Three-way defense chain only with build-up game
Right from the start, the German team took the initiative against the extremely defensive Latvians. The three-man defensive chain around Mattias Ginter, Mats Hummels and Antonio Rüdiger had the main task of initiating the build-up game. Defense work could almost be completely neglected by the defenders.
The remarkable superiority of the German team led to the lead after just 19 minutes. After great preparatory work by Kai Havertz, Robin Gosens converted from eleven meters to 1-0. Only 86 seconds later it was Ilkay Gündogan who hit the top left corner with a long distance shot from 16 meters. 2-0 for the German team.
At this point in time, the lead could have been even clearer: Thomas Müller, Gündogan or Joshua Kimmich had other good opportunities. Müller did it a little later but then much better and immortalized himself in the list of goalscorers after Gosens pass from eight meters to 3-0 (27th).
In continuous attack mode
The German team did not give up in the episode either, they were in permanent attack mode. The Latvians barely even managed to cross the center line. Havertz’s 4-0 (39th) after going it alone – almost from the baseline – was the consequence of an unbroken joy of playing. Hummels initiated with an outside instep pass – like Franz Beckenbauer once – on Serge Gnabry, who started in the free space and turned brilliantly from twelve meters, the 5-0 (45th).
Even after the half-time break, the German offensive spectacle continued. The German team was immediately back on track and Timo Werner, who had just been substituted, converted after Kimmich Pass from a short distance to 6-0 (50th). The Löw team tried to maintain the momentum despite a few changes, but this did not succeed over the longer term. There were still good scoring opportunities, but the precision of the finals decreased significantly.
