It should be compensation for the embarrassing bankruptcy against Hungary, but in the end many doubts remain. In just over eleven minutes, Germany gambled away a 2-0 lead in the Nations League against England. After all, double goal scorer Kai Havertz saves the draw.
So what do you do with this weird night at Wembley? Nobody knows. Not even national coach Hansi Flick. He saw good things and less good things in the 3: 3 (0: 0) against England in the Nations League. Phew, how that sounds! Kind of exhausting. busy. And that’s how the coming weeks until the winter desert spectacle will be. Flick’s agenda is packed with work orders. How offensively or not do I let the full-backs act? Which men occupy the center of defence? How do Bayern’s key players get their form back? And who actually occupies the center of the storm?
All these questions and problems condensed into 90 plus X minutes at Wembley. There were 45 yawningly boring and 45 far too wild. ?lkay Gündo?an with a penalty kick (53rd minute) and Kai Havertz (67th) initially ensured a clear and deserved lead in front of 78,949 spectators. It looked like the expected redemption for Friday night’s embarrassment against Hungary. But England punished the following defensive mistakes by the Germans and turned the tide through Luke Shaw (72′), Mason Mount (75′) and Harry Kane (83′, penalty kick) before Havertz managed to equalize (87′).
“Of course we’re disappointed, we were 2-0 up here. We played really good football for 20 minutes after half-time and deservedly took the lead. There was a break after the goal, that can’t happen to us,” said Flick, who was then supposed to explain why his team had suddenly collapsed. “We lost our temper for 15, 20 minutes. The English were better there. The goals came from individual mistakes. Every single player has to know what he has to do in his position. I have to support my full-back there too We have to cover from far away, but to do that you need the wingers who cooperate – we didn’t have that with both goals. We have to work on that. But we also did a lot of things well.” Well then, let’s look at the team in detail.
Marc-André ter Stegen: It’s number two. Number two remains. And not because he would necessarily be the worse man between the posts. But Manuel Neuer is under Flick. That was the case at FC Bayern and is the same in the DFB team. Ter Stegen is now accepting his role remarkably well and is the perfect safety net should Neuer fail to titanize. Which happened at least every now and then. “MAtS” made a sensational save in the 25th minute against Raheem Sterling, who had caused the German center to stumble beautifully. Had a few nice flights with him, but was also defeated three times. Three times he can’t be blamed, especially not against the world-class finishes of Kane and Mount. Can now keep in top form in training at FC Barcelona, ??after all, unlike Neuer, he has accurate strikers in the team (just kidding).
Thilo Kehrer: The 26-year-old is a full-back. Well, that’s really not a flashy sentence to describe Kehrer’s game. But it’s probably the best sentence to describe Kehrer’s game. Because the man who now works at West Ham United usually does his job properly on the side. At least in your own half. On the other hand, it is not suitable as a profitable driver. If Flick wants a player for the World Cup who supports the offensive sustainably and efficiently, then he has to keep casting. If Flick prefers the safe solution, then he may have found his regular for Qatar. Although Kehrer didn’t win every duel against the damn fast Sterling at Wembley, he was in good control of the winger overall. However, the attempt to flay a penalty was embarrassing. Although his jersey was plucked, his fall was very clumsy.
Niklas Süle: When Antonio Rüdiger doesn’t play (he was suspended), the Dortmund player is the chief of defence. He radiates that too. Played very convincingly for a long time. Made it very difficult for the English around super striker Kane with his strong position player. He also intervened again and again through the center with powerful forays and lived out his “ten” gene. However, he ran behind the “Three Lions” in the first big chance. His sliding tackle at 1: 2 came centimeters too late, the ball had already tumbled over the goal line during the clearing action. Lost sovereignty thereafter.
Nico Schlotterbeck: The Dortmunder tells a strange story. The 22-year-old has played for Germany five times and has now conceded three penalties. Came far too late against his team-mate Jude Bellingham and hit the Englishman painfully in the leg. That had consequences. Like his slip when dribbling Bukayo Saka before the 2-2. Less consequential were his wobbles in the first half, such as when he slipped against Sterling. This evening was not an application for the desert team.
David Raum: He wasn’t good against Hungary. And that’s still the truth in beautiful. Because actually he was really bad. Like so many from the German team. But Flick trusts the Leipziger and can feel confirmed for the time being. The left-back played much better against the English. But his crosses are not yet the weapon they can be. Means: There is a lack of precision (I): But what is also lacking: strong alternatives for this position. Means (II): It is and remains set. From the 68th minute Robin Gosens: He came 28 minutes to apply for Qatar. Conclusion: defensively too vulnerable, offensively inconspicuous. there has to be more.
Joshua Kimmich: No, it’s not a mock debate, numerous FC Bayern players are out of shape these days and weeks. Kimmich is one of them. Would like to be boss, but can’t get his claim on the foot at the moment. Can’t structure the game. Cannot give stability to the game during tricky periods. Still plays great chip balls. The problem: You can’t find a buyer at the moment. Had a noteworthy offensive action just before the break, but his shot from a good 20 meters went just wide.
?lkay Gündo?an: He was much more present than Kimmich. But that was not a remarkable award that evening. The captain ran a lot, tried a lot and had good moments in counter-pressing. But what he didn’t have: clever ideas to surprisingly stage the German offensive forces. Too often he only passed the ball for a short time. That was easy for England to defend in the centre. However, he remains an absolutely reliable shooter from the point: sixth penalty, sixth goal.
Jonas Hofmann: The polyvalent man from Borussia Mönchengladbach earned himself a permanent place in the starting XI, but this time one position further up on the right. Played very, very inconspicuously at Wembley and was substituted at half-time. All you need to know. From the 46th minute Timo Werner: Oh dear… poor Timo Werner. Invisible against Hungary, he would have been better off against England. Especially in the 60th minute when he denied a free-standing shot and played a disastrous pass into the centre. At least had a good opportunity a few minutes later, which went just wide of the goal. Can still be called an invigorating element. Is that enough for a regular place? Rather not.
Jamal Musiala: He should direct the game from the center. That didn’t work. Declan Rice stood at his feet. Which was a wise English decision. In the second half he found himself on the right flank and that again was a smart German decision. Musiala, who played for Thomas Müller, now broke through more often. Brought pace and depth to the game. He took the penalty to make it 1-0 – which turned this tough game into a wild game. He helped prepare the 2-0 win because he won the ball against the weak Harry Maguire in his own half. Thomas Müller from the 79th minute: Well, the question of whether Thomas Müller is still strong enough for the national team was moderated by Flick before kick-off. The Thomas Müller question does not arise. So that evening everything relevant about the Munich is reported.
Leroy Sané: No water bottle had to withstand the anger of the winger this time. The Munich player would have had reason enough for frustration again. His commitment was disproportionate to the yield of his game. So I tried hard but had no luck. Had no significant offensive action. Anyone who does not know that Sané is fast and dangerous in front of goal would have thought that Sané is not fast and dangerous in front of goal. In the 60th minute he was all alone waiting for a cross pass from Werner. That didn’t happen. From 68 minutes Serge Gnabry: Against Hungary he was identified as the weakest German player. It rained sixes from the evaluation officers of the local media world. Can now claim that his commitment was too short to get a grade. But: Goalkeeper Pope let his shot bounce off miserably, which made it possible for Havertz to make it 3-3 (87th).
Kai Havertz: The Londoner came a long way towards the ball as a man in the front line. However, he was always well protected and correspondingly weak, after the restart he withdrew, centrally behind substitute Werner. This role seemed to suit him better. Ended a scene that he had initiated himself with a fantastic flick to make it 2-0 and at least secured the draw with his second goal. From the 90th minute Armel Bella-Kotchap: Bochum’s pride and joy is now a national team player. Congratulation.
