Dhe German national soccer team achieved their second victory in their sixth game this season. A selection newly formed by national coach Joachim Löw and internationally rather inexperienced won deservedly with a goal from Luca Waldschmidt in the 13th minute with 1-0 against the Czech Republic. It was a decent German appearance, especially in the first half, in a game that remained a long way from high international class. On the other hand, this test match lacked not only the competitive nature but also individual and team class. But in view of the difficult circumstances for both teams that evening in Leipzig, one did not have to be surprised. The national coach had spared most of his regular staff before the two competitive games against Ukraine on Saturday and three days later in Seville against Spain. This game could hardly provide groundbreaking insights for the two upcoming matches, especially not with a view to the European Championship next summer.
As is so often the case in the recent and recent past, it was possible to say about the team that the national coach sent on the pitch for a test match, which can be said again and again about German teams in German test matches: That they will never again be for Germany in this formation will be playing. For the game against the Czech Republic this meant: with Kevin Trapp in goal, with Robin Koch as the central defender, with the two newcomers Ridle Baku and Philipp Max in the outer positions and with Waldschmidt in the lead. Florian Neuhaus and Jonas Hofmann were also on the starting grid. The two Mönchengladbachers had only made their debut in the national team in October. There was rarely so much inexperience in the jersey of the four-time world champion – and not a single Bayern professional. The Czechs, on the other hand, felt the Corona crisis much more clearly than the Germans before the international match. Your national league operation was discontinued in October, games only took place last weekend.
Commitment, speed and combination football
You can’t really make any demands on an international match under these circumstances, at least not high. Nevertheless, the German team did their job properly, at least in the beginning. So they tried with commitment, speed and combination football to finally achieve success again. Your early swing was rewarded. In the 13th minute, Benfica’s Waldschmidt met Lisbon after a nice combination of a few meters to make it 1-0. The preparatory work was done by Max, who made a good impression overall on the left.
The Czechs’ often flawed game showed the lack of match practice on the part of some of their professionals. In the first half, the Germans always came up with around half a dozen goalscoring chances far too easily. But Hofmann (10th), Julian Brandt (32nd) and two times Nadiem Amiri (43rd), who was substituted for the injured Hofmann early on, missed great and greatest opportunities. Especially the Dortmund Brandt, who chased the ball far past the goal after a bad pass from a central position, pulled his hair.
The German leadership could have been slightly higher, with greater concentration in the end and if goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka had not always been excellent in the way. The fact that the Czechs got better into the game after around twenty minutes and were able to make the game evenly did not change that. But they lacked good chances to score, despite some weaknesses and bad passes by the Germans on the defensive and in the build-up game. Teams of higher quality would have thanked.
The Germans were the better team in the second half as well, but playful highlights were not part of the evening program. The game steadily flattened out. Neuhaus, the best German player, provided the only cracker after the break with a heavy shot to the crossbar (77th). But at least the Germans brought their 1-0 lead over time, because Trapp was just there in the 82nd minute with a dangerous header from Vydra.
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