The last goal of a German striker in a major tournament came in the round of 16 of the 2016 European Championship. Since then, dead pants have been in the DFB attack. And this situation is causing problems for national coach Löw again this year.
Belgium, England, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands. Six European Championship title candidates who all have a bit ahead of Germany: They play with a real center forward. Whether Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane or Ciro Immobile. Each of these teams has a “nine” on the pitch, on which the game is aimed in a special way.
One is the fixed point of every counterattack and fixes the balls and creates space for the people behind (Lukaku), the other is classic in the penalty area and always seeks the conclusion (Kane). And the third person lets himself fall a little and helps shape the game or tears up gaps with his clever walking paths (Immobile).
What they all have in common are their basic qualities in front of the goal and their way of thinking. You are a center forward, love the center and feel comfortable in the middle of the opposing penalty area. You are used to handling long balls or flanks with your head or foot and ideally hitting the goal.
Crosses are no problem for the opponent
And just such a guy is missing in the German game under Joachim Löw. The national coach is looking for dominance, wants ball possession and game control. With players like Toni Kroos or Ilkay Gündogan, who allow themselves few mistakes in the passing game and make good decisions even under pressure, it works very well up to the last third. That was seen in the first European Championship game against France.
The problem, however, is that the opponents adapt to it and defend very deeply. So not only acted the three World Cup opponents in the DFB selection, but also the French on Tuesday. Shortly before the penalty area, Germany runs into a wall. There is almost no path through the center. The rooms are narrow, the play stations are rare. What the opponents allow, however, are passes on the wings, they are not afraid of flanks. Because what, for example, should a Serge Gnabry (1.76m) do in the air against Raphaël Varane (1.91m)?
Against Raphaël Varane (2nd from left) the German players hardly had a chance in the air. (Source: Moritz Müller / imago images)
In the end there were 23 crosses in the whole game, five of them corners. Only very few of them arrived, as France mostly cleared the way with sovereignty. Germany only had three deals per head in the opposing penalty area, two of which came from defenders (Hummels, Rüdiger). For comparison: France had exactly six flanks, three of which were corners.
And there lies the problem: Germany plays a system that could work well with a classic center forward. With a Miroslav Klose, Sandro Wagner or Mario Gomez, the success rate of the cross would be different and the opponents would have to adjust to the wing game differently. But this type of striker hardly exists in Germany at a high level. Kevin Volland is in the European Championship squad as a center forward, but he is not a classic type of penalty area. In addition, he is “only” 1.79 m tall, the same applies to Timo Werner (1.81 m).
Failure in training
The lack of “real” center-forwards is the result of a wrong focus in training over the past few years. U21 national coach Stefan Kuntz, himself a center forward in the DFB selection during his active time, only pointed out the problem in the autumn of 2020 at “Bild”: “The training of the classic center forward type has been a little neglected in recent years. One wanted that the strikers are flexible, can play different positions or move in other areas. That is why, nationally and internationally, new types of strikers have come to the fore and have also proven themselves. Despite everything, the typical center striker is: tall, physically robust, with a strong header still important, see Robert Lewandowski and, depending on the tactical orientation, brings some important components into play. “
There are many examples of Kuntz’s statements. In recent years Germany has developed many highly talented half or wingers such as Gnabry, Havertz, Sané, Wirtz, Waldschmidt or Musiala. Players who have special qualities. However, lurking in the center of the storm is not one of them.
There is hope in Lukas Nmecha, who acted as a robust and at the same time strong “nine” at the U21 European Championship in the Kuntz system. But it’s not enough for the senior national team.
Lukas Nmecha learned a lot from Stefan Kuntz (left) in the U21. (Source: Sven Simon / imago images)
Mistake in tactics?
At the same time, national coach Joachim Löw has to ask himself to what extent he learned from the 2018 World Cup, where there were similar problems. Tactical differences to the debacle in Russia can be seen in the formation at the EM, but the somewhat aimless dominance in the game was also a problem against France.
Germany’s offensive has a lot of speed and technical quality. That is why it emits a lot of danger, especially in switching situations. This was easy to see against Switzerland in October 2020, for example, when two goals were scored after winning the ball and the opposing defense could not form in peace.
With the right tactics, you can get around the lack of a classic center forward. This was proven by the two Champions League finalists Manchester City and Chelsea FC, both of whom were in the final without any angular penalty area types. Pep Guardiola usually used Phil Foden as the “false nine”, so more as a hanging tip. Due to his style of playing with combinations across the half-spaces and runs to the baseline with flat crosses, Foden was also an ideal striker for this.
Pep Guardiola (left) took Phil Foden to a new level. (Source: Shutterstock / imago images)
Thomas Tuchel from Chelsea FC relied on fast players like Werner, Havertz, Mount and Pulisic, who attacked the opposing goal like a raid. Havertz also scored the winning goal in the final against City. With Giroud or Abraham he had two real center forwards on the bench, but even when they weren’t there, their absence was hardly noticeable in the game.
And so Joachim Löw should also consider whether he wants to continue on his course. Because the French recipe for success will also be copied by other teams. And possible opponents in the round of 16, such as Belgium or England, are only a little behind the French in a good switching game.
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