With a 3-1 home win over Ukraine, Germany won their first consecutive win of the year and topped the UEFA Nations League group table for the first time, advancing to the semi-finals without losing to Spain in the final round. Although the first goal was scored by Ukraine, which had four senior players quarantined by the coronavirus, and the visiting team also hit the upright three times in the second half, this did not mean that Germany won a fluke. On the contrary, this was the best game the German team played this year (especially in the first half), from individual play to overall performance, from macro scenes to detail processing, highlights and gains.
Kimmich spare tire, Koch feasible
Although After the 1-0 win over the Czech Republic, Loew made it clear that the trial ended here, the local trial was forced to continue in the absence of Kroos (suspension), Kimmich (meniscus surgery), Halstenberg (adductor) and Klostermann (knee injury endoscopic surgery), plus the collective absence of a big winner of the international competition week, Havertz (NEW CROWN).
When predicting the starting lineup before the game, the major German media insisted on each other, some based on 343, some based on 4231 or 433, and the differences in the positions that originally belonged to Kimmich and Klostermann were particularly large, and Bild even put Goretzka in the right wing position of the three-center-back system, and Kimmich's replacement was generally considered to be mvp Neuhaus in the Czech Republic.
Koch passed at the back, giving Loew a new option.
After getting the starting list, the media and fans were completely confused: Neuhaus was lost, and Jules, Gürth, Rudiger and Robin Koch started at the same time. Perhaps more people think that this is a three-centre-back formed by Jules, Koch and Rudiger, with Ginter playing as a right-winger. But after the opening, it was quickly clear that Loew used 4123, with Koch at the back and Ginter at right-back. Philippe Max, who made his debut against the Czech Republic and won praise from all sides, unsurprisingly continued to start, as he is currently the only full-time left-back.
Why Koch over Neuhaus? Loew explained his thoughts after the game: Ukraine will definitely be able to defend the counterattack and be good at infiltration in the middle, so he decided to use four defenders, supplemented by Koch with strong defensive attributes, to protect the defense and destroy the opponent's mid-way pass.
It was clearly seen during the match that once Germany was pressed to the defensive zone 3, Koch would retreat between Jules and Rudiger to become the 3rd centre-back. In the process of launching the attack, left-center forward Gundogan is the one to drag and hold the ball, and Koch will often press up first, in the area between Gundogan and Goretzka.
Kroos and Kimmich were absent, and Gundogan became the "metronome".
This arrangement seems to be quite reasonable, but there are loopholes in the actual operation. During the 11th minute of conceding the ball, Koch first blocked Konopulia's direct pass, but the ball bounced back to zubkov, who was working with Konopulia's collision with the wall. As Zubkov burst into the right side of the penalty area, Koch's close defense was not tough and decisive enough, and Max, who fell to the ground to intercept, only blocked the angle of the shot, so Zubkov was able to assist Yaremcchuk's goal before falling.
In the 82nd minute, Koch was snatched by substitute Junyol Moraes while picking up the ball at the back, who immediately broke through the long-range shot along the middle of the road, Koch reached out from the back in the last moment to form a refraction, and the ball hit the right upright and bounced back into the field. Despite these two obvious mistakes on the defensive end, Koch's overall performance as a starting back in the national team for the first time is still worthy of recognition. Goretzka assisted Verner's header to make it 2-1, which came from Koch's exquisite over-the-top pass from the centre. Substitute Brent's 79th-minute shot from a tight angle after breaking through on the left side of the penalty area (saved by Piatov) also originated from Koch's over-the-top pass at the edge of the penalty area.
Goretzka assisted Werner's header and scored a superb cross from Koch.
The 24-year-old Koch is no stranger to playing at the back, as he has always switched between centre-back and back-back, whether he has played for Kaiserslautern, Freiburg or Germany's u21, until this summer's move to Leeds United. It is undeniable that Koch's one-on-one defensive ability still needs to be perfected, and the melee combat is still not tough enough, but his ability to hold the ball and shoot the ball is definitely excellent among the center-back players, and his physical flexibility is strong, which is a big reason for his ability to play the back, and it is also one of the reasons why "Crazy" Bielsa loves him.
In the previous three friendly matches against Argentina, Turkey and the Czech Republic, Koch was in the middle of the three-centre-back system, and the current first choice for this position is Jules. Compared with playing as a back, Koch's positioning in the national team in the short term is still The spare tire of Jules, followed by Kimmich's substitute. After the last match against the Czech Republic, Loew praised the two newcomers, Max and Baku, in addition to praising the two newcomers, but also praised Koch. After the victory over Ukraine, Loew's assessment of Koch was "decent.". But with Kroos returning from the ban, Koch will almost certainly be back on the bench against Spain.
The right-back has to keep trying
In the second half, although Loew did not make substitutions, he fine-tuned the formation from 4123 to 4231, that is, pulled Gundoan back, let him partner with Koch in the back, while Verner and Sane on the front line also clearly withdrew, leaving only Gnabry alone in front of the defense. Loew noted after the game that the team played a fast pace in the first half and was in complete control of the game, "In the second half, we were no longer so efficient and lost some of the ball. "The difference in the quality of the first and second half of the game is more due to the decline in the efficiency of offensive coordination and frontcourt pressing as the player's physical fitness declines, and the change of formation makes the frontcourt less manpower instead.
In the absence of Klosterman and Krell, Gent made a cameo appearance in the right gate.
However, of the three goals of the game, the most pleasing combination was the third goal of the second half. At that time, the German team formed a multi-person continuous pass on the left side of the midfield, Gundogan took the ball and suddenly accelerated past the shoveling Malinovsky, then broke through along the middle to the attacking third zone in time to score the ball, and finally Günter inserted into the right side of the box and assisted Verner to score twice.
Ginter, who received assists, has often played as a right-back since his debut for the national team, and was also the right gatekeeper when he played for Borussia Dortmund in 2015/16, and also handed over an attacking report card of 3 goals and 5 assists in the Bundesliga that season. Usually in the case of a right centre-back in a three-centre-back system, or even a right-back in a four-back system, Ginter's assist ability is impressive, and he can be half a right-back.
However, when Gentre plays the right side of the four-back system, you will find that his assists will have certain limitations compared to Max on the other side. Due to his physical condition and technical characteristics, Ginter was unable to consistently and stably cross from the right side or complete a quick match with his teammate in front of him, and the running speed was not fast enough. In fact, even Klosterman and Claire, their assists on the right can not be as smooth as Max, because these players are too tall (both above 1.85 meters), and are not full-time full-backs - Klosterman and Claire are all-rounders in the back, and they have often changed their positions on the field so far.
Ginter assisted Verner to score a 3-1 goal.
By contrast, Henriks, who played a right-winger against Turkey last month, or Baku, who made his debut against the Czech Republic, would be more in line with the requirements of this position, at least on the offensive end. Especially with the use of three centre-backs, Henriques and Baku, two players who have changed from midfield to full-back and have more delicate foot skills, will be more suitable than the thick klosterman or Clerell. Unfortunately, Henrix reported with injury this time, tired of fighting against the Czech Republic, and did not get a chance in this game. However, as he gets better at Leipzig, henrix, who is only 23 years old, should continue to improve his competitiveness in the coming months, not to mention that he can also play on the left. As for Ginter, he at least proved himself to be competent as a right centre-back, but also as a qualified spare tire when right-backs or even right-wingers are out of staff.
Loew Great Zangoretska
In addition to the two positions of the back and right back, the trial of the two positions is still passed, and the effect of Loew continuing to use the rookie Max at left back is also worthy of recognition. Less than six minutes into the opening, Max sent three consecutive high-quality passes from the left, helping Goretska and Koch to form a shot, and almost causing Soboli to unblock himself.
If his debut was an assist to Valld schmidt's performance, then Max, although he did not get another assist, performed more convincingly in 90 minutes, and even made people think that Max had such strength long ago, not because he went to Eindhoven this summer. In particular, his left-footed cross and set-piece techniques have been among the best in the Bundesliga for many years. If Loew had selected him for the national team before the 2018 World Cup, left-backs might not have had any trouble at all.
Max once again delivered a satisfactory answer.
Equally convincing were Goretzka and Sane, who returned from injury this month, and the two teamed up to achieve a 1-1 equaliser. Goretzka steals Zinchenko at the back, then quickly dribbles the ball through the midline, Sane inserts the right rib into the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball and cut inside the angle, and finally the left foot low shot through the far corner of the goal, the whole process takes only 10 seconds!
After the game, Loew praised the "magnetic card": "Goretzka played brilliantly. He is an invaluable asset to us and has played a leading role. He leads us forward and supports the strikers. He has a strong presence throughout the game. Leon is currently in very, very good shape. I'm glad he can stay healthy for a long time and you can feel his energy and strength. The only flaw was that Goretzka wasted a clever pass from Max in the first and second halves, a left-footed strike near the penalty spot and a header from the edge of the penalty area that was too high.
Goretzka's work in tandem forwards was done quite well.
Although Sane, who returned from injury this time, is still not in the best condition, he still shows his technical talent, and has made great efforts in the no-ball state, running and fighting very actively. Loew was positive, but also noted: "Sane hasn't played in a long time and he needs to improve a little bit to get to 100% of the pace of the game." Due to Havertz's absence, Sane appeared on the right side, only to once again complete the performance of cutting inside on the right and hitting the far corner of the goal with his left foot. This is his fourth consecutive "Robben-style goal" since his return from a 5-0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on 24 October!
Competition for the 3rd striker is intensifying
Similar to Sane, Werner also brought back to the national team the feeling of recent goals at the club. More precisely, he brought the feeling of scoring from last month's national team to Chelsea and now back to the national team. Since contributing 1 goal and 1 assist in a 3-3 home draw with Switzerland a month ago, Verner has made seven appearances at Chelsea, scoring seven goals and two assists, gradually cashing in on his €53 million deal. Facing Ukraine, he kicked his head and finished the third time of his national team career, surpassing Gnabry (14 goals) with 15 goals, and re-emerging second-team top scorer after Kroos (17 goals).
Gnabry, Sane and Werner re-emerged for the national team.
The forward combination of Gnabry, Sane and Werner was actually the "original a-plan" after Loew switched to a three-forward in October 2018, but after three consecutive games, due to Werner's poor performance and Sane's torn cruciate ligament, the trio has been dissolved since the European preliminary match that swept Estonia 8-0 at home in June 2019 (Werner replaced Reus in the 65th minute, the three partnered for 25 minutes and scored goals) and did not reunite until this game. Although Gnabry forgot to bring his shooting boots, Sane and Werner's three-goal performance proved that the trio worked.
In fact, "Sanabry" is a combination that has already been proven, and the only question in the three forwards is: Werner, Havertz, Reus or someone else? Last month, Sane was absent due to injury, and Havertz's performance on the right side was obvious to all. Reuss proved that he was very close to the two "post-95s" as early as the international competition week in June 2019. Since the start of the new season, Reus has returned from injury at Borussia Dortmund and has played consecutively, but the form has not yet adjusted to the best, and Loew has not yet re-called him to the team, which has caused some speculation. However, considering the intensive schedule of this season, Reuss is known to be vulnerable, and the Dortmund captain has long been unnecessary to experiment, it is believed that Loew is more for the purpose of protecting the players than to exclude them from the plan. By March of next year, as long as there are no accidents, Reuss should return to the team.
Werner will still face the challenges of Havertz and Reuss.
In addition to Werner, Havertz and Reus, in fact, the partner of "Sanabry" also has a competitor that cannot be ignored - Götze. Since joining Eindhoven, Götze, who has successfully slimmed down, has been rejuvenated, scoring three goals in consecutive appearances in the Dutch First Division and the Europa League. Since Loew recruited and reused his Eindhoven teammate Max, he naturally would not ignore his performance. In a pre-match interview with Ukraine, Loew affirmed Götze's performance at Eindhoven: "You can feel that he has regained his vitality, his lightness and the joy of playing. You have to give him time, after all he hasn't played in a long time. But Loew doesn't plan to re-call the World Cup winner for the time being, "you have to watch the next period of development." I haven't considered him at the moment. ”