Germany’s footballers are stepping up their game: the national team is celebrating a surprising and impressive resurrection against France. The team has to work harder against the Netherlands, but fights for victory. But what was wrong with the fans?
What happened in the Frankfurt stadium?
Germany is black and white. In the evaluation of the national soccer team and the jersey design, at least most of the time. But stop there, just break with the big traditions. The DFB had already done that in advance and given Adidas a pass, the team followed up against France last Saturday and regained a prominent place on the world stage with a 2-0 win. And even before the second test against the Netherlands had kicked off this Tuesday evening, the breaking of habits continued. Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom” flew back from oblivion to the present and the German footballers appeared in pink for the first time. Everything different, everything new.
But the momentum of change was not far off. After four minutes, Joey Veerman sank all the good feelings that had been building up since Saturday. The fact that Maxi Mittelstädt, who started the deficit with a cucumber pass, equalized seven minutes later with a thunderous shot, only briefly awakened the spirits. From then on, long people retreated back into the cave. Despite all the dominance and effort, something lastingly thrilling didn’t come until later.
Nagelsmann’s commands were easy to hear even in the full stadium.
(Photo: IMAGO/Kirchner-Media)
At times it was so quiet in this football temple that you could hear Julian Nagelsmann conducting right up to the stadium roof. And when he didn’t do that, the roar of planes approaching (or moving away from) the airport could be heard high above – live EM euphoria? Sounded different for a long time. Until the 85th minute, when Joker Niclas Füllkrug made it 2-1. The breast solver. Second win in the second game of the year. The path to the home tournament is right. Even if the car lost a little speed after the rapid drive in Lyon, it shows that it can win robustly – and definitely wants to.
Click here for the match report!
Teams & Goals
Germany: ter Stegen/FC Barcelona (31 years, 40 international matches) – Kimmich/FC Bayern (29/84) from 79. Henrichs/Leipzig (27/14), Tah/Leverkusen (28/23), Rüdiger/Real Madrid (31/ 68), Mittelstädt/Stuttgart (27/2) from 79. Raum/Leipzig (25/20) – Kroos/Real Madrid (34/108), Andrich/Leverkusen (29/3) from 59. Groß/Brighton & Hove ( 32/3) – Wirtz/Leverkusen (20/16) from 73. Müller/FC Bayern (35/128), Gündoğan/FC Barcelona (33/75) from 59. Führich/Stuttgart (26/3), Musiala/FC Bayern (21/27) – Havertz/Arsenal (24/44) from 73. Füllkrug/Dortmund (31/15); Trainer: Nagelsmann
Netherlands: Verbruggen/Brighton & Hove (21/5) – de Ligt/FC Bayern (24/44), van Dijk/Liverpool (32/66), Ake/Manchester City (29/44) – Dumfries/Inter Milan (27/52 ), Schouten/Eindhoven (27/3) from 75. de Roon/Bergamo (32/42), Veerman/Eindhoven (25/8) from 89. Wieffer/Feyenoord Rotterdam (24/9), Blind/Girona (34/ 106) from 89. Simons/Leipzig (20/13) – Reijnders/AC Milan (25/8) from 66. Timber/Feyenoord Rotterdam (22/1), Malen/Dortmund (25/30) from 75. Gakpo/Liverpool (24/10) – Depay/Atlético Madrid (30/90) from 75. Weghorst/Hoffenheim (31/31); Trainer: Koeman
Referee: Espen Eskaas (Norway)
Gates: 0:1 Veerman (4th), 1:1 Mittelstädt (11th), 2:1 Füllkrug (85th)
Yellow cards: Andrich, Kroos – Blind
Viewers: 48,590 (sold out)
What was good?
At home games for the DFB team there is someone who can never really be blamed. The use of DJ Teddy-O before kick-off is undisputed: one hit after the other – loud and the mix knows no breaks. And that’s how it went with the DFB team. Although the performance was initially not as unleashed as it was at times against France, the effort was right. The approaches and the will – as against France – can be seen.
National coach Nagelsmann likes to talk about the talent-free things that matter. Some people call them the “German virtues”, but in the end they are about the same things: commitment, will, courage. This was also evident in the national team. For example, when Tah loses the ball in a sleepy moment, but then works his way back into the duel. The same thing happened to Kimmich, who first stumbled on the ball against Blind in the first half and then later retrieved it. This is most clear in Mittelstädt: first the goal was conceded, then the equalizer was scored.
And offensively? Here too, the DFB team showed particularly good approaches. The very active Musiala not only had his problems with the Dutch defenders around the incarnated stop sign Virgil van Dijk, but above all with the track. He kept slipping away and kept losing his balance while dribbling. It didn’t help that he often had courageous scenes on the ball. Florian Wirtz, the second magician in the German offensive, is different. He was perhaps not as omnipresent in his actions as the Munich player, but his small, steep passes often had something profitable. And when he grabbed the ball and started marching, he was hard to stop. However, like his teammates, he and his teammates lacked the impact of the past few months at the club and also from the France game.
Where was there still room for improvement?
The second big mystery besides the atmosphere was Jamal Musiala’s stability. The Bayern talent kept losing control of his legs. Sometimes he slipped, sometimes he stumbled. The fact that this often happened in promising positions was not good for the German offensive game. The last or penultimate action got stuck several times. What the reason was is initially unknown.
Who is the winner of the evening?
The national team’s bench. If the starting eleven seemed almost set in stone after the resurrection against France, the foundation was now showing slight cracks again. Robert Andrich, who was still very noticeable alongside Toni Kroos against Kylian Mbappé and Co., was only on defensive duty this time, but didn’t have too much to do. That leaves room for improvement. Maxi Mittelstädt, also a celebrated debutant in Lyon, had more problems with Denzel Dumfries this time. This leaves the door a little more open for a challenger like David Raum or Benjamin Henrichs.
Füllkrug headed in to win.
(Photo: IMAGO/Revierfoto)
Chris Führich was also an absolute asset with his impetuous passion and love of kicking. And Thomas Müller, who immediately became second boss. Niclas Füllkrug, still dissatisfied with his substitute role in Lyon, also won the game with his next goal. It pays off that Nagelsmann defined clear roles and then nominated them. The fact that he has broadened the player types and thus created more variations for himself. There may not be the 23 best individual footballers in the country in the squad at the moment, but perhaps instead there are those who fit together best. At least that seems to be the national coach’s plan.
What could still be improved?
People rarely come to DFB team games because of the great atmosphere in the stands. But: Germany against the Netherlands, aren’t these really big duels? After the spectacular effect against France, the audience in the stands seemed a little hungover at times. Somehow sluggish, somehow inhibited. After all: the whistle was blown when the Dutch team fouled and they cheered when the DFB team performed strong actions.
But sometimes what happened (or not) in the stands was remarkable. The fact that Nagelsmann’s instructions were easy to hear is perhaps not so surprising. Rather: It is rather surprising that the noise of the planes flying over Deutsche Bank Park at regular intervals could be heard.
But, like the DFB team, so did the supporters: always with a lot of effort. Hand-counted four La Ola waves swept through the arena. Fan chants were lost in clapping. After all: After Joker Füllkrug’s surprising winning goal, the already questionable “victory” chants that had previously been heard when the score was 1-1 were also appropriate.
What do those involved say?
Julian Nagelsmann: “The victory is very good. The game was more demanding than against the French. We defended actively. The game can turn around in the second half, in the last quarter of an hour we clearly had the better chances. We definitely wanted to win the game. The The spirit of the team is very good. The last ten days were great from the team. The pitch was a disaster.”
Toni Kroos: “I’m proud of the team. They’re coming from a difficult time. We’ve carried the momentum and self-confidence well. A few months ago we would have collapsed after falling behind. The bad news is that we don’t get any points for that tournament brings.”
Lothar Matthäus: “Now they know what they can do. They deserved to win against two top teams in Europe. Something big can happen. We are one of the favorites at the European Championships.”