It is not a football festival, and there is no victory for the German national football team in the penultimate test before the European championship. Nevertheless, national coach Joachim Löw is sometimes satisfied. Because the DFB-Elf is working on a few tasks against Denmark.
What happened in the Tivoli Stadium in Innsbruck?
The dress rehearsal. For the dress rehearsal. But only to a limited extent, as national coach Joachim Löw explained in an interview with RTL before kick-off. Because the starting eleven will certainly not look like they were on the field against Denmark on Monday against Latvia (8.45 p.m. / RTL and in the live ticker at ntv.de). Not a daring forecast, but an indirect quote from Löw. The list of those who are still missing on the one hand and who have legitimate hopes for a regular place at the start of the tournament against France (Tuesday, June 15, 8.45 p.m. in the ntv.de ticker) is too big: Toni Kroos, Antonio Rüdiger, Leon Goretzka, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, İlkay Gündoğan. And so Löw called for something more fundamental and fundamental.
Above all, defensive compactness, that is what was seen in many of the previous games – for example, the 1: 2 against North Macedonia and the 0: 6 in Spain – at best temporarily. But never permanently, as is necessary for advancement in the difficult preliminary group F with world champions (France), European champions (Portugal) and outsiders (Hungary). According to Löw, the focus in the few training units was on defensive behavior, and RTL expert Lothar Matthäus emphasized the efficiency of the Danish offensive. The national coach hoped for a good and above all stable order against this, and corresponding physical effort.
And certainly communication between the players and parts of the team, which was particularly lacking during the debacle in Spain. For which Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller were also brought back. Above all, as it could be read from Löw’s outlook before the game, he was out to gain knowledge. What training content can already be implemented now, where there is still work to be done and probably also who from his EM squad is still fit and in good shape after the long, exhausting season.
Teams and goals
Germany: Neuer – Ginter, Hummels, Süle – Klostermann (60th Koch), Gosens (79th Günter) – Kimmich, Neuhaus – Gnabry (79th Volland), Müller, Sané (86th Hofmann); Trainer: Löw
Denmark: Schmeichel – Wass (85th Christiansen), Kjaer (80th Zanka Jörgensen), Vestergaard, Maehle – Eriksen, Höjbjerg (68th Larsen), Delaney – Poulsen (80th Damsgaard), Olsen (46th Dolberg) – Braithwaite (80th century) Boilesen); Trainer: Hjulmand
Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)
Gates: 1: 0 Neuhaus (48th), 1: 1 Poulsen (71th)
Spectator: none (in Innsbruck)
Yellow cards: Sané –
The feature film of the dress rehearsal
14th minute: Of all people, Thomas Müller! At least almost. Joshua Kimmich chips into the penalty area as sensitively as he fits perfectly, but Müller does not manage to put pressure behind his header. Otherwise it would be of all things – an important word for those who report on football! – been the returnee who has taken the lead with the first real scoring opportunity in his international match for more than two years.
35th minute: RTL expert Matthäus had previously criticized the German team’s exploitation of chances. Why is shown after a free kick by Kimmich, which goes through the six-yard area from the right, past several German footballers who are potentially capable of scoring goals. Alone: Nobody touches the ball and Denmark takes a goal kick.
Halftime: The German team is superior and sometimes also plays nicely forward. Only the gates are missing. Closest to the lead came Serge Gnabry shortly before the end of the first 45 minutes. His left-hand shot only hits the aluminum and from there moves further away from the goal. Manuel Neuer had a very quiet evening. Müller does what he recently did so convincingly at FC Bayern: orchestrate effective counter-pressing.
48th minute, GOAL FOR GERMANY: Florian Neuhaus is one of those people who are more likely to be a spectator than in the starting XI at the start of the European Championship. Against Denmark, however, he advertises himself with a strong performance, which he is now refining with his second international goal. Robin Gosens follows up on the left and crosses into the middle. Kimmich can’t get the ball on goal, then it falls at Neuhaus’s feet, who has no problem making it 1-0 from five meters.
67th minute: The DFB-Elf has been a bit more defensive since the break. The Danes use the space for one or the other small chance, but apart from a direct purchase from Kasper Dolberg, it has not yet become really dangerous. It rushes over the gate from eleven meters.
71st minute, GOAL FOR DENMARK: And it’s gone, the defensive compactness. Christian Eriksen has a lot of space in midfield and is picking up the pace, as is Yussuf Poulsen. The striker separates himself between Niklas Süle and Mats Hummels, Eriksen sees that, plays him right in the foot. Then there is nothing new to do either. The Danish offensive is and will remain remarkably efficient.
… and 1: 1 by Poulsen.
(Photo: dpa)
77th minute: RUMMS. Second aluminum goal for the DFB-Elf, for the second time the ball jumps away from the goal. Sané crosses sharply from the right baseline, Ginter comes to the flank before Vestergaard. There is no cheering after the bang, it remains at 1: 1.
90 + 2. Minute: Final whistle. Doesn’t seem like both teams would have achieved much if the game continued in Innsbruck.
The detailed match report is available here.
The tactical look
The Germans played in the 3-4-3 basic formation rehearsed in the training camp and automatisms were noticeable right from the start. The routes and pass procedures were better coordinated than in the last international game phase. The Thomas Müller factor also had a direct impact on the game in the DFB selection, as the 31-year-old regularly dropped back into midfield. It is precisely these vertical movements that the German team has lacked in the recent past, when they often seemed static and calculable when they owned the ball.
In addition to Müller, Florian Neuhaus took on an important tactical role, because in the 3-4-3 system at least one central midfielder has to keep pushing and penetrating into the penalty area. Neuhaus’ (and Joshua Kimmich’s) presence in the penalty area was fittingly partly responsible for the Germans opening goal.
But with all good approaches, the problems in the withdrawal movement do not seem to be resolved. The German team made the same mistakes in position and positioning as so often in the past 18 months. And then there are dangerous situations against a team like Denmark and, in the worst case, a goal conceded.
What was good?
The analysis by Thomas Müller. Shortly after the final whistle, the training jacket was already pulled on, but not yet closed. “It was intense,” he said, who had organized offensively and now also promoted the communication that the national coach wanted from him. Not only inwards, but also outwards. “I’ve seen a lot of good things, but we also had a phase in the second half when we didn’t get into the duels.” In the first half it was very good, also defensively, the Danish offensive was almost invisible.
What still needs to be improved?
National coach Löw agreed with his returnee and saw “light and shadow”. But he had also expected “that it would be a bit unsteady” and such a test match is a test, even if there are only 13 days left before the tournament starts. The defense showed itself to be vulnerable after losing the ball, as a result of which Eriksen was given a lot of space. The defense center Süle / Hummels is not famous for its sprint strength and because Süle does not close the pass path to Poulsen in time, it comes to a free end. But it is unlikely that this combination will also defend the headquarters against France, Antonio Rüdiger will probably play alongside Hummels against Latvia.
“That was already good in the beginning,” said Löw after the end of the game in an interview with RTL expert Lothar Matthäus and presenter Florian König. And a test match like this doesn’t necessarily provide much more knowledge, especially because the team won’t play together again. And does anyone really remember the results from test matches immediately before the tournament started? Just.
What do those involved say?
Joachim Löw: “We didn’t allow a lot in the back, but made life a little difficult for ourselves. We have to put in a few intensive units before the Latvia game, especially in the tactical area. The standard situations can be improved, we still have to defend and attack Practice a few processes. Some routes were not right, that is still the topic. “
Thomas Müller: “It was intense, but at some point we didn’t get into the duels like that. We were relatively clear in the offensive actions. It was bad luck on the two crossbar hits, they could have gone in. I had to run a lot, so the analysis occurs to me still difficult. “
The tweet about the game
There were no spectators in the stands of the stadium in Innsbruck, only large, black, red and gold banners with the words “Jogis Jungs”. Sounds a bit like a school trip. By the way, mostly only “Jogis” could be read in the TV picture.
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