It's not smart to have four goalkeepers in a European Championship team.
Maximilian Beier makes an impression, a goalkeeper might get dropped. These observations from Germany's near-to-last Euros warm-up against Ukraine are covered by soccer legend Ewald Lienen and sportscaster Michael Born in their shared podcast.
Except for club football, is it the same scenario for the German national team? In their penultimate test match, head coach Julian Nagelsmann and his team couldn't manage more than a scoreless draw versus Ukraine. While Germany had no lack of shots on goal, the DFB squad seemed to be unlucky at times, imprecise at others ─ or cursed with bad luck. Debut for a noteworthy performance came by Hoffenheim's Maximilian Beier. An attacking player and prospect for forward positions, Beier proved to be outstanding when he replaced someone else.
"We really should've scored a goal," shared the subbed Bayern pro Thomas Müller, acknowledging: "Regardless of the changes we've made, we flowed well today. We brought on a goal tonight." The German team had plenty of chances, especially Beier, who came on at around minute 59. He hit the post (61.) and almost scored against goal-minder Anatolij Trubin (63.). "Unfortunately, we didn't clinch the victory for the numerous opportunities," said Germany's goalie Manuel Neuer, who, making a comeback in the DFB goal, also prevented goals from the other side.
In the ntv.de podcast "The Sixteen," commentator Michael Born and iconic coach Ewald Lienen assessed the test match's importance. Despite lacking goals, the two saw multiple positives, especially Beier's notable appearance as a replacement. "Beier continued to shine where he left off in the Bundesliga. He could've scored," remarked Lienen.
The Hoffenheim striker boosted his probabilities of making into the final Euros roster with his notable comeback. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann must select one player to exclude from his line-up. There's a possibility that the initial announcement of choosing only three goalkeepers was wrong. If true, Nagelsmann would then need to decide between Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann or Stuttgart's Alexander Nübel.
"Having four goalies at the tournament would be silly," says Lienen. "But it seems Nagelsmann has other ideas, aiming to always work with four teams." Born agrees with Lienen, believing aExtra Sportsfield player should be an added inclusion to the EM line-up to have more options for offense. There's further need for evolution in the wing positions, according to Lienen following the scoreless game against Ukraine. "We were lacking wingers. It was relatively smooth for the Ukrainians to play defensively." The switch-out of Christopher Führich during the second half had a major effect in this regard.
On Neuer's confusing pass in the final play, Lienen dismissed concerns: "He needed to clear the ball, but that occasionally happens." Lienen was referring to Neuer's mishap in the end stage, which posed no risk due to an offside position of the Ukrainian striker. "Before that, Neuer had blocked well multiple times of top-notch caliber." Lienen summarizes.
A comprehensive breakdown of the pre-Euros friendly match can be perused in the podcast "The Sixteen." ntv.de will be collaborating with the podcast duo in the coming weeks. Throughout the Football European Championship, there will be two episodes per week, and Ewald Lienen will analyze the performances of the German national soccer team for ntv.de.
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The German national soccer team, led by head coach Julian Nagelsmann, struggled to score during their test match against Ukraine, but Hoffenheim's Maximilian Beier impressed as a substitute, hitting the post and almost scoring. Despite Beier's notable performance, the team failed to clinch the victory, raising questions about the final roster for the Euros. In a podcast discussion, Ewald Lienen suggested that having four goalkeepers at the tournament would be unnecessary, implying that the initial announcement of only three may need revision.
