Need a win!
After Japan’s 0-1 draw against Costa Rica, the constellation of the group is a bit better for us, we can’t be eliminated today, but a win will surely have progress in our hands.
But how will it work? Do we stand a chance against Furia Roja’s nimble tiki-taka short passing game?
BILD says how we have to play to beat Spain.
Defense loopholes are closed!
Alarming statistic: The last time Germany did not concede a goal at the World Cup or European Championship was in 2016. in the tournament against Slovakia, and in the next ten matches (European Championship 2016, World Cup 2018 and European Championship 2021) never zero!
With a lot of short passing and rotating young stars Gavi, Pedri and Ferran Torres, Spain’s attacking game is designed to set up defenses and find gaps at crucial moments. The numbers prove it: Spain had 17-0 shots on goal (!), had 77 percent of the ball – the Iberians set off fireworks, while Costa Rica watched in amazement.
Matthew names his list of mistakes “You’ll have to ask Bierhoff”
For the defense commander Rüdiger & Co. it is very important: distances and coordination must be correct, the chain must not “break”. Snoring on the sidelines like Süle did against Japan shouldn’t happen. Also, our defensive stars have to cover the nimble Spaniards up close and hard.
Fullbacks are also very important. They shouldn’t have much space in the back. Who would argue for more defensive options like Kehrer or Günter. Klostermann would also be a possible right-handed option. Flick took Leipzig, although he was injured for a long time, think a lot of him.
Against the agile, technically perfect and often rotating Spaniards, occupying the space between the German defensive line and the midfield is crucial and Costa Rica conceded this space to the Spaniards and went down.
Turn off the buses!
Barca star Sergio Busquets (34) is the center of the midfield, everything happens through him. We have to deliver it, close the middle. One possibility: Kimmich, Goretzka AND Gündogan play centrally to be as compact as possible and destroy the Spaniard’s passing game.
Busquets is a Spanish conductor
Avoid bad passes!
Who helps against a strong team? won’t give you the ball. It is also an important task for Kimmich, Gündogan and the defense: not to lose the ball, even to keep the ball.
Turn the front – and click!
Against two 1.90 defenders Rodrigo and Laporte we need speed, dribbling, movement! Musiala needs to rotate on 10 to make the game faster. Müller is also asked to find gaps with his little nose. If Sané could do that, he would be a real weapon with his speed and direct play.
Do you need a real clipper on the front with a filling jug?
Having a true striker up front as a target player and cutter is also something to consider. It could be Müller, but the filling pitcher would be the “real” nine that many pundits insist on. Because against Japan we had 25 shots on goal and only scored a Gündogan penalty. The storm problem is well known, the problem already existed in 2018. World Cup: Germany had the most shots on goal in the preliminaries, but managed just 2 out of 68 attempts in the box! Finally, we need a killer instinct in front of the box.
What definitely needs to change compared to the Japanese game: a lot more movement and activity up front to really get into good shooting positions. This is exactly what Gündogan complained about after the bankruptcy at the beginning of the…
