Victory over Scotland, victory over Hungary and a draw against Switzerland: The German national football team moved into the round of 16 at this home European Championship as group winners. There, the selection of national coach Julian Nagelsmann won against Denmark. Now the strong Spanish team awaits in the quarter-finals on Friday (6 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, on ARD and on MagentaTV). A look at six topics relating to the DFB team.
The Pass King: Quota alone is not enough
Toni Kroos started the tournament as what the football country expected of him: the king of the pass – and of the numbers. A rate of 99 percent in the first game against Scotland with 102 of 103 passes completed, a record for European Championship games since 1980, then 124 passes completed in the second against Hungary, just three behind the record of the Spanish passing emperor Xavi.
Royal values, but recently there was the feeling that Kroos’ influence on the German game was somewhat limited. The Swiss already put a guard on him, and against Denmark you sometimes thought that the German playmaker was called Robert Andrich – which doesn’t quite fit his role model. Julian Nagelsmann and his team still seem to be looking for ways to adapt to such shielding services.
Midfielder Toni Kroospicture alliance / press photo Mika Volkmann
When it comes to playing against Spain, it is not clear what to expect: whether the team that has played the best and passed the best so far in this European Championship also wants to spoil the game and pass for Kroos in particular, or whether it will be an open competition in the supreme discipline. What seems pretty clear, however, is that if the German team wants to take this step towards the coronation, they need a Kroos who does more than just do the job.
The magicians: reveal nothing, often amaze
In the restructuring of the German national football team this year, Julian Nagelsmann set up a new department: for magic. He immediately hired Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz because they can make the ball disappear with their feet at any time and then behave like real magicians should: they give nothing away.
“They do things that are unexpected – not only for the opponent, but sometimes also for their own team,” said İlkay Gündoğan in an interview with FAZ. He is their department head. And even if their employee Wirtz is struggling with a bit of a magic block, the demands on the department have increased during the European Championships: They no longer just have to worry about the ball disappearing into thin air in the opponent’s attacking third, but also about it materializing again in the opponent’s goal.
Offensive player Jamal Musialapicture alliance / press photo Mika Volkmann
Musiala made sure of that with his three goals in the tournament. But before the quarter-finals, the national coach is faced with a difficult decision with regard to the use of his players: does he want to get involved in a magical duel with Spain – with the team that can probably perform magic more beautifully than any other in Europe?
Defensive monster: tackle until the score is zero
The annual balance sheet for 2023 was shocking. The national team was not a “defensive monster,” complained Julian Nagelsmann after conceding 22 goals in eleven international matches. Stability was already a dirty word in Germany before he took over in the fourth quarter. On July 1, 2024, the national coach can draw up an improved half-year balance sheet: the average number of goals conceded went from two in one game to one in two. “I tickled them well,” says Nagelsmann.
Has he awakened the defensive monster in everyone? The German defensive monsters can certainly claim the diminutive. Opponent chances theoretically lead to 2.9 goals – one of the lowest values at the European Championships. The fact that practically only two goals were scored is proof of good defensive strength.
Defender Nico Schlotterbeckpicture alliance / press photo Mika Volkmann
The regular players have strong substitutes like Nico Schlotterbeck or David Raum. If the back four doesn’t work, a back three is now an option. Opponents’ counterattacks are no longer a gateway. It’s impressive how Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz run backwards or even pull out a sliding tackle instead of a magic wand.
“If we keep a clean sheet, two goals are enough,” says Manuel Neuer. Two? Maybe the power of bad habit? With these monster defenses, one goal is sometimes enough.
The atmosphere: Germany freshly in love
If this German football summer is one day told as a success story, the prologue will be from March. Anyone who listens to the team ends up in a time when the team spirit was let out of the bottle. Nagelsmann’s radical reform, including role play, is a recipe for success, and not just in sporting terms.
The national coach recently made an interesting observation to prove that families or girlfriends of national players are visiting the camp. Their children walk through the camp “totally liberated”. “Children have a very keen sense of a good atmosphere.” The clarity of roles also helps. “There are many players who don’t get that many minutes. But they stick together.”
Sophia Weber, partner of Kai HavertzWitters
When Havertz took the penalty against Denmark, the substitutes put their arms on his shoulders. This was “a key to things going better now than before”. It’s not just in the inner circle that things have changed. While the team was still booed in 2023, the black, red and gold fans are now floating on pink and purple clouds, completely detached. Even if this summer doesn’t end as a German fairytale, the epilogue tells of a new love.
Coaching: Playing with the flow
In the 65th minute of the round of 16, Julian Nagelsmann provided the next example of the theory that he has a good sense of the moment in his first tournament as national coach. He was standing on the sidelines when striker Kai Havertz suddenly looked at him because striker Niclas Füllkrug was getting ready to be substituted. He signaled to Havertz that he could continue playing; and you could see from his body language that the decision was wise.
The striker, who had previously set a high point with a sensational ball control, looked relieved. He was in the flow. And it was not only in this moment that Nagelsmann realised that you can not only go with the flow, but also coach it.
National coach Julian Nagelsmannpicture alliance / press photo Mika Volkmann
He also put David Raum and Leroy Sané in the starting lineup for Maximilian Mittelstädt and Florian Wirtz in the round of 16 because he believed that this would help his team develop a different flow (which sounded logical in theory, but didn’t always look smooth in practice). The big coaching challenge is to recognize when and how to adjust the flow. And this Friday it will be even bigger for Nagelsmann: He has to determine this against an opponent who plays with flow but almost without flaws.
The role plays: An outbreak is possible
So much has been said and written about Julian Nagelsmann’s role model that it has become a role in itself. And thus sometimes a misunderstanding. Role model does mean that each individual knows pretty much exactly what his or her role is and also how likely it is that he or she will be able to fulfil it on the pitch.
But it does not mean that all positions are fixed and deviations from the script are undesirable. So far, the national coach has done quite well with it; the model has helped him to manage expectations in a healthy way in his squad. So far, he has hardly had to disappoint anyone, but has been able to reward many players.
The fact that, although his core is clearly defined, all field players except Robin Koch have already been used is a knock-on effect that should not be underestimated. And in at least one case, David Raum, Nagelsmann has shown that a breakout is also possible. In all likelihood, this example will not set a precedent, and not much change is to be expected, but it is a (positive) expression of a universally valid model: the principle of performance must always play a role.
