsistent no matter which position he plays.

In fact, in the friendly match in which Schinsheim beat Israel 2-0 a year ago, Flick provided Havertz with an "exclusive position". At the time, Kai Havertz was on paper a left winger in the 4231 formation, but would actually receive the centre and often swim to the right rib, leaving the left side entirely to Raum. In that game, Kai Havertz also played the "core style" and opened the scoring for the team, and Germany also won 2-0, and even took the same penalty in the second half (Müller's shot into the right post popped off the line). But the problem is the same: the opponent is too weak.

In the second half, the old problem was repeated

Peru only had two missed shots in the entire game, and when Wolfe crossed to the edge of his own penalty area in less than three minutes, Carrillo did not know how to accept the gift, hesitated after breaking the ball, and finally did not finish the shot. As a result, the German team can fully focus on the run-in attack. And even so, the performance of the German team after the change of sides has dropped significantly, gradually becoming muddy and verbose. Apart from a penalty created by Schlotbeck's forced burst into the box and Gnabry's two counter-offside shots from inside the box (one of which hit the crossbar with a volley on the side), Germany had no other scoring opportunities, and Phil Krueger faded away from the increasingly abrasive attack.

Gnabry's wonderful volley was rejected by the lintel.

It wasn't until the 75th minute, when two newcomers Mergim Berisha and Shad replaced Philkrueg and Havertz, and Gnabry switched to Havertz's position, that the German team regained its vitality. Berisha had a header from inside the box to the first drop point, and he also pulled out to catch the ball back, while Shad had a successful quick breakthrough, but the tacit understanding between the two newcomers and between them and the other seniors was insufficient, and he failed to form a shot.

This excellent performance does not carry through the whole game, not because of the change of three men after the break (in fact, Gnabry is more active than Werner, and Goetze and Goretzka are not inferior to Wiltz and Jan), or the game only appeared in friendly matches, but repeatedly in the World Cup and previous UEFA Nations League matches. Flick pointed out after the game that the main reason for the decline in the second half was the lack of rigor in the offensive advance, and too many cases of losing possession.

Flick was generally satisfied with the team's performance and the result.

Such an old problem also caused Germany to slow down the game by scoring a third goal or more in the first half when they were 2-0 up in the first half. It was only because the opponent was Peru that there was no major turning point in the course of the game. What will happen next Tuesday night against Tedesco's Belgium (who led the team to a 3-0 away win away to Sweden in the European Qualifiers, in which Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick), it will be more difficult to attack and defend at both ends? Flick has made it clear that there will be no big rotation in the next game, and there will only be one or two adjustments if there are no accidents.