There will be a cracker between Germany and Spain in the quarter-finals of the European Championship. The DFB team must avoid making a big mistake at all costs.
A real highlight awaits us on Friday. Of course it’s a shame that Germany and Spain are already meeting in the quarter-finals. But we can still look forward to it – even if it will be extremely difficult.
Because you have to say it openly: the individual quality of the Spanish team is clearly higher. And I stick to it: I can no longer hear this talk of a “B team” with which they played in the last group match. Spain does not have a B team. When the usual starting lineup is on the pitch, the bench still includes Champions League winners Nacho and Joselu, Alejandro Grimaldo, who won the German championship with Leverkusen, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal – of these six alone, three or four would be regular players in the DFB team. So no one should tell me that this is a B team. This is simply the highest quality in every area.
Also important: Spain’s style of play has changed in recent years. In the past, they mostly tried to create chances and then goals through the center or by switching play. But it’s now a very good mix, away from the typical Spanish tiki-taka. They no longer want to carry the ball into the goal like they used to. Now they have two wingers who make the difference: Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. Yamal is a once-in-a-century talent, a real prodigy. It’s just fun to watch him. And Williams also takes Spain to another level. Then there’s a midfield with Rodri, with Pedri, with Fabián – no other team has such quality in these positions.
They play with a remarkable amount of self-confidence and calm. We saw it in the round of 16 against Georgia: Even a surprising and unfortunate deficit caused by an own goal, they simply shrugged it off, continued playing calmly, and did not panic. That is incredibly stable.
Spain’s national coach Luis de la Fuente has a big advantage: he has also been successful as a national coach at youth level – and already knows his players from that time. That is a huge advantage. You can see it: on the pitch, there is pure joy in playing – and the substitutes are also pulling their weight. This is a real team, and that is thanks to de la Fuente. This can once again be a Spain like we saw between 2008 and 2012. Back then, they won three major tournaments in a row – and such an era could develop again.
But I am still convinced that they respect us too. Because Spain is not invulnerable. National coach Julian Nagelsmann and his players should take a very close look at one game: the 3-0 win the Spaniards won against Croatia in their opening match. Because that could easily have ended 3-3. The Croatians had a lot of chances, they just didn’t take advantage of them. Nagelsmann can learn a lot from this game.
You have to work on the Spaniards and take control of the game yourself here and there. Because if you just run after them, it will be difficult or even impossible. That takes too much energy, and the German team will end up like the Turks did against Austria, who managed to hold on to the 2:1 lead but were left hanging by the ropes at the end. That must not happen to us. Instead, the German team should try to get as much of the game as possible and take control of the game.
2024-07-04 08:25:22
#Germany #Spain #Effenberg #DFBElf #tip
