When Spain’s national soccer team got into the coach of a Swabian company in Stuttgart’s Schlosspark on Thursday evening, they could read a saying on the vehicle that looked as if they were being lulled into being. “You are on vacation, we will do the rest,” was written in large letters on the wing of the car.
Vacation? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that! The trip went to the arena once known as Neckarstadion, on the occasion of this strange, still new competition called Nations League. And there, with a goal from Gayá in stoppage time, the guests drew a draw against the DFB-Elf, who had taken the 51st lead thanks to a goal from New London’s Timo Werner.
“It’s very annoying, we put a lot into the game, we ran a lot,” said Werner about the late equalizer. After his own goal, the team “might have let themselves be pushed in too far back”.
Under the eyes of national coach Joachim Löw, who with his black turtleneck and his characteristic hairstyle looked like he wanted to go to a beatnik party, a brisk game developed. The Spaniards let the ball run in the way they had for years and also survived the 11th minute when the Parisian Thilo Kehrer headed Spain’s goalkeeper David De Gea. Barely three minutes, however, Emre Can conjured up an incomparably greater danger – for their own goal. A return to goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who had to intervene in front of the penalty area, but was played off by Spain’s center forward Rodrigo, failed him. It was Trapp’s luck that Rodrigo was looking out at the landscape. Trapp rushed up and tackled it before Rodrigo could take a swing.
After that, Germans and Spaniards shared everything that the game gave. A chance with a shot full of twist from the new Bayern Munich Leroy Sané (18th), which Spain goalkeeper De Gea brilliantly distracted, answered the Spaniards with a volley from Sergio Busquets (23rd), which Trapp parried. Minus shining moments from Thiago, who obviously saw his duty through the number 10 and left no stone unturned to help the Spanish game shine, the game slipped visibly into indifference.
Gosens drove the ball forward
It was noted that both teams are still in the process of construction. Like shell structures that are still surrounded by metal scaffolding. In the DFB-Elf, Ilkay Gündogan and Toni Kroos failed to take control of the midfield; The two tips, Timo Werner and Sané, too often hung in the air because Julian Draxler only rarely worked as a transmission belt behind the tips. On the other hand: It would hardly have been appropriate for the mutual neutralization of the game if Rodrigo had used his great chance to lead the Spanish immediately before the break.
“Overall, we had better chances than the Spaniards in the game,” said Löw. “A lot happened in the first half, it was almost an exchange of blows.”
Rodrigo had another chance in the 58th minute, but his long-range shot struck just over von Trapp’s goal. However, it would no longer have been the lead, but the compensation. Because Timo Werner, who seemed even less agile than his strike partner Sané in the first half, had already scored the 1-0 – after the first perfect move of the DFB-Elf.
Ilkay Gündogan had seen near the center line that the previously pale Robin Gosens had a prairie in front of him on the left, and he served the international debutant with a pass that would have done Bernd Schuster credit. Gosens drove the ball forward, put it back on Werner – and the former Stuttgart shot after he let both Sergio Ramos and his defender colleague Pau Torres get off (51.).
Werner apparently strengthened the gate at the old place of work. In the 61st minute he came again dangerously in front of the goal, after fine preparatory work by Sané, who had to ask for the change after the sprint. Center-back Markus Ginter came for the striker, which also caused astonishment on the pitch. The loud request for orientation that could be heard in the stadium did not go to Beatnik Löw, but to his assistant Sorg. “Marcus !!! How do we play?”, Captain Kroos called and raised his hands.
Well: From then on, Löws defended with a chain of five and built on moments of change that did not come. The Spaniards shifted the game to half of a DFB team that was only reacting. Apart from a long-range shot from Thiago (70th), the Spaniards initially managed hardly anything. But central defender Niklas Süle forced De Gea to head another brilliant act after a corner. With a header from Antonio Rüdiger (86th) the keeper would have been powerless, but the ball flew over the goal. Then came a tumultuous final phase: A goal by Spain’s debutant Ansu Fati was canceled because of a foul by Sergio Ramos, but not the goal by Gayá, whose supposed offside position was canceled by Gosens, who was out of goal. It was a goal that punished German passivity late.
Debutant Gosens later said with appropriate annoyance: “I am really on the brink that we got this goal in the last second.”
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