Three setbacks pulverize an exciting idea
The German national soccer team loses to Turkey in an away match in their own stadium. Familiar problems are tackled with new solutions. This is not successful enough.
What actually happened in Berlin's Olympic Stadium?
An away match in their own capital city: The German national soccer team had invited Turkey to a test match in order to take the next step on the way from the paralyzing confusion of the Flick era to a major tournament that was finally not desolate again. The Olympic Stadium, where the final of the home European Championship will take place in July 2024, was not the backdrop for an autumnal German soccer fairytale.
Turkey, who had only just qualified for the European Championships and sent a strengthened B team onto the pitch, once again showed the DFB team familiar weaknesses in their 3:2 victory: Julian Nagelsmann was also unable to get to grips with the team's defensive readiness, which was limited at best. And the German national soccer team is still simply not getting back on track.
In his first international match on German soil, the national coach, who had already created a very tender mood of optimism on the USA trip, also failed to find the solution to Germany's new favorite problem: the defense continues to concede far too much, sometimes absurdly much for an ensemble that is, after all, led by Real Madrid's defensive titan Antonio Rüdiger.
Against the playful but by no means brilliant Turks, the German defensive construct simply allowed itself to be outplayed when conceding the two goals in the first half, too often failing to build up from the back under pressure. And that is bad news, as Nagelsmann had announced that the defense would be the focus of the life-saving measures he had been entrusted with at the DFB.
With the nomination of high-class player Kai Havertz at left-back, Nagelsmann showed plenty of imagination and a willingness to find creative solutions to problems that had already caused his predecessors to fail. Now, however, there is a lack of imagination as to how to make the shaky structure, which should be stable by next summer at the latest, at least reasonably robust.
Teams & goals:
Germany: Trapp - Henrichs, Tah, Rüdiger, Havertz - Kimmich (71. Goretzka), Gündogan - Wirtz (71. Gnabry), Brandt (82. Duksch) - Sané, FüllkrugTurkey: Bayindir - Celik, Kabak, Bardakci, Kadioglu (63. Elmali) - Yüksek (46. Özcan), Akbaba (34. Ömür), Ayhan, Yazici (63. Yilmaz/ 71. Aktürkoglu), Irfan Can (63. Sari) - YildizGoals: 1:0 Havertz (5.), 1:1 Kadioglu (38.), 1:2 Yildiz (45.+2), 2:2 Füllkrug (49.), 2:3 Sari (71st/manual penalty)Yellow cards: - Kabak, Irfan Can, Ömür, BardakciReferee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)Spectators: 72,592 (in Berlin)
Click here for the match report!
What was good?
Leroy Sané and Gündogan in the first few minutes. After that, Florian Wirtz was the only constant. His confidence and cleverness on the ball and in interplay with his colleagues carried Germany's attacking play. His exciting movements repeatedly created danger, his passes provided depth and pace. Exactly what Nagelsmann wants. Sané is a brilliant playing partner for the Leverkusen man. Another will be Jamal Musiala when he is fit after his injury. So far, the DFB's two biggest talents have mostly played past each other.
During the trip to the USA, the new national coach seemed to have found an idea for the first time as to how the top quality of the youngsters can be transformed into top quality for the team. Gündogan should be the important anchor behind the whirling attack. The captain showed what that can look like in the first 25 minutes. He was omnipresent in the first game against his parents' home country. Against the whistles from the stands, he freed himself from the smallest of spaces and directed his colleagues out of pressure or into good offensive actions.
What was bad?
What is a problem in German soccer at the moment is basically being renegotiated on a daily basis. Sometimes it's the offense, where the search for a striker has now even flushed Marvin Ducksch from Werder Bremen into the DFB team for the first time at the advanced age of 29, and sometimes it's the defense, which is flanked above all by the search for good full-backs.
At the end of the year, the defense was a priority for the national coach. More stability is needed. After all, the saying that titles can only be won with good defensive work still holds true. The conclusion at half-time of the international double-header: the national team does not (yet) have a stable foundation. It looked solid for 20 minutes because their own pressing worked well and the scrambled Turkish team was still searching for running routes and a good understanding.
But then things got going. Especially for the right side. Leroy Sané refused to do the defensive work there time and time again. At times, he stood listlessly on the side and only reacted when it was too late. This was also the case when the very conspicuous Ferdi Kadioglu equalized. The interplay between Sané as a track player and Benjamin Henrichs as the right man in the chain was, to put it charitably, improvable. Henrichs was late for the second goal conceded by the former and extremely playful Bayern talent Kenan Yildiz. The 18-year-old nailed the ball over the post and crossbar into the German goal with impressive conviction.
At the other end, things were only slightly better with Antonio Rüdiger and surprise left-back Kai Havertz. However, the final chain received little relief from the midfield, where Gündogan started strongly but increasingly dropped off. And where Kimmich was not always able to be the boss he wants to be and should be against the attacking Turks.
Has Julian Nagelsmann actually lost his mind?
Germany's lack of strikers is a problem that has been discussed in recent years, basically since the departure of record World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose. For a long time, the fact that Germany also lacks full-backs was put to one side. Basically since the departure of World Cup captain Philipp Lahm. The transfer of Joshua Kimmich to the center of midfield has not exactly made the problem any smaller. Joachim Löw was involved in the problem until the bitter last day of his era as national coach, when it was discussed during the 2021 European Championship whether Kimmich should play Lahm again or not. Hansi Flick, on the other hand, simply mixed up his defense time and again.
And now Julian Nagelsmann claims to have had the golden idea: Against Turkey, in his third international match as national team coach, he switched striker Kai Havertz to left-back. Without any warning. A completely crazy idea or even pure desperation? Julian Nagelsmann said on RTL before the game that he had "a great fantasy" with Kai Havertz. He has "full confidence in the world-class player" Havertz, who has recently been too often hapless offensively both in the DFB team and at his club Arsenal London. Now the national coach has invented a new position for the 24-year-old. In Turkish possession, he played left-back; in German possession, he had to break away from the chain.
Of course, Nagelsmann has not gone crazy, Havertz has provided valid arguments over the years for being on the pitch with top international teams. The game did not provide any reliable information as to whether he will perhaps even play more often as a left-back in the future: The Turks tended to target the sometimes confused right side of the German defense, and the defending striker Havertz did his job without fail.
What was it like in the stadium?
It was the expected away match for the DFB team in the final stadium of the 2024 European Championship at home. Apart from the east curve, which is filled by Hertha BSC fans in the league, the Olympic Stadium was completely in Turkish hands. Every now and then, German flags joined the Turkish ones in most areas. But they were just splashes of color. Julian Nagelsmann's team were greeted by a roar of whistles during the warm-up. But the well over 40,000 fans of "Bizim Cocuklar" were of course much more interested in their own team.
They did not reach the ecstatic volume of the Süper Lig stadiums. This was perhaps also due to the sound system provided by DJ Teddy-O, who spun his records on the sidelines and drowned everything out. When DJ Teddy-O ran out of music, the team line-up was read out. The whistles and boos increased once again for the DFB team's number 21, captain Ilkay Gündogan. He is the one who has decided against the country of his parents.
Shortly before kick-off, a few black market tickets were on sale outside the stadium. The sold-out stadium itself was slowly filling up and was far from full even at the start of the game. The anthems rang out, the Turkish national team players wore their training jackets over the children entering the stadium, the German players did not. Only Niclas Füllkrug tried, but failed. The stadium shouted "Türkiye" and the game could begin. The 37-year-old Pole Bartosz Frankowski, who had been assigned to referee the match, blew his whistle and the stadium cheered every time the DFB team lost possession. It was the expected away game.
Comments on the game:
Julian Nagelsmann (national coach): "We didn't have the emotionality in all positions. A few did very well, but some didn't reach the emotional level to push themselves to their limits," said Julian Nagelsmann on RTL. The national coach was particularly displeased with the weak phase from the 25th minute until the break. "We did better in the second half," said Nagelsmann. The 36-year-old regretted that his team missed further chances after Kai Havertz made it 1-0 early on. "We have to close the game out earlier," said Nagelsmann. "Kai Havertz played an outstanding game. The only player who was surprising today was one of our best men."
Ilkay Gündogan (DFB captain): "We became too lethargic. I don't know if we thought it was going to happen on its own. We got into the game well, but then we weren't determined enough. Against the ball, it wasn't the pressure we actually wanted to generate. We weren't aggressive enough. They score their goals after we make mistakes. Then it's always difficult to come back, no matter who you're up against. I don't know if lethargic is the right word, but simply too passive. We get off to a good start and then our confidence is actually even higher. Then we probably expected it to happen on its own. In the end, we were always one step ahead, especially in the first half. It feels like we lost the game in the first half today."
The German national soccer team's defensive issues once again surfaced during their 3:2 loss to Turkey, with coach Julian Nagelsmann struggling to improve the team's readiness. Despite this, high-quality player Kai Havertz tried a new position as a left-back, demonstrating imagination and a willingness to tackle problems.
Germany's defense conceded far too many goals against a moderately talented Turkish team, with Kai Havertz filling in admirably at left-back when called upon by coach Julian Nagelsmann, showcasing his versatility and adaptability.
Source: www.ntv.de
