DFB selection in the individual criticism: Can prevents worse, Wolf does not solve all problems

The DFB-Elf sank into lethargy for more than 30 minutes and threatened to go under against Belgium. After the first half of the horror, the selection of coach Hansi Flick plays better. They owe that mainly to a substitution. The individual criticism at a glance.

Marc-André ter Stegen: At least Marc-André ter Stegen is absolutely nothing to blame. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is once again unlucky with the DFB selection: he has now guarded the goal of the German national football team for the 32nd time – again rock-solid and still not zero. He is powerless with all three goals and – like the entire DFB selection – even lucky that Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Dodi Lukebakio hit the crossbar or the advertising board next to the post in the first half. Otherwise, the German interim number one showed why she is undisputed at FC Barcelona: He was absolutely safe in the build-up play, even under pressure, and sometimes showed an excellent eye for his team-mates. Just as he once sent full-back Wolf across the field with a long ball, opening up a chance for the German team.

David Raum: David Raum wasn’t really lucky either. Florian Wirtz played in front of him at least in the first half hour, but then left him alone a bit. And so the Leipziger didn’t really act well defensively in the first half. Raum simply didn’t use his real strength, the dreaded flanks.

In the 68th minute he was through Freiburg Christian Gunter replaced. Who could impose few new accents in the game. In fact, he didn’t look too good for Belgium’s third goal, a counterattack.

Matthew Ginter: For Matthias Ginter it was actually a holiday: the fiftieth international match! Will it be one that he will never forget? Only he knows. He was rock solid in the first half and didn’t make any big mistakes. That’s a compliment for a centre-back. After the break, coach Hansi Flick made him Lukaku’s personal guard. Ginter also fulfilled the task sovereignly. The Belgian didn’t score again until he was substituted in the 69th minute.

Thiloh sweeper: Well, Thilo Kehrer will probably not forget this evening in a hurry. The West Ham United centre-back replaced Nico Schlotterbeck, who left early with a muscular problem. And well, Kehrer has almost certainly had better games. He will probably have nightmares especially from the duels with the massive Lukaku. Several times he literally smashed into the 1.91 meter chicken. So much so that some Belgian fans in the stands couldn’t help but laugh. He later proved that Kehrer can do better, in the 64th minute, when he stole the ball from Lukaku in a duel. But that was a bit too late.

Marius Wolf: Actually, a thousand lines can currently be filled with Marius Wolf. The Dortmunder is currently one of the most exciting newcomers under coach Flick. Because after the test match against Peru something like hope flashed in football Germany: Is it him? Will Wolf fill the gap that has existed for years on the right-back side? Well, it remains complicated. Because the 27-year-old knows his strength: the offensive. Again and again he pushed insanely high, again and again he drove advances that were dangerous for Belgium. So is the gap filled? Unfortunately not really, because Wolf doesn’t solve all problems after all. In the first half in particular, he repeatedly found himself in thankless one-on-ones against Belgian winger Yannic Carasco. And very often he lost these duels too. Sometimes a simple body trick was enough. Wolf also looked unhappy when he was simply knocked over by Belgian Hertha’s Lukebakio on the counterattack.

He got through in the 80th minute Josha Vagnoman replaced. In the short time, the Stuttgarter could not set any major accents.

Joshua Kimmich: Joshua Kimmich started not only to be a temporary captain of the German national team, but also to wear the black, red and gold armband permanently. He solved his tasks against Belgium solidly. Especially at the beginning of the game he tried to put things in order in counter-pressing, which actually couldn’t be put in order. Sometimes he had the thankless task of directing the game structure of the DFB selection alone. After Flick’s change, he found his way into the game a little better, but by no means excelled. His bad pass on the Belgian sixteen initiated the 1:3 in the meantime in the 78th minute, his otherwise dreaded chip balls remained harmless.

Leon Goretzka: The six-man duo Goretzka/Kimmich will give the national coach a headache. Things aren’t really working out well in the national team, but both were a bit too high against Belgium and often left the defense alone, especially in the first half hour. Goretzka did what sets him apart: he threw himself into every duel. Until he was substituted after almost 30 minutes injured.

After twisting his ankle, he was through from the 32nd minute Emre Can replaced.

The comparison may be a bit special, but if Kevin-Prince Boateng comes on at Hertha BSC towards the end of the game, it changes the game for the Berliners. The 36-year-old still exudes something that is difficult to describe in words. He directs attacks and gives his teammates self-confidence. Perhaps this is how the phenomenon at Can can be described. Because whenever the 29-year-old played for the DFB team in the past two games, the German team played differently: simply better. This was also due to the tactical change that coach Flick made when he came on this time. There was then a solid six with Can, which filled the position in front of the defense. And how he did it: Can calmed down the German game, structured it. Again and again he took the time to put his neighbors in order. In the duels, the Dortmunder never let up – and thus brought with him exactly what was demanded by the national coach: mentality. His substitution probably prevented the Belgians from celebrating a runaway victory. He was the best DFB player on the pitch.

Florian Wirtz: The day actually started quite well for Florian Wirtz. Before the game, he was awarded the Fritz Walter Medal by the DFB in the stadium of 1. FC Köln, for whose youth teams he had played for more than nine years. This honor is given to particularly talented teenagers. Unfortunately, the talented Wirtz didn’t have the best day. Again and again he had inaccurate passes in his game. He could – attention, super worn phrase – not bring the talent PS on the road. But that’s not a problem, after all the 18-year-old will almost certainly have many more opportunities to do so.

In the 32nd minute he was through Felix Nmecha replaced. The Wolfsburg player played a more defensive role than Wirtz, so it’s not really comparable. But the 22-year-old got into the game well and was very sure of his passes and the ball.

Serge Gnabry: The Munich player got better and better as time went on. Gnabry slipped into the starting XI for Kai Havertz, who had a cold. He often seemed a little alone. In the 17th minute he dribbled out half of the Belgian offensive section on his own edge of the sixteen. After half-time he put it back up again. His dribbles then became dangerous in the opposing half as well. In his dream solo through the Belgian Teufel defense in the 84th minute, he just missed the finish, but he scored the goal three minutes later to make it 2:3.

Niclas filling jug: After the Peru game, ntv.de named Füllkrug the life insurance of the DFB team. And on the national team’s policy there is now another “gap” goal to book. After a corner, he beheaded the arm of his Belgian counterpart, Lukaku – and took the penalty. Havertz had shot a penalty against the post against Peru. Anders Füllkrug: He scored and increased his impressive goal quota to six goals in six games. Otherwise there were many typical “gap” moments. The current leader of the Bundesliga goalscorer list struggled and tried to actively participate in the game as a centre-forward. It didn’t always look happy: here a bad pass, there an unsuccessful pass with the hoe. In the end it (almost) doesn’t matter, the center forward scored his goal.

He got through in the 80th minute Kevin shame replaced. The attacker from FC Brentford brought fire into the game again and prepared Gnabry’s 2: 3 goal. In other respects, too, he provided a lot of speed on the sidelines in the final phase.

Timo Werner: For Timo Werner it remained somehow bewitched. After his weak performance against Peru, another underwhelming game against Belgium followed. For a long time he hardly took part, and the change after the 30th minute helped him too. After that, the Leipziger came from outside, which was good for his game. He had the first shot ten minutes later, but then remained rather pale offensively for the rest of the game. But he showed a surprising amount of commitment in the backward movement.

Werner was replaced in the 80th minute Mergim Berisha. It’s difficult to put your stamp on a game in such a short amount of time. The Augsburg didn’t really succeed, but with his pass to Schade he at least started the 2:3.