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Ukraine is missing more than one full squad, but the German team have to tremble for victory until the last second. The return of the Bayern block is something natural, but the defenses in defense and in attack are still evident.
What happened at the Kiev stadium?
Andrei Shevchenko won the Champions League as a player, he was European Footballer of the Year and to this day is the top scorer of the Ukrainian team. Glorious times, which the 44-year-old seemed to be building as coach of his national team: Ukraine qualified undefeated for the European Championship, which was postponed until 2021, leaving even the better-qualified Portuguese behind.
In the Nations League, Shevchenko and his team were promoted to the A-League, from which Germany did not have to be relegated thanks to a hilarious rise in UEFA. And with 2: 1 in the opening match against Switzerland, Ukraine even achieved something that the DFB team failed six times before that night: a victory in this new competition. Still, Shevchenko said before kick-off: “The situation is very complicated, but we have to get out of it somehow.”
Because while German national coach Joachim Löw was able to lean on the FC Bayern pros after his B-Elf’s poor test kick against Turkey, and celebrated extensively with five Munich players in the starting eleven, Shevchenko had to get creative to To be competitive. Team. The former world-class forward complained of 14 misses, resulting in a 7-1 humiliation against world champion France on Wednesday night.
Shevchenko does not have an easy task.
(Photo: imago images / student)
That was impressively successful, after all Ukraine upset the German game preparation with a consistent start and high pressure, especially in the first half. In the end came the premiere, the first win for the DFB team on the fourth attempt in 2020, which was also the first Nations League victory on the seventh attempt. In the final phase, however, the Löw-Elf trembled again, which was also thanks to a combative Ukrainian team.
So what the national coach told the opponent before kick-off: Ukraine had “developed well” in terms of football, it can also be seen on a small scale in terms of the progress of the hosts compared to the previous game . Something that few say about the German team at the moment. At the end of the day, this time he achieved what had not worked in the Nations League against Spain (1: 1) and in Switzerland (1: 1) as well as in the friendly against Turkey (3: 3): taking the lead in time.
Teams and goals
Ukraine: Buschchan – Karawajew, Zabarnji, Mykolenko, Eduard Sobol, Malinowski, Sydortschuk (84th Makarenko) – Kowalenko (76th Schaparenko), Jarmolenko (70th Marlos), Jaremtschuk – Zyhankow (70th Subkow). – Coach: Shevchenko
Germany: Neuer – Ginter, Süle, Rüdiger – Klostermann (90th Can), Kimmich, Kroos, Halstenberg – Goretzka, Draxler (80th Werner), Gnabry (90 + 3rd Havertz). – Coach: Low
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)
Tore: 0: 1 Ginter (20th), 0: 2 Goretzka (49th), 1: 2 Malinowski (76th, penalty kick)
Viewer: 17,573 (in Kiev)
Yellow cards: Malinowski – Kroos
films
1 minute: Unusual what is happening in Kiev. Because it sounds like football again in the stadium, because there can be several thousand fans. Although the number of infections is not only high on the site, but even on the Ukrainian team.
5 minutes: The first shot on goal is from Serge Gnabry. In the middle he is cleared by Draxler, but is stopped by Buschtschan. For him, it is only the second international match after three goalkeepers had previously failed.
9. Minute: Neuer clears things up in dire need, with outward instinct after a back pass. Less talented footballers probably would have shot the approaching attacker and hoped the ball didn’t land in goal.
15. Minute: For an improvised team, the hosts do very well, the German team finds no holes in the pressure net and Ukraine challenges the DFB defense with quick counterattacks after winning the ball.
Minute 20, TOOOR FOR GERMANY: If the offense fails, the defense has to go. Antonio Rüdiger grabs a rebound in the penalty area, dribbles to the penalty area and plays from right to center, where Matthias Ginter completes. A tour that does not exactly fall into the “mandatory” category.
Rüdiger over Ginter – 1-0 for Germany.
(Photo: imago images / Ukrinform)
27. Minute: Good preparation from Gnabry, unfortunately for the opponent. Yaremchuk intercepts his pass to central defense, but fails to get anything out.
31. Minute: Kimmich tries from afar and the ball falls dangerously towards the goal, but Buschtschan clears the corner. Otherwise, what the German team is playing is surprisingly unimaginative on offense.
35. Minute: Gnabry this time on the right side, heads a Ginter cross on goal, again Buschtschan is there with a strong save.
43. Minute: The German team is now a bit stronger, has more possession, but at the same time invites Ukraine to counter with simple bad passes. How good, from a German point of view, that so far he has not been punished.
Halftime.
Minute 49, TOO MUCH FOR GERMANY: Klostermann crosses from the right side, Buschtschan can easily intercept and let the ball slip away, right at the head of Leon Goretzka. He also shakes his head at the right moment and the DFB-Elf leads 2-0. Will he get the sensation, the first German victory in the Nations League?
Buschtschan fails, Goretzka takes advantage of it.
(Photo: imago images / student)
51. Minute: That MUST be 3-0. Gnabry places Draxler in position five meters from the door, but Buschtschan avoids his blow.
53. Minute: Another one of these numerous errors in the structure of the game, explains Kroos. On the one hand he sees yellow and on the other hand he gives Ukraine an excellent free kick position, 20 meters to the left half in front of the goal. However, there is no danger because Malinowski knocks down the wall.
57. Minute: Draxler allows his opponents to come out with a step, then lobes instead of flank, but Klostermann’s keeper directs Buschtschan over the goal.
60. Minute: Zyhankow wins from the left and moves into the penalty area, but his conclusion does not cause any problems for Neuer. While that is decent on defense for a long time, it is evident on offense that Ukraine has personnel problems.
Minute 75, PENALTY AND GOAL FOR UKRAINE: Very simple. Steep pass to Yaremchuk, Süle straddles, but only hits the legs. Malinowski sure transforms. And then the shaking starts again …
82. Minute: Gnabry ruled the decision. Werner recovers, the Munich man is free of Buschtschan, who gets his hands on the ball again and avoids 3-1. Great, what the goalkeeper shows here! If it hadn’t been for this abandonment shortly after halftime.
Buschtschan showed a great performance despite his mistake.
(Photo: imago images / pupila)
90 + 1. Minute: Can would also like a penalty, and with good reason. Referee Grinfeld refuses to whistle, and since there is no VAR, of course, he cannot intervene.
90 + 4. Minute: Symbolically, Neuer throws the ball out of the way, then the final whistle releases the German team. Finally a victory, if not exhilarating.
What was good
The German team is now more successful than Andorra, Malta, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Northern Ireland and San Marino thanks to the victory in Ukraine. As of Saturday night, these were the teams still not winning in the Nations League. Parallel to the DFB-Elf, Latvia played 1: 1 against the Faroe Islands, Andorra and Malta parted without goals. San Marino has no game, the other teams don’t have to play until Sunday.
However, the list already shows how disastrous Germany’s bottom line has been so far. And as gratifying as this fact is, it is also claimed that the victory in Kiev was essential. Because Germany basically sees itself as a title candidate at the world and European championships, while for Ukraine successful qualification is not natural.
The return of the five from Munich was felt positively for a long time, simply because the quintet radiated a naturalness after five titles missed in previous appearances. However, this couldn’t prevent Niklas Süle from being one of those Munich players who started the eventful final phase with his completely missed tackle and the ensuing follow-up goal.
What was wrong
The game settings. Not only because, especially in the early stages, many passes ended up in counter-attack situations that did not turn dangerous because the Ukrainian offense lacked individual quality. But also because the two German goals were not the result of strong combinations or well-played attacks. Antonio Rüdiger prepared the lead after a rebound with a powerful dribble and kick-off, with the second goal Leon Goretzka exploiting a serious error by the surprisingly strong Buschtschan in his second international match.
Joshua Kimmich ensured some ball safety in the middle, but was unable to play as effectively as he often did on the way from title to title with FC Bayern. Loew had a forward in Gnabry, but he usually comes from outside. However, the DFB team was missing a point of contact in the middle, someone to fix the balls or just let the ball clap to cover the first line of defense and make promotion possible. Instead of upward passes, all too often there was a pass over the ball followed by a cross or back pass.
Exploitation of opportunities was not convincing either. It was not necessary for him to squeeze again in the final phase. The Ukrainians noted that after the 1: 7 debacle in France, on the one hand, they lacked self-confidence, and on the other hand, as a mixed team, there was also a lack of coordination. But Serge Gnabry lost the precision that often characterizes him in the Bayern jersey. Julian Draxler’s graduation shortly after 2-0, when he shot Buschtschan from five meters, symbolized a lack of effectiveness and efficiency.
What do those involved say?
National coach Joachim Löw: “First of all, I am satisfied to have won the match. We could have led 3-0 or 4-0 before conceding. The penalty was unnecessary, Niklas Süle only had to accompany the opponent” and: “In some phases we gave balls too much fast. We could have done a few more counterattacks in the second half. It was important that we were very stable on defense. We didn’t give the Ukrainians any chance of the match. ”
Matthias Ginter: “We are happy to have won. Only victories help us on our way. We know that we do not play the stars in the sky. It was not our best game today.” On his goal: “90 percent belongs to Antonio Rüdiger. I try to use every day to remain ambitious” and: “We had a lot of simple turnovers and simple mistakes in the first half. That rarely happens in the German team.” .
Serge Gnabry: “Today we managed to finish a game. We could have decided before” and: “If we divide the spaces well, as we did in the second half, the rival has little chance of access.”
