It was an evening in which the forces of nature intervened, but also cool, rational technology. An evening of extremes, in any case, from which the German national team emerged as the better, but in crucial moments also the happier team.
Thanks to a penalty goal by Kai Havertz (53rd minute) and another goal by Jamal Musiala (68th), national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team beat Denmark 2-0 in their European Championship round of 16 match in the Dortmund football pressure chamber on Saturday.
Even if it didn’t matter that evening, it was the first knockout game won by a German national football team at a major tournament since the 2016 European Championship quarter-finals. In the present, however, the only thing that mattered was that the home European Championship would continue on Friday in Stuttgart against the winner of the match between Spain and Georgia (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, on ARD or ZDF and on MagentaTV).
Appropriate resistance
But even if the party atmosphere in Dortmund was the highest ever at the European Championships, the Germans had to overcome considerable adversity. While in the first half, heavy thunderstorms and rain made the action on the pitch seem very small and caused a 20-minute interruption, in the second half it was the fine details that created great moments and emotions for the Germans and deeply disappointed Danes.
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It all culminated shortly after the break, when first a Danish goal was disallowed by the video referee for offside, and then on the other side, the ball bounced off the hand of the just-prevented goalscorer, Joachim Andersen, during an attempted cross by David Raum, which in turn led to a penalty kick via video evidence, which Havertz converted with precision.
Havertz celebrated in the rain of cups in front of the Danish stand, the whole German team later with their fans to the booming sounds of Peter Schilling: completely relaxed. But in the analysis, Nagelsmann will review a game that, after a strong start, developed into a complicated task for his team, in which a problem arose again: the difficulty of channeling the attacking pressure into a real goal threat, which was not due to the quality of the chances, but rather to the question of whether Nagelsmann was relying on the right quality of attack; Niclas Füllkrug was once again left with the role of joker.
He had a “clear plan” on this matter, said Nagelsmann before kick-off, but even though Havertz opened the door with his penalty and was playing well, the Dortmund rain could not wipe away the impression of the opportunities he had missed.
Nagelsmann surprises with Sané
In any case, it will be exciting to see what happens next, because Nagelsmann has already ensured far more movement than in all previous games at this European Championship. Antonio Rüdiger had passed the test the day before and, as expected, took his place in central defense, this time alongside Nico Schlotterbeck, who replaced the suspended Jonathan Tah.
But Nagelsmann did not stop at this one – forced – change. It was not Füllkrug, as many expected, who moved into the starting eleven, but rather his dashing assistant from the Hungary game, Raum, who was preferred over Maximilian Mittelstädt. And, quite surprisingly, Leroy Sané, who took Florian Wirtz’s place.
Germany in the quarter-finalsRelief after the great storm
There were two changes that promised more vertical acceleration and thus ultimately more depth, and certainly also a signal that despite all the role considerations, the principle of performance is not being neglected. And the direction was right at the start. It didn’t take long before Sané, Havertz and Raum had made their first tracks in the Danish penalty area, and after barely more than three minutes the ball was in the net.
Schlotterbeck had risen up after a corner from Kroos, but amid the general jubilation it was only after a while that it became clear that the English referee Michael Oliver had called a foul. It was not Schlotterbeck’s effort, but Kimmich’s, who had blocked the way for his colleague – a close call.
Danes survive pressure phase
After that, the Germans piled up chances with a quick and variable attacking game, a long-range shot from the very present Kimmich, another header from Schlotterbeck after a corner, a direct shot from Havertz, and at one point Sané wanted (and had to) take on almost everyone and was only stopped by a foul shortly before the penalty area.
Things were looking good during this phase, the new players were well integrated, the retreat left nothing to be desired, but after 20 minutes the weightlessness was over. While the sky above the stadium became darker and darker and lightning flashed across the stadium roof, the Danes began to move towards the German goal. Rüdiger was not in a good position for a long ball to Eriksen, but then managed to get his left toe in the way of the shot, and a little later Maehle shot from a tight angle, but it was too high.
After a good half hour, the signal came from above that something bigger was about to happen. A powerful flash of lightning, a thunder that shook you to the core – the game continued for a few minutes, but then heavy showers poured over the field and the stands, and after a while it became clear that a break was unavoidable. “Oh, how beautiful it is,” was sung, two Danes danced topless under the waterfall that cascaded down from the roof.
At least the situation calmed down and after about 20 minutes the teams came back and started a second warm-up program. When the ball started rolling again, the Germans thought they were back in their dream movie. Raum cut a cross into the penalty area, Havertz headed, but too poorly placed to beat Schmeichel. A little later Schlotterbeck headed the ball into the side netting.
Singing in the rain: Danish optimism in the rain of DortmundReuters
They actually seemed to be on the way to regaining the momentum they had at the start, but the final minutes showed the other side of the game, a vulnerable German team. First it was Schlotterbeck, who had been convincing up to that point, who created a great opportunity for Hojlund with a careless dalliance. A little later, the striker ran towards Neuer after a fine combination involving Eriksen and Delaney, and the goalkeeper threw himself resolutely and decisively against him.
Nagelsmann decided not to make any substitutions, he wanted to continue with the previous plan for now. Only later, when his team was already leading, did he make his first substitutions, bringing on Füllkrug and Can for Gündogan and Andrich. When the score was 2-0, Musiala benefited not only from a long pass from Schlotterbeck, but also from Schmeichel’s hesitation in the Danish goal, who suddenly switched to backwards instead of forwards when running out.
After that, there were still opportunities to increase the score. But the fact that everything worked out so well in the end was primarily due to that little toe that had a big impact that evening.
2024-06-29 21:19:02
#Germany #Denmark #Euro #Havertz #Musiala #score
