The team led by Julian Nagelsmann, 36 years old, aims to return to being competitive on the European competition scene. The German coach took over the team in September last year after the dismissal of Hansi Flick, who was in charge of the team in just 25 games, with a 57% success rate. The change in technical command occurred following a sequence of poor results for Germany in friendlies and, mainly, in the 2022 World Cup, which ended up being eliminated, for the second time in a row, in the group stage of the tournament.
With Flick’s failure, Nagelsmann was chosen to form a team that enhances the new German generation and begins the process of resuming the national team’s leading role in the Eurocup competition, hosted in Germany.
BASIC TRAINING
The return of Toni Kroos to the team is fundamental for the team’s functioning in building the game from the defense and the presence of the German midfielder to connect, mainly, with Wirtz on the left side of the field. The team is structured in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kroos aligned with Andrich at the head of the defensive system. Wirtz starts down the left aisle, Musiala from the right aisle, Gundogan floats through the center and Havertz is the reference in the German attack.
BALL EXIT
Nagelsmann’s men made a sustained exit, with the participation of four players (2+2) or (3+1). The team values a more elaborate construction with short touches. Kroos is responsible for linking the midfield sector and the attack. We will see the German midfielder executing the movement of lowering himself to the defenders to receive the ball. The full-backs position themselves wide on the touchline to provide space, with Wirtz and Musiala moving inside to offer passing options, and Gundogan moving to receive between the opponent’s lines.
CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS
The team’s playing style is based on the players’ connections inside, looking for short and quick tables to involve the opponent’s marking and create clear scoring chances. Wirtz and Musiala play as interior midfielders, with the aim of taking advantage of the spaces between the defender and the wing. Kai Havertz is the typical mobility striker, who does not remain a fixed reference, playing the role of attracting defenders to open space in the final third. With the space created, both Wirtz and Musiala took the opportunity to carry out disruptive movements in the opponent’s last defensive line. Midfielders have a lot of freedom to talk on the ball. We will see Wirtz, for example, move out of his left lane to position himself as a passing option on the opposite side for Musiala.
The full-backs perform different functions in creating the German team’s play. Kimmich, right-back, makes constant movements from outside to inside, aiming to participate in the construction through short associations with Musiala or taking advantage of his reading of the game to activate his teammates from deep. While Mittelstadt has the task of providing width to the team on the opposite aisle.
HOW YOU DEFEND
The German team seeks to score in a medium block, varying between 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1. The structure will change depending on Gundogan’s positioning. When the German captain drops to fit the marking on the opponent’s first midfielder, we will see the team in 4-2-3-1. And, the moment he is aligned with Havertz – closing the passing lines inside –, we will have Germany in the 4-2-2-2 structure.
When the team lowers the block, it tries to structure itself in a 4-4-2 formation. In this way, the participation of Musiala and Wirtz is more active without possession of the ball, as they drop to recover on the sides to prevent the full-backs from being in situations of numerical inferiority in the sector.
INDIVIDUAL FEATURE – TONI KROOS
Toni Kroos returns to his national team as the team’s best player. The 34-year-old German midfielder made the decision to retire after Germany’s elimination to England in the 2021 Euro Cup. However, he reconsidered this decision and accepted Julian Nagelsmann’s invitation.
Kroos’ experience of accumulating several titles in his career, going through countless decisive moments and, above all, his technical ability accredit the midfielder as the main technical reference of this team. The 2023/24 season was one of the best in the German’s career – if not the best –, featuring a very high level of decisive performances for Real Madrid. In the Spanish club’s fifteenth Champions League title, Kroos was the second player who made the most passes into the final third of the field, reaching 118 passes.
Toni participated masterfully in all phases of building the merengue team, using his ability to read the game to execute reversals to the opposite corridor, the search for deep passes to activate, mainly, the Brazilian Vinicius Jr at speed and also taking advantage of of his ability to dictate the pace of games.
Graphic: Footure PRO
In the context of the national team, he will have the same responsibility of commanding the team’s ball flow. The dynamic to carry out a clean construction from the defense came from the feet of the German number 8. Kroos’ progressive passes will be one of Germany’s greatest weapons to use their talents in the final third of the field.
KEEP AN EYE – FLORIAN WIRTZ
Florian Wirtz, 21 years old, is one of the main talents of this new generation of German football and the midfielder will compete in his first major competition wearing the national team’s shirt. Wirtz was named this season’s Bundesliga star, achieving 11 goals and 10 assists in the championship.
The young German demonstrates excellent associative ability in the central corridor, generating many goal situations through his reading of the game to activate his teammates in depth. The mid-range shot with his right leg is one of Wirtz’s greatest attributes, who already has enough characteristics to become a technical reference in the context of the national team as well.
Graphic: Footure PRO
The freedom of positioning for Wirtz to move around the field is the key to enhancing his game. At Bayer Leverkusen, he was given a lot of freedom to participate both in the construction from the defense, such as being an interior midfielder on the right side, communicating on the left aisle and occupying the spaces between the opponents’ lines. In the German national team scenario, Julian Nagelsmann appears to be convinced that his team’s success will depend on the talent of its midfielders.
2024-06-09 19:52:43
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