WWhen he listened to the national coach on Tuesday evening, he almost had to believe that the German national soccer team was doing pretty well. After the 3: 3 against Switzerland in the duel in the Nations League, Joachim Löw looked at the big picture, as he liked to put it recently when criticism of his work and the way his team played swelled. “Of course, the semi-finals are the minimum goal,” he said with a view to the EM, which has been postponed by a year into next summer, in which the first round will be against world champions France and European champions Portugal. Iceland or Hungary will be the third opponent to play in the playoffs on November 12th.
Tobias Rabe
Responsible editor for Sport Online.
So the minimum goal! “This team really has potential. If we correct a few things, we can look forward to them, ”said the national coach. “We still have a few more games, then all that matters is immediate preparation.” But there is not much time. Three games against the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Spain follow in November. Then there is a time slot at the end of March for the national team. And in the summer, a good two weeks after the exhausting Corona season remain for direct EM preparation until the first tournament game on June 15 against France.
What Löw’s statement about the potential primarily referred to was easy to see at the end of the trilogy this October. The selection of the German Football Association (DFB), unbeaten in five games with four draws and one win this year, achieved in the friendly against Turkey (3: 3) and in the Nations League games in Ukraine (2: 1) and eight goals against Switzerland (3: 3). That is a formidable figure. All three strikers met on Tuesday in Cologne. Timo Werner (28th minute) and Kai Havertz (55th) equalized after 0: 2 deficit, Serge Gnabry scored 3: 3 (60th).
If you add Leroy Sané, who is injured this time, and look at the young age of the attacker, the result is indeed a picture that stimulates the imagination, even if the Germans lack a center forward like Robert Lewandowski. It is also true, however, that the further selection does not currently belong to the very first category of top-class football. Julian Brandt and Julian Draxler are fighting for a share of the game in their clubs in Dortmund and Paris, Luca Waldschmidt has to establish himself there too after moving to Benfica Lisbon.
The defensive strength of the DFB selection offers the much greater cause for concern. Seven goals conceded in the three games against opponents who do not belong to the continental premium class give food for thought. Unlike before, when he tried a three or five-man chain, Löw relied on a formation with four players on the last line. But there were always terrifying gaps in the network. Antonio Rüdiger, in particular, was often lured out by small tactical Swiss maneuvers. Suddenly Joshua Kimmich, who was not physically outstanding, was the last man to face difficult tasks. In short: too often there was a lack of tactical discipline.
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