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This is not only good news for the opponents of the DFB squad. Even fans who are not particularly passionate about the Germans should be pleased with the goal-concession guarantee with which Julian Nagelsmann has equipped his team. Even teams like Ghana, who trudge across the field without any discernible will to participate in the game, will score against the Germans. The German defenders also like to provide the assist for their opponents and, as Nico Schlotterbeck did against Switzerland, often choose the passing lane for the build-up that is certainly blocked.
That Joshua Kimmich actually plays on the outside at the back, instead of where he could better apply his playmaking qualities, belongs to the organized chaos with which Nagelsmann will surely cause plenty of goals for Germany at the World Cup. It doesn’t take many attempts to score against the Germans. Of seven Swiss shots on goal, three found the net.
Forward
Seeler against Müller, Klinsmann against Riedle. Klose against Gomez. The search for the ideal number nine has long divided the football nation. Against Switzerland Kai Havertz was allowed to play up front, and against Ghana Nick Woltemade played up front as well, and yet the national coach Julian Nagelsmann was mainly asked about one name: Deniz Undav. Against Switzerland he sat for 90 minutes on the bench, where in the second test in front of a home crowd he initially had to take a seat as well. From the middle of the first half, “Undav chants” echoed through the Stuttgart Arena.
He then calmly scored the goal for the 2:1 victory after his substitution. When asked about the striker question, Nagelsmann responded as usual with a tight-lipped remark. “I did not like his performance up to the goal. I think he touched the ball once,” he even said. The coach does not want to depart from his defined role distribution. Undav will probably remain a bench player. And the football nation will keep the striker discussion. Also nice.
On the Side
Julian Nagelsmann is regarded as a brilliant football tactician and as a friend of the big show. A combination that tempts him to justify his decisions meticulously and comprehensively. When faced with critical counter-questions, he quickly becomes laconic and appears arrogant. “There will be decisions that probably won’t meet with broad understanding.” With these words, the national coach prepared the football nation for the World Cup year at the beginning of March. It should mean: “Let me do it. I know best anyway.”
Also in the interview after the Ghana game, Julian Nagelsmann spoke about not wanting to change his beloved distribution of roles, as doing so would jeopardize his credibility. Is the national coach currently isolating himself in his own tactical ivory tower? Whoever communicates like Nagelsmann should not be surprised if his decisions are ripped apart in the air. We remain curious.
At the Top
After two mediocre performances against at most mediocre opponents, even Julian Nagelsmann, who until recently boasted about the Germans’ title chances, has assigned the favorites’ role to other football nations. Yet the Germans’ longing to return to the world elite remains immense. Florian Wirtz’s performance against Switzerland was widely praised as world-class.
And as the German defense had already been embarrassingly exposed time and again, ARD commentator Phillip Sohmer praised the aging veteran Antonio Rüdiger as a world-class defender. And there is Jamal Musiala, the currently injured world-class attacker, whose anticipated return will surely help German football move back to world-class status. And Lennart Karl still exists, the world-class wunderkind of FC Bayern, who so elegantly glided with the ball through the Ghanaian defenders. With so much potential world-class talent producing so much mediocrity, that certainly has few peers in the world. World-class.
And What Else?
The whole football nation will probably also have a reason during the World Cup overseas to talk about the handball of a certain Spaniard in the quarterfinals of the Euro Championship 2024. That the actually due penalty was not given back then has long since entered the history of German football as the greatest injustice since the Wembley goal. What does this have to do with the friendly match against Ghana? Well, the penalty for Germany’s 1:0 on Monday night was whistled by on-field referee Stuart Attwell, who in that quarterfinal match claimed not to have seen anything as the video referee. There are such things.
