Dhe national coach had decided early and clearly. On the day before the test match between the German and Turkish national soccer teams, Joachim Löw said: “Tomorrow he will be the captain and lead the team. He has so much talent and class. ”At 3: 3 in Cologne on Wednesday evening, Julian Draxler was actually captain and led the team. At least on the score sheet and when choosing sides. The twenty-seven year old found it a little more difficult in the game. As emphasized as his position was in the run-up by Löw, Draxler was not outstanding in the selection of the German Football Association, which lacked a number of regular employees.
Tobias Rabe
Responsible editor for Sport Online.
The national coach gave him almost 60 minutes of playing time, then debutant Jonas Hofmann joined the team. Until then, Draxler had scored the German 1-0 in stoppage time in the first half with a technically fine finish with the right outside instep. After a pass from Kai Havertz, he appeared alone in front of the Turkish goalkeeper, shook off the last defender with skillful use of his body and pushed the ball into the goal with a slight lob. That really showed talent and class, as von Löw previously awarded.
There were other scenes in the test run with Turkey that Draxler was able to post on the credit side. He skilfully initiated Luca Waldschmidt’s first chance with a thoughtful pass; Draxler’s bad luck that he was just offside at the margin that landed in goal. The midfielder from Paris Saint-Germain, whom Löw placed as the left component of the offensive row of three with Havertz, Waldschmidt and himself, was also running well. Before Julian Brandt’s chance in the second half, Draxler captured the ball with a skillful pursuit (49th minute).
But there were also the actions that show why he is not the first choice in the national team when players like Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané or Timo Werner are there. With an awkward kick, Draxler caused a free kick in front of his own penalty area and even saw the yellow card because he stepped on the opponent’s foot. It was just unfortunate that he caught his opponent with his hand in the face a little later and that he theatrically fell to the ground. The fact that he lost the ball before the 1-1 draw was more due to Nico Schulz’s sloppy pass than Draxler.
The goal prettifies the mixed record of the native Gladbecker a little, but also shows a dilemma. The 1-0 win was Draxler’s first goal for the national team in more than three years. For an attacking midfielder, that’s a poor record, as only seven goals have been recorded in 54 international matches. Looking at the statistics, it becomes clear how long Draxler has been with the national team. He made his debut in May 2012, when players like Miroslav Klose, Tim Wiese, Cacau and Marcel Schmelzer were still in the squad in the duel with Switzerland.
Draxler’s best time in the national team was in 2016 and 2017. He was a regular at the European Championship in France, was in the starting line-up in four games and played through to the semi-finals. So he made Paris aware of himself. Half a year after the European Championship, he moved to the top club in the French capital for 36 million euros, after costing 43 million euros in his transfer from Schalke 04 to VfL Wolfsburg in summer 2015. At the time, Löw relied fully on Draxler. He led the young Confed Cup team, which won the title at the preparatory tournament for the 2018 World Cup in 2017, as captain – just like the decimated team in the test against Turkey.
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