Julián Nagelsmann understands this. In “this way” foreign football is tactically differentiated from club football. International camps do not lend themselves to the implementation of complex concepts and configurations. Coaches want to tailor taste to the (best) players, not the other way around, and the more the team’s roles and tactics reflect what the players do for their club, the 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 stars, the attacking midfielders of the fluid German quartet at Euro 2024. Their positional freedom and Germany’s fluid attack allowed them to win their first two games 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 games 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.
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My in my words. By Jamal Musiala
The back four and the two midfielders, Toni Kroos and Robert Andrich, play other constant roles. Kroos plays towards the left half-space, as he does at Real Madrid. This maximizes his passing range, encourages conflicting sides to press from the central block and compensates for a skilled Jonathan Tah as a left centre-back.
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 the friendlies: Germany automatically qualified as hosts and did not play any official matches between the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Seven of the 8 friendlies with Nagelsmann were against groups at this summer’s Euro Cup or Copa América ( Greece being the exception). These matches did not bring the threat of competitive qualifications, however, there were decisive tactical tests against quality urgent groups (Austria and France) and conflicting parties 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. Center back Antonio Rudiger attempted 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 we can lose against Germany, because their team is full of world-class players,” Hungary head coach Marco Rossi said. “Our tactics worked: we tried to push them to the wings, but our central defenders were behind (to 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 Fútbol (@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.
The construction? Kroos, from the left half, at the feet of Musiala. That attracted Hungarian right-back Bendeguz Bolla, even taking him away from Mittelstadt, which 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 additional positive for Nagelsguyn is that those goals came from six other goalscorers, with Fullkrug one target, providing something completely different for Havertz 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.
Ultimately, any flavor and scheme comes with risks/rewards and tactical failures, and the onus falls on Germany to dominate the matches. Partly because they are the host country, but also to move forward after their mistakes in 2018-2022, exiting the tournament twice at the organization level and once in the round of 16. The clean sheet against Hungary, the first of Germany in a major tournament since the 3-0 victory over Slovakia at Euro 2016 (14 games ago).
Their track record with this formula and this staff only gets better: Germany has won five and drawn the last six, winning 13-3 on aggregate and setting national records. Nagelsmann learned to coach foreign football very quickly.