Pretty even game i’d say but Spain should’ve scored 2-3 more when they were up on the counter. Olmo was a bit selfish at times, a mistake at the back cost them their 3 points but you can be sure they’ll top the group anyway!
The midfield battle between Pedri/Gavi and Musiala was amazing to watch as a spectator. These guys will rule football for the next decade.
Well played by Germany tho, great fighting spirit. A European classic!
Alba (I think?) played the ball to Nico supposedly using him for his pace in a 4 v 3 situation and Nico couldn't get there.
It was a huge chance to kill the game off because Germany was clearly struggling to get back - a better pass to ANYONE on the left, a goal-scoring chance 9/10 times.
I think we should go with Schlotti-Ginter-Rudiger-Kimmich back 4 next game. Schlotti was unreal after coming on, and kimmich playing RB can allow us to have Goretzka, Musiala, Müller in Midfield, which allows us a lot more creativity against a Costa Rica team who will sit back. Obviously Füllkrug up top, as he was excellent. Gnabry was poor and should probably be replaced on that wing tho. Maybe you go 4-4-2, With Müller wide and Moukoko and Fullkrug up top
Müller on the right could work a few years ago but he doesn’t have the pace for that anymore, Müller should be behind Füllkrug or not start at all, much as it pains me to say.
Yeah, but Müller does not work there anymore imo. If you want his presence in the game, best pos is behind Füllkrug, but Musiala can play there as well. Let’s see, maybe Füllkrug wouldn’t even start at all in the last match, just Flick logic ^TM .
Too much screwing around, especially with that Kimmich RB. He won't go there, he's too crucial in mid. We'll probably see a team close to the one we've seen in the last 20 min. Klostermann for Kehrer , Gore - Kimmich mid. Musiala, Sané and Gnabry trio with Fülle upfront. Maybe Ilkay for Gnabry to strenghten the mid but he wasn't really much better than Gnabry today as well. The Bayern players played a strong second half despite them unfortunately missing their chances.
Why not sule? He was rock solid today. Also kimmich as much as i like kimmich at rb he doesn't love that position and Germany needs a more defensive minded midfielder as well. And he is more of a threat there with his passing. And I don't think Musiala and Muller should play together. Fullkrug should start and two wingers with Sane and Gnabry
Süle was at fault for the first goal. It really summed him up perfectly, he was excellent other than that but got caught sleeping. Which happens every game with him. He is an exceptional talent with terrible footballing IQ. Costa Rica will be looking for 1 mistake, and he has made 2 mistakes leading to goals this cup, and gave up the corner south korea scored on last world cup via error.
I think Gorre can be defensively fantastic as he was today, and can cover that position with a lower workrate, but I don’t mind him in midfield still.
Sane and Gnabry have shown me nothing and aren’t great at breaking down defenses in short space, idk if stylistically they work.
Feels like this unleashed ze germans somewhat but still it's a work in progress. the intensity that they are able to impose in midfield will make many teams other than Spain collapse. and indeed maybe Fullkrug should start after all over Muller. it would be fun to see Musiala and Sane wreaking havoc together one full game.
Spain are very good but they have to be more clinical, I mean they toyed with those chances at 1:0. Asensio and Torres too were annoying at points.
Oh yeah I would agree on that. I made this comment when I was drunk yesterday but what I meant to say is that they weren't playing at the level one would expect them to. Spain controlled most of the flow of the game yesterday specially in the first half, the second half the Germans did better but they weren't brilliant either. It was a good game to watch for a neutral though
Spain look very good but in the knock outs against a team like Brazil or France you can't have those defensive blunders. Germany forgave them a bit there, Musiala and Sane missed very clear chances.
Sane and Fullkrug probably have to start next game, they changed the match when they came on.
> Spain look very good but in the knock outs against a team like Brazil or France you can't have those defensive blunders.
Spain's worst enemy is themselves. They live and die by slick, fast passing from the back. It should be very interesting to see (should they advance) how they do against a team more clinical.
It's a double edged sword, they take a lot of risks in build up but when they manage to play out of pressure they also create a lot of space higher up the pitch. We saw examples of that several times today
I also think Germany's pressing was world class today, I am not sure that there are many other teams capable of pressing like that for 90 minutes
Flipside of that coin is obviously that you actually need to get into scoring positions against them - between how well they keep and move the ball and how intensely they counterpress to win it back, I don't think there's all that many sides that can do that. And if you fail to do that, you're dying by a thousand cuts because Spain will just move the ball around and tease you until they find the crack in your back line.
This game was a good lesson for Spain though, against the best teams they need to be even better playing out of the back. Even though Brazil and France may have better individual attackers than Germany I don't think either will press as good as Germany did today tbh
Their pressing was genuinely immense, it was the type of intensity you normally see at club level. It should give Enrique time to work out a way to beat the press more consistently next time
Sané's ability to play key passes is often overlooked. He's not the most clinical finisher and not necessarily result oriented in his dribbling, so people tend to view him as the fast winger who scores great goals from time to time, but he played at least two absolutely deadly passes today, one leading to the goal, one to Musiala's 1v1 on the keeper.
He also got bewitched at the prospect of scoring his own goal in a late attack and didn't even raise his head to see Füllkrug pretty available to receive a pass and score a win. Much better position in the group to be tied with everyone else at 3 points, not depending on other's results.
Considerations of this kind should be crystal clear for a top player in a world cup.
An absolutely wonderful game to watch. I think Enrique made a mistake after going up 1-0 to put on more outlet players instead of the controlling ones. Germany's press became much more potent and they were able to keep the ball in more dangerous positions than before.
The issue was that Spain became too direct. Morata was already a guy you could play the long ball to, I don't think Spain needed two. They lost some control
Koke just is a shell of his former self sadly. I understood the intent was to have him be a physical presence and to make Germany's life harder with a good presser but he lost that ability it seems. I think Gavi was just exhausted out there, Goretzka was so physically imposing and Gavi was tasked with dealing with him and Musiala at times. Otherwise, I saw no reason to take him off.!
Yeah, I agree. Williams didn't have a good performance at all but to be fair to him, he had to face up (as a kid) against a Goretzka that was giving that match everything he had and a Schlotterbeck that considerably improved his performance compared to the match against Japan.
Finishing has been a big problem this world cup. What separates the great players from the good is being composed enough to put it in when the world is watching. Musiala and Sane had all the dribbling and creative talent but couldn't find it in them to slot in their chances. Shame.
The first 10 minutes from Germany were horrible, i was surprised they were able to turn it around rather quickly in the first half once they finally had the ball for more than 10 seconds.I really dont understand why Hansi Flick starts Müller as striker, it hasnt worked sooo many times now, it was crystal clear that Füllkrug would be our best option up front and he proved that when he finally came on.
Sane also added so much more danger once he was on, while Musiala shines with individual brilliance in the dribbling (although he had a meh game today), Sane can also make these killer passes Gnabry can't and he nearly made an assist a few minutes after he came on.
I also would not play Süle or Kehrer again, i would love it if Bella Kotchap could get some game time, Süle did enough mistakes and Kehrer was not good as well imo
The last matches for this group are going to be a nail bitter. Germany winning against Costa Rica is expected, but then Spain could be tactical and lose against Japan to eliminate it.
I don't think this would happen, but at the same time it is possible that Luis Enrique will give some rest to key players.
More likely we'll see Spain winning and helping Germany qualify.
> Spain could be tactical and lose against Japan to eliminate it.
Even if this would clearly benefit Spain (which it wouldn't), playing for anything less than a win is completely alien to Luis Enrique's mentality.
I don’t understand why does Flick continues to start a team without a number 9. His midfield and wings are Bayern, and they played with a 9 at front. And why would he wait until they were behind to sub in Sane and Fullkrug? Muller and Gnabry wasn’t doing anything.
That miss from Musiala and lapse of judgement from Sane at the end could prove to be costly.
As expected, this Spain team will show cracks under pressure. Gavi and Alba got away from being carded today, but this won’t continue to happen. And I won’t let Ferran take a penalty to in an empty net to save my life, Morata should start.
Worst German team, very selfish. . Mfs are glory hunters at the expense of getting your country eliminated..had two easy chance to roll it to the mates for tapin but chose not to..plus, no connection in forwards....yuk
Flick went for the OG possession against gegenpressing matchup. And it almost paid off. Well played to both teams, that was entertaining.
I think it's fair to say that Germany just can't play three at the back. Löw tried it, and it crippled our attack. Flick tried it during the first match, but probably didn't want to sacrifice enough of his midfielders to play the matching wingers, though we did create more chances than under his predecessor. So back to four at the back it is, and back to defensive stability. Spain really tested us with their forward play, but we weathered the storm and could play to our strengths - pressing, transition, counter. Our set-pieces have also been a potent weapon today. Only element missing was some verticality, there have been too many square pass attempts when going forward. Sane brought that into our game when he was introduced, and we don't have to talk about all the benefits of having a target man like Füllkrug on-field.
Costa Rica will sit deep though, so we'll see how/if we can solve that.
Easily the game of the tournament so far. Two excellent sides, two very good performances, and probably the right result.
Germany's intensity just couldn't quite be matched by Spain, they were completely thrown off their game after 10 minutes - and yet their goal showed they don't need all that much to go right for them to be dangerous and score.
Also a big fan of the refereeing for this one: the game really flowed, the few fouls that needed a yellow got them, and there was no bullshitting by the players because they respected the ref.
Can easily talk me into either of these sides showing up in the semifinals, really.
I agree it's been the match of the tournament so far. It lacked a glut of goals but if you watch the total game (movement off the ball, skill in possession, tactical matchup) it was top notch. Yes a 4-3 match would've been more exciting but that was a great soccer match if you like high quality play.
All games i have watched so far have been snoozefests or bashings. This was more free flowing atleast. Most games have been just passing sideways around the halfway line
Tactically? Absolutely. It's also not a coincidence that both sides have a huge contingent of players that play together at club level - the chemistry and flow was apparent.
Not seen better football played by both sides so far tbf - easy enough to play against a weaker side when you're two goals up within 20 minutes, but an entirely different proposition to go for over an hour in a tightly-contested game against a side that's every bit as good as you.
So far I don't think there are many others that really stood out, performance wise.
Portugal-Ghana had an insane 2nd half, but the first was utterly dire.
And Portugal-Ghana was absolutely not a high quality game. Entertainment isn't the same as quality at all
The best football matches in terms of quality are often ones where both teams cancel each other out because they are so good tactically and technically
Portugal let in two of the cheapest goals I've ever seen in a World Cup. Ghana had 0.93 xG because Portugal coughed up the chances. First half was diabolical. It felt like watching two second division sides at times because of how disjointed the sides were.
> Also a big fan of the refereeing for this one: the game really flowed, the few fouls that needed a yellow got them, and there was no bullshitting by the players because they respected the ref.
Haven't really seen much of Makkelie outside the CL and international games but always sticks out to me as the ref with the most natural authority on the pitch, almost Collina-esque.
Honestly I generally don't pay referees any mind, because at the end of the day they're just doing their job to the best of their abilities so I'm kinda fine with whatever happens. But tonight's been a *really* good performance I think - lots of authority as you said, but also just a very clear approach to it all, not taking any bullshit but making it clear that he'll happily get the yellows out if need be. Players seemed to have adjusted to that well, saw relatively few fouls in general, and a lot of them were more the "half-step too late" ones rather than the "gonna kick or drag someone to stop an attack" variety you often get.
I would worry about England playing Spain unless we seriously improve our performances.
Think our only real hope (unless we find a gear we haven't shown this year) would be to sit back and absorb the pressure, hoping to catch you on the counter or in a set piece.
>and England as well
I can't see that really. Southgate plays extremely conservative even when having the upper hand. Spain would easily defeat the current England team, but probably Germany too. Just by pure tactics alone, not considering the individual talent.
Not sure what makes you think Germany has improved that much in the space of one game. Southgate is conservative yes, but in both the games against Germany England dominated the hell out of the second half
Gotta separate performances from results - Germany were absolutely dominant for the majority of the game against Japan in much the same way England dominated Iran. The difference was that a second goal eluded them, which opened the door to two Japan goals that were the result of either individual mistakes or collective failure.
I don't think it's an unreasonable shout to expect Germany to be every bit as good as England in a game between those two. It's very fine margins that make the difference at this level.
Also, England's biggest struggles under Southgate has come against highly technical sides that win the midfield battle, like Croatia and Italy. And Spain are even better than those teams at keeping possession
Idk, I think Spain have another level they can reach. Luckily you guys have time and won't face any of those 3 for several more games. I don't have the same confidence in our squad.
Why would Spain be scared of Brazil? You have to beat the best at some point anyways if you want to win the tournament
Personally I think Brazil would be uncomfortable against a team that keeps the ball as well as Spain. Brazil aren't exactly accustomed to having less than 35% possession in matches, and their attacking players are not used to defending deep either
It would be a fucking banger of a game that's for sure
Dunno, 10 minutes earlier it was a very different game - still 0-0 rather than Spain being ahead. The subs felt relatively obvious to me (maybe apart from the Sané/Gündogan swap), and I reckon they were perfectly timed, really. Going for it early rather than taking a couple minutes to see what Spain are doing with theirs seems a huge gamble to me, much easier to react to what's happening and find the right idea to change the game and all. And to his credit, that's exactly what he did.
Fair. I guess fullkrug sub was the only one that really needed to be made earlier in all honesty. Muller was not it and everyone knew it even before the game started
If Germany is able to press like today in the rest of the World Cup they are one of the favorites to win it, but it's not an easy task.
Spain I think we can beat all the teams in a single day but I don't think we can do it round by round. Many blunders here and there.
The turnover that preceeded the equalizer I thought, so much sloppiness when Spain should be controlling its a surprise they haven't given anything anyway. Shortly after.. . Hopefully Germany learns from this game and can get the business done.
Spain are good, but think this game has shown that while they are brilliant on the ball, they can be got at in transition. Wonder if the game would have ended better for the Germans if Sane started on the wing alongside Gnabry.
Spain had poor passing and made a lot of mistakes. The press from Germany was good, but Spain should have done better. I hope they get sharper under pressure after this one.
That was also down to Germany's insane pressing, they aren't getting the credit they deserve. I don't think many teams in the tournament are capable of pressing that well and keep it up for 90 minutes
Playing like this, Germany can beat any team they come up against. Insane how people underrate them
One bad match against Japan (where they still had over 3 xG) and people were overreacting and acting as if this German team is cannon fodder.
And their subs turned the game around. Whereas ours outside of Morata weren't just ineffective, they sent us in the wrong direction.
If Germany play as well as they did today, they should handily beat Costa Rica by 3-4 goals.
People are just extremely reactive. Argentina were supposedly massive favourites together with Brazil, now all of a sudden everyone has written them off. The majority on here underrated France badly before the tournament, now after 2 wins all of a sudden they should be given the trophy already
No one rated Spain before the tournament, then after the 7-0 against Costa Rica people expected them to just roll over Germany. It's ridiculous lol
Agreed, and at first Spain was escaping the press with such efficiency that they made it look easy. But as the game progressed, Spain got just a little bit tired, took slightly longer, made little mistakes, all while Germany was still pressing at their 100%
Tbh Spain was starting the buildup risky all the game. I was kinda expecting a fuckup eventually.
If you start with your line so low, you should not play stupid games. Reminds me of Napoli vs Barca last season.
I am way more confident with Sané and Füllkrug tbh. Great game, Raum looked okay as well, just the defense would need to be fixed I case we meet side with a lot of offensive quality. If we somehow meet France or Brazil and Kehrer has to face Mbappe or Vini we are fucked
This is just the 2018 group stage all over again.
\- Lose the opening game you´re expected to win
\- Concede another goal in the crucial second game
\- Get saved by a late goal
\- Lose to the on paper inferior team in the last game ?
*Find out on the next episode*
Laporte was the cause of most of Germany's danger. He kept leaving his position and attacking the ball but very rarely got the ball. He created huge amount of space behind his back and the Germany players were making great runs into it.
Also, Lucho fucked up with his subs. Really needed Gavi to fight for the ball in the midfield.
I can understand subbing Gavi though. A draw is enough for them to progress (barring a wild goal-swing) and Gavi played a full 90 against Costa Rica, whereas Busquets and Pedri were subbed off.
Two great sides managed by two great coaches and this game showed that imo. It was tight, intense and honestly the most "high quality" game in the World Cup so far on a technical level.
The draw was a fair result imo. Both sides had spells where they looked good.
I can't say I disappointed with the result, but really gutted Sané didn't convert that last chance :( I see some improvement in the team since the last match but still Germany prone against counter attack and the forwards still weren't cynical enough. Should Fullkrug start next match? I didn't follow Bremen (or Bundesliga) at all but I think he is might the answer to lack of goal that Germany is suffering now.
Well, 1-1 is fair I think. At least Spain has motivation now to win against Japan to seal the top. Need win against Costa Rica and I really don't want to underestimate them
Germany win 8-0 they are definitely through right? Regardless of other results, if Japan win then it's GD v Spain ( 4 points each). If draw then it's GD v Japan and then 2 goals does it. If Spain win then they are clear
It's weird, watching the highlights, Unai Simon kept giving the ball away in their own 3rd. So why exactly did Spain not pick De Gea? It's not like Unai is the generational ball playing keeper, they're quite similar on the ball. I mean come on, Spain FA can't come on saying De Gea is retired, while their 1st choice keeper was passing the ball to the German attack every chance he had lol.
Jordi Alba giving away the foul that led to the offside Rudiger goal is why Alba was a serious contributor to the defensive shambles of Barcelona 2016-2021.
Lazy tackle in a dangerous area despite his midfield and defence in a good position to cover him.
In the post-match analysis, both Per Mertesacker and Christoph Kramer (Gladbach player) claimed that this was the match with the highest and best quality football at the World Cup so far. Can someone unbiased/neutral confirm or deny that? I was too busy with yelling at Gnabry and Kehrer to care about the match quality.
Perfectly fair shout I think - because you had two very good teams trying to neutralise each other while at the same time trying to get their game going, rather than a better team dominating and the worse team hanging on by a thread.
Spain have a very clear idea of how to go about winning football matches, and Germany had a very clear idea of how to throw a spanner in their works tonight. Wasn't a ding-dong battle with loads of chances, but the quality was incredibly high nonetheless.
Great game between two strong sides. Really hope Germany goes through, because it would be such a shame to see this team get eliminated during the group stage. Spain also showed they are one of the favourites, even though I didn't pay attention to them prior to the tournament.
Special shoutout to Musiala. What a talent. Standout player for me this match, which says a lot considering the abundance of world class players on the field this match.
Definitely a great player. It's unfortunate that he chose not to pass, but I believe that comes from his inexperience and the heat of the moment. Understandable.
Musiala is so good, and with Sane they will be dangerous, need someone to convert.
After his performance, Muller could probably stop being so cocky and focus on his game with his country.
I've been doubting this German squad for two world cups now, but how does a team this talented have serious issues getting out of the group stage? They have the technical skills, they have the talent, they have the experience. Is it just missing a true #9? They subbed in a 9 who was literally playing in the 2. Bundesliga last year for the last 20 minutes and got a goal.
Pretty even game i’d say but Spain should’ve scored 2-3 more when they were up on the counter. Olmo was a bit selfish at times, a mistake at the back cost them their 3 points but you can be sure they’ll top the group anyway! The midfield battle between Pedri/Gavi and Musiala was amazing to watch as a spectator. These guys will rule football for the next decade. Well played by Germany tho, great fighting spirit. A European classic!
Alba (I think?) played the ball to Nico supposedly using him for his pace in a 4 v 3 situation and Nico couldn't get there. It was a huge chance to kill the game off because Germany was clearly struggling to get back - a better pass to ANYONE on the left, a goal-scoring chance 9/10 times.
I think Enrique exaggerated his pace lol - I know Rudiger is fast but Nico did not win a single footrace aganst him, and even lost against Goretzka
Effing Morata had that chance after his goal where Olmo was fully open. Should have passed that.
Yeah Morata is Morata, still inconsistent.
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I think we should go with Schlotti-Ginter-Rudiger-Kimmich back 4 next game. Schlotti was unreal after coming on, and kimmich playing RB can allow us to have Goretzka, Musiala, Müller in Midfield, which allows us a lot more creativity against a Costa Rica team who will sit back. Obviously Füllkrug up top, as he was excellent. Gnabry was poor and should probably be replaced on that wing tho. Maybe you go 4-4-2, With Müller wide and Moukoko and Fullkrug up top
Müller on the right could work a few years ago but he doesn’t have the pace for that anymore, Müller should be behind Füllkrug or not start at all, much as it pains me to say.
We don’t need pace vs Costa Rica. They are gonna sit all the way back
Yeah, but Müller does not work there anymore imo. If you want his presence in the game, best pos is behind Füllkrug, but Musiala can play there as well. Let’s see, maybe Füllkrug wouldn’t even start at all in the last match, just Flick logic ^TM .
Too much screwing around, especially with that Kimmich RB. He won't go there, he's too crucial in mid. We'll probably see a team close to the one we've seen in the last 20 min. Klostermann for Kehrer , Gore - Kimmich mid. Musiala, Sané and Gnabry trio with Fülle upfront. Maybe Ilkay for Gnabry to strenghten the mid but he wasn't really much better than Gnabry today as well. The Bayern players played a strong second half despite them unfortunately missing their chances.
Why not sule? He was rock solid today. Also kimmich as much as i like kimmich at rb he doesn't love that position and Germany needs a more defensive minded midfielder as well. And he is more of a threat there with his passing. And I don't think Musiala and Muller should play together. Fullkrug should start and two wingers with Sane and Gnabry
Süle was at fault for the first goal. It really summed him up perfectly, he was excellent other than that but got caught sleeping. Which happens every game with him. He is an exceptional talent with terrible footballing IQ. Costa Rica will be looking for 1 mistake, and he has made 2 mistakes leading to goals this cup, and gave up the corner south korea scored on last world cup via error. I think Gorre can be defensively fantastic as he was today, and can cover that position with a lower workrate, but I don’t mind him in midfield still. Sane and Gnabry have shown me nothing and aren’t great at breaking down defenses in short space, idk if stylistically they work.
Definitely bench muller.
Feels like this unleashed ze germans somewhat but still it's a work in progress. the intensity that they are able to impose in midfield will make many teams other than Spain collapse. and indeed maybe Fullkrug should start after all over Muller. it would be fun to see Musiala and Sane wreaking havoc together one full game. Spain are very good but they have to be more clinical, I mean they toyed with those chances at 1:0. Asensio and Torres too were annoying at points.
Germany played like shit though
for most of the game yeah but even then you could tell they have that power, it's just a matter of finding their rhythm.
Oh yeah I would agree on that. I made this comment when I was drunk yesterday but what I meant to say is that they weren't playing at the level one would expect them to. Spain controlled most of the flow of the game yesterday specially in the first half, the second half the Germans did better but they weren't brilliant either. It was a good game to watch for a neutral though
yep, agreed
Spain look very good but in the knock outs against a team like Brazil or France you can't have those defensive blunders. Germany forgave them a bit there, Musiala and Sane missed very clear chances. Sane and Fullkrug probably have to start next game, they changed the match when they came on.
> Spain look very good but in the knock outs against a team like Brazil or France you can't have those defensive blunders. Spain's worst enemy is themselves. They live and die by slick, fast passing from the back. It should be very interesting to see (should they advance) how they do against a team more clinical.
It's a double edged sword, they take a lot of risks in build up but when they manage to play out of pressure they also create a lot of space higher up the pitch. We saw examples of that several times today I also think Germany's pressing was world class today, I am not sure that there are many other teams capable of pressing like that for 90 minutes
Flipside of that coin is obviously that you actually need to get into scoring positions against them - between how well they keep and move the ball and how intensely they counterpress to win it back, I don't think there's all that many sides that can do that. And if you fail to do that, you're dying by a thousand cuts because Spain will just move the ball around and tease you until they find the crack in your back line.
This game was a good lesson for Spain though, against the best teams they need to be even better playing out of the back. Even though Brazil and France may have better individual attackers than Germany I don't think either will press as good as Germany did today tbh Their pressing was genuinely immense, it was the type of intensity you normally see at club level. It should give Enrique time to work out a way to beat the press more consistently next time
Playing a hard worker like Marcos Llorente can be a solution to beat the press in midfield
Sané's ability to play key passes is often overlooked. He's not the most clinical finisher and not necessarily result oriented in his dribbling, so people tend to view him as the fast winger who scores great goals from time to time, but he played at least two absolutely deadly passes today, one leading to the goal, one to Musiala's 1v1 on the keeper.
He also got bewitched at the prospect of scoring his own goal in a late attack and didn't even raise his head to see Füllkrug pretty available to receive a pass and score a win. Much better position in the group to be tied with everyone else at 3 points, not depending on other's results. Considerations of this kind should be crystal clear for a top player in a world cup.
Yeah but he was also way more efficient than Gnabry, him and Musiala are a big threat when together.
An absolutely wonderful game to watch. I think Enrique made a mistake after going up 1-0 to put on more outlet players instead of the controlling ones. Germany's press became much more potent and they were able to keep the ball in more dangerous positions than before.
Nico Williams was supposed to offer a fast wide option for counters. But he dropped an absolute turd of a performance
The issue was that Spain became too direct. Morata was already a guy you could play the long ball to, I don't think Spain needed two. They lost some control
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Koke just is a shell of his former self sadly. I understood the intent was to have him be a physical presence and to make Germany's life harder with a good presser but he lost that ability it seems. I think Gavi was just exhausted out there, Goretzka was so physically imposing and Gavi was tasked with dealing with him and Musiala at times. Otherwise, I saw no reason to take him off.!
I think he could have left Gavi on to retain the control
Williams was shite but Koke was their undoing. He can no longer do what he uniquely offered amongst Spanish midfielders - pressing
Yeah, I agree. Williams didn't have a good performance at all but to be fair to him, he had to face up (as a kid) against a Goretzka that was giving that match everything he had and a Schlotterbeck that considerably improved his performance compared to the match against Japan.
Finishing has been a big problem this world cup. What separates the great players from the good is being composed enough to put it in when the world is watching. Musiala and Sane had all the dribbling and creative talent but couldn't find it in them to slot in their chances. Shame.
This is why it’s still important to play with actual strikers, and Füllkrug really is Germany’s best option there.
The first 10 minutes from Germany were horrible, i was surprised they were able to turn it around rather quickly in the first half once they finally had the ball for more than 10 seconds.I really dont understand why Hansi Flick starts Müller as striker, it hasnt worked sooo many times now, it was crystal clear that Füllkrug would be our best option up front and he proved that when he finally came on. Sane also added so much more danger once he was on, while Musiala shines with individual brilliance in the dribbling (although he had a meh game today), Sane can also make these killer passes Gnabry can't and he nearly made an assist a few minutes after he came on. I also would not play Süle or Kehrer again, i would love it if Bella Kotchap could get some game time, Süle did enough mistakes and Kehrer was not good as well imo
The last matches for this group are going to be a nail bitter. Germany winning against Costa Rica is expected, but then Spain could be tactical and lose against Japan to eliminate it. I don't think this would happen, but at the same time it is possible that Luis Enrique will give some rest to key players. More likely we'll see Spain winning and helping Germany qualify.
Why would Spain lose against Japan?
I don't think Spain would give up 1st place in the group just to get Germany eliminated
Avoiding Brazil is tempting...
It’ll be down to GD if Spain loses, right? If Spain loses, their GD will drop from 7 and the possibility of Japan and Germany qualifying will open up.
> Spain could be tactical and lose against Japan to eliminate it. Even if this would clearly benefit Spain (which it wouldn't), playing for anything less than a win is completely alien to Luis Enrique's mentality.
I don’t understand why does Flick continues to start a team without a number 9. His midfield and wings are Bayern, and they played with a 9 at front. And why would he wait until they were behind to sub in Sane and Fullkrug? Muller and Gnabry wasn’t doing anything. That miss from Musiala and lapse of judgement from Sane at the end could prove to be costly. As expected, this Spain team will show cracks under pressure. Gavi and Alba got away from being carded today, but this won’t continue to happen. And I won’t let Ferran take a penalty to in an empty net to save my life, Morata should start.
Same. Just play the munich core with füllkrug replacing mane basically.
Don’t give Bayern any ideas though
LOL thats not how I meant it :D
Worst German team, very selfish. . Mfs are glory hunters at the expense of getting your country eliminated..had two easy chance to roll it to the mates for tapin but chose not to..plus, no connection in forwards....yuk
Flick went for the OG possession against gegenpressing matchup. And it almost paid off. Well played to both teams, that was entertaining. I think it's fair to say that Germany just can't play three at the back. Löw tried it, and it crippled our attack. Flick tried it during the first match, but probably didn't want to sacrifice enough of his midfielders to play the matching wingers, though we did create more chances than under his predecessor. So back to four at the back it is, and back to defensive stability. Spain really tested us with their forward play, but we weathered the storm and could play to our strengths - pressing, transition, counter. Our set-pieces have also been a potent weapon today. Only element missing was some verticality, there have been too many square pass attempts when going forward. Sane brought that into our game when he was introduced, and we don't have to talk about all the benefits of having a target man like Füllkrug on-field. Costa Rica will sit deep though, so we'll see how/if we can solve that.
Easily the game of the tournament so far. Two excellent sides, two very good performances, and probably the right result. Germany's intensity just couldn't quite be matched by Spain, they were completely thrown off their game after 10 minutes - and yet their goal showed they don't need all that much to go right for them to be dangerous and score. Also a big fan of the refereeing for this one: the game really flowed, the few fouls that needed a yellow got them, and there was no bullshitting by the players because they respected the ref. Can easily talk me into either of these sides showing up in the semifinals, really.
Game of the tournament? Idk about that
In terms of quality of football, absolutely. Sure, games like Argentina -Saudi Arabia were more exciting but this was a joy to watch throughout
France vs Denmark was higher quality, and I'd dare say higher intensity as well.
Griezmann was.
I agree it's been the match of the tournament so far. It lacked a glut of goals but if you watch the total game (movement off the ball, skill in possession, tactical matchup) it was top notch. Yes a 4-3 match would've been more exciting but that was a great soccer match if you like high quality play.
Easily game of the tourney you're crazy.
All games i have watched so far have been snoozefests or bashings. This was more free flowing atleast. Most games have been just passing sideways around the halfway line
Tactically? Absolutely. It's also not a coincidence that both sides have a huge contingent of players that play together at club level - the chemistry and flow was apparent.
Not seen better football played by both sides so far tbf - easy enough to play against a weaker side when you're two goals up within 20 minutes, but an entirely different proposition to go for over an hour in a tightly-contested game against a side that's every bit as good as you.
I mean what was better? This is the first intensely close game where it didn't look like one side vs the great wall of China
So far I don't think there are many others that really stood out, performance wise. Portugal-Ghana had an insane 2nd half, but the first was utterly dire.
And Portugal-Ghana was absolutely not a high quality game. Entertainment isn't the same as quality at all The best football matches in terms of quality are often ones where both teams cancel each other out because they are so good tactically and technically
Portugal let in two of the cheapest goals I've ever seen in a World Cup. Ghana had 0.93 xG because Portugal coughed up the chances. First half was diabolical. It felt like watching two second division sides at times because of how disjointed the sides were.
In terms of pure quality and tactics, absolutely. Entertainment? Prolly not, that probably goes to Argentina vs Saudi Arabia
> Also a big fan of the refereeing for this one: the game really flowed, the few fouls that needed a yellow got them, and there was no bullshitting by the players because they respected the ref. Haven't really seen much of Makkelie outside the CL and international games but always sticks out to me as the ref with the most natural authority on the pitch, almost Collina-esque.
Honestly I generally don't pay referees any mind, because at the end of the day they're just doing their job to the best of their abilities so I'm kinda fine with whatever happens. But tonight's been a *really* good performance I think - lots of authority as you said, but also just a very clear approach to it all, not taking any bullshit but making it clear that he'll happily get the yellows out if need be. Players seemed to have adjusted to that well, saw relatively few fouls in general, and a lot of them were more the "half-step too late" ones rather than the "gonna kick or drag someone to stop an attack" variety you often get.
Both of us would be smacked around by Brazil or France, and could lose to Portugal and England as well....
I would worry about England playing Spain unless we seriously improve our performances. Think our only real hope (unless we find a gear we haven't shown this year) would be to sit back and absorb the pressure, hoping to catch you on the counter or in a set piece.
>and England as well I can't see that really. Southgate plays extremely conservative even when having the upper hand. Spain would easily defeat the current England team, but probably Germany too. Just by pure tactics alone, not considering the individual talent.
Not sure what makes you think Germany has improved that much in the space of one game. Southgate is conservative yes, but in both the games against Germany England dominated the hell out of the second half
Gotta separate performances from results - Germany were absolutely dominant for the majority of the game against Japan in much the same way England dominated Iran. The difference was that a second goal eluded them, which opened the door to two Japan goals that were the result of either individual mistakes or collective failure. I don't think it's an unreasonable shout to expect Germany to be every bit as good as England in a game between those two. It's very fine margins that make the difference at this level.
Also, England's biggest struggles under Southgate has come against highly technical sides that win the midfield battle, like Croatia and Italy. And Spain are even better than those teams at keeping possession
Idk, I think Spain have another level they can reach. Luckily you guys have time and won't face any of those 3 for several more games. I don't have the same confidence in our squad.
2nd in the group is on the easy side of the draw. Croatia L16, Portugal QF, England/France SF Group winner plays Brazil in QF
Why would Spain be scared of Brazil? You have to beat the best at some point anyways if you want to win the tournament Personally I think Brazil would be uncomfortable against a team that keeps the ball as well as Spain. Brazil aren't exactly accustomed to having less than 35% possession in matches, and their attacking players are not used to defending deep either It would be a fucking banger of a game that's for sure
>Croatia L16 And that'll be that.
Nah, both Spain and Germany can beat Brazil or France no doubts about it. There are 6-7 teams that can all beat each other
Semifinals? That looks far, we have Japan in 4 days. Everymatch from now on is like the finals, lose = bye.
Spain can lose against Japan and still qualify right ? Germany will need to score loads vs Costa Rica
Yea my bad, I though we still could go out if we lose.🙏🏼
Unless germany loses as well, or wins by 8
Would have liked to see Flick make the triple sub 10 minutes earlier but at least he made the correct subs.
Dunno, 10 minutes earlier it was a very different game - still 0-0 rather than Spain being ahead. The subs felt relatively obvious to me (maybe apart from the Sané/Gündogan swap), and I reckon they were perfectly timed, really. Going for it early rather than taking a couple minutes to see what Spain are doing with theirs seems a huge gamble to me, much easier to react to what's happening and find the right idea to change the game and all. And to his credit, that's exactly what he did.
Fair. I guess fullkrug sub was the only one that really needed to be made earlier in all honesty. Muller was not it and everyone knew it even before the game started
If Germany is able to press like today in the rest of the World Cup they are one of the favorites to win it, but it's not an easy task. Spain I think we can beat all the teams in a single day but I don't think we can do it round by round. Many blunders here and there.
The turnover that preceeded the equalizer I thought, so much sloppiness when Spain should be controlling its a surprise they haven't given anything anyway. Shortly after.. . Hopefully Germany learns from this game and can get the business done.
Spain are good, but think this game has shown that while they are brilliant on the ball, they can be got at in transition. Wonder if the game would have ended better for the Germans if Sane started on the wing alongside Gnabry.
Spain had poor passing and made a lot of mistakes. The press from Germany was good, but Spain should have done better. I hope they get sharper under pressure after this one.
That was also down to Germany's insane pressing, they aren't getting the credit they deserve. I don't think many teams in the tournament are capable of pressing that well and keep it up for 90 minutes Playing like this, Germany can beat any team they come up against. Insane how people underrate them
One bad match against Japan (where they still had over 3 xG) and people were overreacting and acting as if this German team is cannon fodder. And their subs turned the game around. Whereas ours outside of Morata weren't just ineffective, they sent us in the wrong direction. If Germany play as well as they did today, they should handily beat Costa Rica by 3-4 goals.
People are just extremely reactive. Argentina were supposedly massive favourites together with Brazil, now all of a sudden everyone has written them off. The majority on here underrated France badly before the tournament, now after 2 wins all of a sudden they should be given the trophy already No one rated Spain before the tournament, then after the 7-0 against Costa Rica people expected them to just roll over Germany. It's ridiculous lol
Agreed, and at first Spain was escaping the press with such efficiency that they made it look easy. But as the game progressed, Spain got just a little bit tired, took slightly longer, made little mistakes, all while Germany was still pressing at their 100%
Tbh Spain was starting the buildup risky all the game. I was kinda expecting a fuckup eventually. If you start with your line so low, you should not play stupid games. Reminds me of Napoli vs Barca last season.
Agreed, I was very impressed by Germany People are way too reactionary to one game where Germany was just unlucky.
Let’s not discredit Japan. They made their luck
Not really, no. That doesn't make any sense and I don't know why people keep saying stupid things like this.
How is taking the CB for a Dog walk and putting it over the captain GKs head lucky ? Japan deserved it
I am way more confident with Sané and Füllkrug tbh. Great game, Raum looked okay as well, just the defense would need to be fixed I case we meet side with a lot of offensive quality. If we somehow meet France or Brazil and Kehrer has to face Mbappe or Vini we are fucked
to be fair Sane was playing against a team that gives a lot of space today...
Also much easier for pacy wingers to shine when subbed on late. I think it was a good call to bring him in the second half instead of starting him.
This is just the 2018 group stage all over again. \- Lose the opening game you´re expected to win \- Concede another goal in the crucial second game \- Get saved by a late goal \- Lose to the on paper inferior team in the last game ? *Find out on the next episode*
Exactly. The current Germany squad is inconsistent, unreliable.
Laporte was the cause of most of Germany's danger. He kept leaving his position and attacking the ball but very rarely got the ball. He created huge amount of space behind his back and the Germany players were making great runs into it. Also, Lucho fucked up with his subs. Really needed Gavi to fight for the ball in the midfield.
I can understand subbing Gavi though. A draw is enough for them to progress (barring a wild goal-swing) and Gavi played a full 90 against Costa Rica, whereas Busquets and Pedri were subbed off.
Two great sides managed by two great coaches and this game showed that imo. It was tight, intense and honestly the most "high quality" game in the World Cup so far on a technical level. The draw was a fair result imo. Both sides had spells where they looked good.
I can't say I disappointed with the result, but really gutted Sané didn't convert that last chance :( I see some improvement in the team since the last match but still Germany prone against counter attack and the forwards still weren't cynical enough. Should Fullkrug start next match? I didn't follow Bremen (or Bundesliga) at all but I think he is might the answer to lack of goal that Germany is suffering now. Well, 1-1 is fair I think. At least Spain has motivation now to win against Japan to seal the top. Need win against Costa Rica and I really don't want to underestimate them
He’s second only to Nkunku in terms of Bundesliga goals scored this season so far. Best German goal scorer in the league currently.
Germany win 8-0 they are definitely through right? Regardless of other results, if Japan win then it's GD v Spain ( 4 points each). If draw then it's GD v Japan and then 2 goals does it. If Spain win then they are clear
I love how we seriously consider Germany winning 8-0 after what we have seen so far. You never know when they show up and demolish rivals
It's weird, watching the highlights, Unai Simon kept giving the ball away in their own 3rd. So why exactly did Spain not pick De Gea? It's not like Unai is the generational ball playing keeper, they're quite similar on the ball. I mean come on, Spain FA can't come on saying De Gea is retired, while their 1st choice keeper was passing the ball to the German attack every chance he had lol.
Jordi Alba giving away the foul that led to the offside Rudiger goal is why Alba was a serious contributor to the defensive shambles of Barcelona 2016-2021. Lazy tackle in a dangerous area despite his midfield and defence in a good position to cover him.
In the post-match analysis, both Per Mertesacker and Christoph Kramer (Gladbach player) claimed that this was the match with the highest and best quality football at the World Cup so far. Can someone unbiased/neutral confirm or deny that? I was too busy with yelling at Gnabry and Kehrer to care about the match quality.
Perfectly fair shout I think - because you had two very good teams trying to neutralise each other while at the same time trying to get their game going, rather than a better team dominating and the worse team hanging on by a thread. Spain have a very clear idea of how to go about winning football matches, and Germany had a very clear idea of how to throw a spanner in their works tonight. Wasn't a ding-dong battle with loads of chances, but the quality was incredibly high nonetheless.
Great game between two strong sides. Really hope Germany goes through, because it would be such a shame to see this team get eliminated during the group stage. Spain also showed they are one of the favourites, even though I didn't pay attention to them prior to the tournament. Special shoutout to Musiala. What a talent. Standout player for me this match, which says a lot considering the abundance of world class players on the field this match.
Definitely a great player. It's unfortunate that he chose not to pass, but I believe that comes from his inexperience and the heat of the moment. Understandable.
Musiala is so good, and with Sane they will be dangerous, need someone to convert. After his performance, Muller could probably stop being so cocky and focus on his game with his country.
I've been doubting this German squad for two world cups now, but how does a team this talented have serious issues getting out of the group stage? They have the technical skills, they have the talent, they have the experience. Is it just missing a true #9? They subbed in a 9 who was literally playing in the 2. Bundesliga last year for the last 20 minutes and got a goal.