Julián Nagelsmann understands this. In this respect, foreign football differs tactically from the club game. International camps do not lend themselves to the implementation of complex concepts and configurations. Coaches want to adapt the taste to the (best) players, not the other way around, and to the team roles more and tactics reflect what the players do for their club, better.
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“There will be difficult moments, so it is vital that the players have something to hold on to,” he said in his first interview as Germany coach in September 2023. “It may not be as complex as in club football. It’s about giving players something to identify with.
Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz are the star and attacking midfielders of Germany’s fluid quartet at Euro 2024. Their positional freedom and Germany’s fluid attack allowed them to win their first two matches in a primary tournament for the first time in 12 years. – And this is due to the six who structured the ball.
Nagelsmann needed 4 matches to find the right balance. There is a narrow 4-4-2, a back three with Kai Havertz at the back and a 4-2-3-1 with Joshua Kimmich in midfield and Niclas Fullkrug up front.
Finally, against France in March, he opted for the 4-2-3-1, but the players were set up differently: 3 narrow “N°10” (attacking midfielders), with Wirtz and Musiala on either side of captain Ilkay Gundogan. . Havertz led the line, giving Germany 4 foot ball plays up front. The only difference between the starting XI that beat France 2-0 and the team that won against Hungary with the same score on Wednesday is goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. in position of Marc-André ter Stegen.
GOING FURTHER
My in my words. By Jamal Musiala
The four defenders and two midfielders, Toni Kroos and Robert Andrich, play other constant roles. Kroos plays towards the left midfield, as he does at Real Madrid. This maximised their passing range, encouraged the warring sides to press from the centre. block and compensate for a right-footed shot by Jonathan Tah in the left central defender.
47 – Toni Kroos vs. Hungary30 – Toni Kroos vs. Scotland21 – Vitinha vs. Czechia20 – Luka Modric vs. Albania19 – Giovanni Di Lorenzo vs. Albania
King. pic. twitter. com/3p0Rvpnpvi
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 19, 2024
Left-back Maximilian Mittelstadt pushes the field, leaving Andrich as a pivot. This puts players in familiar roles for the club, as is the case with Kimmich at right-back and Havertz as the only number 9.
This is what happened in the friendly against the France national team in March. . .
And Scotland on the first day. . .
And the victory against Hungary. . .
Nagelsmann took advantage of friendlies: Germany automatically qualified as hosts and did not play any competitive matches between the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Seven of the eight friendlies with Nagelsmann faced groups at this summer’s European Championship or Copa America (Greece being the exception). These matches did not pose the threat of competitive qualification, but there were tactical litmus tests against quality urgent groups (Austria and France) and parties in conflict in the middle of the bloc (Ukraine and Mexico).
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They also drew a favorable group, without great hitters and with 3 tactically similar opponents. Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland play diversifying a five-man defence (Scotland and Hungary play 5-4-1), and Switzerland can control matches better, all like to protect themselves in a central block.
Germany’s form and taste pose problems for the opponent who must protect against their number 10. They either want to leave their midfielders deeper, giving Kroos time and space, or defend aggressively with central defenders. The second option frees up area in defense for Havertz/No 10 and carries a greater threat of fouls/yellow cards. Scotland and Hungary tried to protect themselves with a hybrid of the two, but the fluidity of the front four and their individual quality when it came to betting on the turn or dribbling in tight areas created more disorders.
“They really had all the answers,” Scotland captain Andy Robertson said after Germany’s 5-1 victory. “They controlled a lot to combine their game. We didn’t know if they had pockets or if they were missing.
Germany showed the same variety against Hungary. Centre-back Antonio Rudiger tried passes to Havertz 3 times in the first 10 minutes.
Wirtz, Musiala and Gundogan, who have scored in this tournament, change and vary their positions according to the wishes of the game. Musiala completed 8 dribbles and 32 passes against Scotland, as his mid-block was looser: he had space to play on the half-turn. Hungary was more closed and aggressive, so they shot wider, dribbled less and combined more: forty-five passes and two dribbles, these being longer into the box from the wing, than short and incisive reaches from the central areas.
“That’s how you can lose against Germany, because their team is full of world-class players,” Hungary coach Marco Rossi said. “Our tactic worked: we tried to push them towards the wings, but our centre-backs were behind. (in press). “
This was demonstrated in the opening match. It took a bit of counter-pressure and the ensuing fight, but the three German No. 10s worked together. They won the ball back in the Hungarian half. Wirtz, on the right, sent a pass to Musiala, who passed it to Gundogan; His runs beyond the ball are a hallmark of the German attack. Gundgoan’s first touch was strong, but the captain recovered to contain Willi Orban, beat the goalkeeper to the loose ball and put it in for Musiala.
Will he finish the tournament as the most sensible goalscorer?? #Euro2024 | #GERHUN pic. twitter. com/lvcAhvEzoT
– ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 19, 2024
Gundogan doubled his lead midway through the second half, sweeping Mittelstadt’s cutback from the left. That combination – a full-back firing a pass to the edge of the area to finish with a single touch to the number 10 – is the same as Kimmich’s. He lends a hand to Wirtz, who opposes Scotland, just on the other side.
Construction? Kroos, from left semi-space, at the feet of Musiala. This took away from Mittelstadt the Hungarian right-back Bendeguz Bolla, whom Musiala discovered in space.
These two goals mean that Germany have already recorded their score at the level of the organisation of the European Championship (seven goals) and are only the second team, after the Netherlands in 2008, to score so much in their first two games.
The added positive for Nagelsguyn is that those goals came from six other goalscorers, and Fullkrug, a target, provided Havertz with anything else off the bench.
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Germany’s biggest control in the round of 16 will be to prepare even better (making fewer mistakes) to protect less. Hungary took more advantage of Germany’s weak counterattack than Scotland, particularly in a pre-tournament friendly against Greece. They don’t have a specific cellular defense, while aggressively placed full-backs leave room for opposing full-backs to explode. His penchant for short passes on the opponent’s side and his number 10 dribbles mean Germany are in danger of losing the ball when looking to play. between teams. The larger nations will punish them more.
At the end of the day, any taste and scheme carries risks/rewards and tactical failures, and Germany’s duty is to dominate the games. Partly because it is the host country, but also to move forward after its mistakes in 2018. -2022, with exits from the tournament twice at the organizational level and once in the round of 16. The blank sheet against Hungary The first of Germany in a primary tournament since the 3-0 victory over Slovakia at Euro 2016 (14 games ago).
Their record with this formula and this body of workers is only improving: Germany have won five and drawn the last six, winning 13-3 on aggregate and setting national records. Nagelsmann learned to coach foreign football very quickly.