The meetings between Germany and the Netherlands on the football pitch have always been exciting. Yet again, we witnessed another great show by the two teams as the Oranje took on the 2014 World Cup winners after an interesting twist in their performance in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
As the scoreline shows, Germany dominated the first half, although they lacked good finishing, which deprived them of a greater advantage at half-time. The Netherlands’ continuous efforts, and a change in their plan, were rewarded by them equalising and taking control of the game to finish as the winners with a 4-2 scoreline.
Games between these two teams are often the opposite of what you would expect. This time Joachim Löw’s tactics forced Ronald Koeman to change his team’s strategy in-game, and it worked out perfectly for them.
In this tactical analysis, we will take an in-depth look at both teams’ tactics. We’ll use analysis to see what went wrong for Germany and how Koeman found a solution to the intense pressure.
Lineups
Löw lined up Germany in a 3-4-2-1 formation in possession with an intention to fit their opponents’ strategy. Manuel Neuer was his first choice for the goalkeeping spot once again. In the defensive third, the coach relied on Jonathan Tah, Niklas Süle and Matthias Ginter. Nico Schulz and Lukas Klostermann were in the role of wing-backs, with Schulz supporting the attacking actions, whilst Klostermann would focus on his defensive responsibilities. In the heart of the team, Toni Kroos and Joshua Kimmich formed a dangerous duo, being responsible for distributing the ball further. The forward line, which caused a lot of trouble to one of the best defenders in the world right now was formed by Timo Werner, Marco Reus and Serge Gnabry.
To read the full tactical analysis of this match – click here
Artwork by @chapulana
If you love tactical analysis, then you’ll love the digital magazines from totalfootballanalysis.com – a guaranteed 100+ pages of pure tactical analysis covering topics from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and many, many more. Buy your copy of the August issue for just ₤4.99 here.
