The World Cup in Qatar is coming, there is no doubt about it. But is she perhaps too early for the German national team? The first and only test against Oman (1-0) revealed numerous (known) weaknesses. However, the national coach also uses the duel for personal experiments. Some go wrong, others give hope for the controversial tournament in the desert. The Bremen debutant Niclas Füllkrug scored the goal to victory late. Our individual review.
Manuel Neuer: Job reference first half: Standing between the posts again. That’s something. The captain, who had recovered from a shoulder injury, had little or nothing to do. That should be much different against Spain at the latest. After the break, at least a few actions according to Neuer’s taste: several trips to or even above the center line. Without the still ailing chief communicator Thomas Müller, he also slipped into this role. Was the noisy boss of a tired squad.
Lukas Klostermann: Little or not at all conspicuous, but then at least in a close-up: During the cooling break, the right-back from RB Leipzig is substituted off. Klostermann had been absent for months before the World Cup preparations with a syndesmosis ligament rupture and was accordingly unable to give the DFB defense little security in his 30 minutes of working time. Always had problems with the fast as an arrow and technically adept Arshad Al Alawi. From the 34th minute Armel Bella-Kotchap: The beefy defensive giant fitted in well in central defence. Gave some security to the shaky defense at first. Was played too easily by smaller opponents in the second half and was unable to completely plug the gaps. His athleticism helps against the still existing susceptibility to counterattacks, but the young man from FC Southampton was not able to completely eliminate this DFB weakness. Was lucky that his lost running duel, which could have meant a goal, was called off for offside a quarter of an hour before the end.
Thilo Kehrer: Moved to the right after Klostermann’s off. There he stabilized after he seemed overwhelmed at headquarters. For example, when he let a stumbled ball from the Oman bounce directly to the opponent in the six-yard box. That with the excessive demand initially applied to the entire defensive. Unlucky his shot from close range was stopped on the line by powerful goalkeeper Al-Mukhaini early in the second half.
Matthias Ginter: The defense chief at SC Freiburg was initially unable to give the German defense any stability. He made a couple of positional mistakes against Oman’s swift attacks, which went unpunished. Heroically put his head down (or couldn’t dodge) once when Oman fired a dangerous long-range shot. Was exchanged at the break, but this was not due to performance. A letter of application for a regular place in Qatar was not the achievement. Nico Schlotterbeck from the 46th minute: The defenders from Borussia Dortmund had recently been hit hard. Against Borussia Mönchengladbach, he and his teammates were overwhelmed in rows. Therefore, Schlotterbeck should not have arrived with great self-confidence and high hopes for a regular place at the World Cup. His 45-minute performance against Oman passed without major blunders (which is sure to be good for his confidence), but also without any stumbling-block recommendations for more than the reserve role.
David Raum: At Hoffenheim something of a cross god last season, his crosses against Oman mostly landed in no man’s land and his corners were so harmless that Gündogan had to take over. But the Leipziger dangerously staged Moukoko shortly before the break, but he only hit the post. Regular place at the World Cup? Rather not. From the 46th minute Christian Günter: … with a place in the top eleven it should also be tight for Raum because his challenger from SC Freiburg was clearly more present. He provided more speed and danger. However, he was not in his position on the 72nd minute counterattack that saw Oman bitterly give up the lead. And counter-insurance is and will remain a big issue. The left defensive side, it remains a construction site. Perhaps the biggest in the DFB team.
Leon Goretzka: The Bavarian field plow was more conspicuous: His fine one-two with Leroy Sané in Oman’s penalty area initiated the national team’s first good situation. The Bayern professional also builds up the attack, which almost led to Yousouffa Moukoko taking the lead in injury time in the first half. In the heat of Muscat, he didn’t act as energetically as he did last time in Munich. From the 46th minute Joshua Kimmich: The midfield boss tried to take control of the game. He demanded a lot of balls, tried a lot. The fact that Germany played better was also due to him. But he had to curb his offensive urge and do a lot of sprints backwards. The DFB team was vulnerable to counterattacks by the hosts for the entire 90 minutes.
Ilkay Gündo?an: Manchester City’s midfield motor proved once again that he has outstanding technique and calmness on the ball, but he once again lacked assertiveness and intensity. Showed his scoring prowess with a long-range shot early in the second half. However, he was not lacking in commitment. Went an important way back as a six. For example, he blocked a shot by Jameel Al Yahmadi that could have been dangerous. Pushes into the first eleven, but can he actually hold his own in the center against the power house Goretzka/Joshua Kimmich? From the 65th minute Julian Brandt: The Dortmunder belonged to the stronger form in the club and indicated his good shape. Immediately after the substitution, he shot just wide. Remains a substitute player for the tournament in Qatar. But can be valuable as a joker. Because he has an outstanding shot.
Jonas Hofmann: The polyvalent and in-form player from Borussia Mönchengladbach mostly remained pale. Suffered a nasty turnover in the second half that led to Oman’s greatest chance and almost a goal from a completely free Muhsen Al Ghassani. Hofmann also played the opening pass to Havertz, who finally hung up for Niclas Füllkrug to win.
Kai Havertz: Was the only one who offered deep runs in the first half. A means that the Flick-Elf completely lacked. Took Goretzka’s one-two directly, but Oman keeper Al-Mukhaini parried just as well. In the second half with atypical play errors and little goal risk. But then he thoughtfully put down the goal of the day. Couldn’t advertise that he starts in the “ten”, his favorite position as a regular in Qatar. Is more likely to be the first option in the center of the attack anyway, although he now gets a lot of pressure there (see below).
Leroy Sané: Fell short of his chances in the first half, especially when you consider that the Bayern attacker has big plans for the World Cup. But like the entire German team, he picked up the pace in the second half. His speed dribbling on the left side of the penalty area led to a corner that Kehrer almost used to make it 1-0. Overall seemed very dissatisfied with himself and his game.
Youssoufa Moukoko: Was in focus because he was the youngest DFB debutant since Uwe Seeler. After that, however, the excitement seemed to gain the upper hand, because the BVB striker did not succeed at all. Shortly before the break, the 17-year-old played too imprecisely to Sané, which resulted in Oman’s next counterattack. The outsider comes forward on the left, then Al-Yahyaei is released on the right in the penalty area. The midfielder’s shot is just blocked. But then he almost managed to create his highlight in the style of a centre-forward: he took a cross from the left in the six-yard box with great technique and completed it at high speed: his shot hit the post.
From the 46th minute Niclas Füllkrug: Another debutant replaced Moukoko after the break and the Werder striker brought a breath of fresh air into the team. Thanks to his presence in the penalty area, the German offensive were able to play completely different balls into the middle from the outside. When the Omani back pass failed, Füllkrug suddenly ran towards the goal alone because he quickly sensed the situation. The goalkeeper parried his slightly underplaced shot to a corner. Ten minutes before the end, the attacker remains ice cold by perfectly taking a Havertz pass with the first contact and then deliberately passing the keeper to score the winning goal. Shortly afterwards he was (almost) right again, but his supposed 2-0 didn’t count because of an offside position.
RTL expert Steffen Freund even wanted to dare a gentle comparison to Miro Klose on TV, but then quickly rowed back and judged: “Füllkrug has come closest to a real number 9 since Klose.” In fact, the Bremen player has scored a lot of plus points in 45 minutes and should make at least a few short appearances in Qatar. Depending on the opponent, “gap” may also beckon as a starting eleven. However, he should not be chosen directly as a beacon of hope. Because although Klose didn’t have any international experience in 2002 either, Füllkrug still has to show his undisputed class against bigger nations. Then the dangerous Jamal Musialas, Thomas Müllers or Serge Gnabrys are on the field and could rob Füllkrug of the Rumpfelf place – or feed him with even better passes.
