No, it wasn’t a punishment for Thomas Müller. The trainer Hansi Flick is not a resentful person, and it never occurs to him to take offense on behalf of his predecessor. However, it’s like this: If Thomas Müller had used the great opportunity he had in his own position more than a year ago – who knows if Jogi Löw might still be in office? When the German national team stopped by London’s Wembley Stadium for the last time, they not only lost 0:2, it also ended an era. The round of 16 of the last European Championship was Löw’s last game as national coach, he made room for Flick and his new beginning.
fresh start? That’s exactly what it was about a year later, in the final game of this Nations League competition in England. Both teams had already missed out on a possible group win before this game, so it was all about soft factors that are pretty tough seven weeks before a World Cup tournament. Flick’s Germans started this game with a record that was open to interpretation: on the one hand they had only lost once in 14 Flick games (good), on the other hand they could only win one of the last six games (not so good).
The evening in Wembley was so turbulent that it will keep the interpreters busy for a while: A discreet first half was followed by a German 2-0 lead and then a mysterious system crash that temporarily gave the English a 3-2 lead. Then Havertz scored to make it 3-3 – a draw that left extremely undecided observers behind, because just before the World Cup you have the feeling that you know less about this DFB team than ever before.
In any case, the national coach decided to stay reasonably cheerful, he has no other choice: “Of course, it shouldn’t happen that we give up the lead through individual mistakes,” said Flick, “but we came back, that’s the positive thing. And I also saw a lot of positive things today.”
The end of a wild second half: England goalkeeper Nick Pope (in money) can only let a long-range shot bounce – Kai Havertz (in white) dusts off to 3: 3.
(Photo: Hannah Mckay/Reuters)
After the sobering 1-0 draw against Hungary, Flick decided to make four changes to his starting XI. Müller stayed outside, as did Timo Werner, and Serge Gnabry was only allocated one seat this time. While the reasons for all three cases could be discussed with pleasure (planned rotation or the result of poor performance?), Antonio Rüdiger was absent due to a yellow card suspension. He was replaced by Nico Schlotterbeck from Dortmund, who, due to his age (23), cannot have been born in the 1980s, but may have seen a few videos by Karlheinz Förster. In any case, he started the game the way you started games in the 1980s: after a minute he tackled Harry Kane, the opponent’s best striker. Getting respect, that’s what it used to be called, and with this the DFB-Elf set a direction that they couldn’t quite follow at first.
The national coach had good reasons not to proclaim this game as a mood final, but basically it was exactly that. The national players will not meet again until November 14th, then they will go to Oman for four days, a little game make them there against the hosts before going to Qatar. This scenario made the game in London much bigger than it would have been by Nations League logic: it was clear before the game that the Germans would take the impression they made at Wembley to Arabia. The pressure increased a little because Flick protected his players after the Hungary game and took the defeat on himself. In return, he now expected a certain concession – what would that look like if he threw himself into the breach for her and she let him down?
Again it became clear: the target player who gives the attacks a clear direction is missing in front
At least the will of the DFB-Elf was recognizable after Schlotterbeck’s statement tackling, they ran into the English early, and Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz, who were rotated into the team, also made an effort to justify their nomination. However, the difference between good meant and well done obvious, which the English did not miss. They took note of Germany’s superiority in possession with increasing composure and sent some sharp counterattacks through the open centre. Marc-André ter Stegen made two excellent saves against Raheem Sterling (25′, 44′). In the first half, two structural problems of the DFB-Elf became visible: the target player who gives the attacks a direction is missing in front; and in defensive midfield, Joshua Kimmich sometimes seems alone, which opposing teams see as an invitation to counterattack. That night at Wembley was a prime example of how these two problems are linked: in the absence of a centre-forward, the Germans sometimes get lost in aimless combinations, and if they then lose the ball, the counter-attack rushes through the under-manned centre.
However, these topics were known, what was more astonishing was what a crazy second half then developed. Thanks to the controversial English defender Harry Maguire, the German team initially seemed to have a good evening for themselves and their coach: After a clumsy foul on Musiala, Ilkay Gündogan converted the penalty kick (53rd), shortly afterwards Havertz closed a counterattack after Maguire lost the ball to 2: 0 from (67th). The DFB delegation followed what happened next in Oman: The English turned the game around within eleven minutes. First Luke Shaw was overlooked in the back (72′), then nobody bothered Bukayo Saka when he passed Mason Mount (75′), then Schlotterbeck fouled BVB colleague Jude Bellingham, giving Kane a penalty goal (82′). And when the criticisms for the DFB team, which had been rather decent up to that point, had just been turned into serious slating, Havertz scored the equalizer (87th) – after keeper Nick Pope had kindly slapped a shot from substitute Serge Gnabry in front of Havertz’ feet.
What does this roller coaster half mean for the World Cup? In any case, one thing: that the German storm suddenly became a German defense problem.
