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The German team can still win.
National coach Joachim Löw’s team trembled in the Nations League against Ukraine 2-1 (1-0) and celebrated their first victory in this competition on the seventh attempt. At the same time, the DFB team ended their winless series with the first success since 19 November 2019 (6: 1 against Northern Ireland). (Nations League results and schedule)
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Goretzka hits after serious mistake by goalkeeper
Matthias Ginter (20th) and Leon Goretzka (49th) gave Joachim Löw a bit more calm with the top three in 326 days en route to MS. Goretzka benefited from a hair-raising mistake by Ukrainian goalkeeper Georgi Bushchan on his goal. The subsequent penalty goal by Ruslan Malinovskyi (76th) after an unnecessary foul by Niklas Süle was followed by a hectic final phase. (The game to read on the ticker)
“We are happy to have won. It only wins help on our way. But we also know that we do not play the stars in the sky. It was not our best game today,” Ginter said at ARD.
In front of 17,573 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, the German team could not convince at all. Löw also saw some of the aforementioned shortcomings in his supposedly better team. But Ukraine’s weakened crown could not punish this more severely. And so Löw is planning the next Nations League success on Tuesday (8:45 PM) in Cologne against Switzerland. (The Nations League tables)
National coach Löw defends himself against criticism
In the previous period, some unease had spread around the DFB selection; not only because of the lack of results. Because Löw brusquely rejected the latest criticism of his team’s philosophy in Kiev (“I don’t care!”), He was accused of arrogance. The national coach replied before kick-off: “Of course I’m thoughtful.” Unlike the critics, he sees “the big picture.”
And yet the pressure was high. Therefore, Löw relied on his regular staff. In addition to captain Manuel Neuer from Munich, midfielder Toni Kroos returned, as well as Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg from Leipzig. Only Antonio Rüdiger and Julian Draxler, who represented the ailing Timo Werner, remained in the squad after a disappointing 3: 3 in the test against Turkey.
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Löw wanted to see “game control”, more than 90 minutes. Or, as Neuer said: “We have to get to a point where we play men’s football, they rip us off.” But especially in the first half, the German game was characterized by unnecessary and overly static turnovers. Only a single action by the forward Rüdiger, who served scorer Ginter, broke the spell.
“Many simple mistakes”: DFB-Elf has a hard time
Serge Gnabry (25th / 35th), as well as Joshua Kimmich (31st) and Kroos (43rd) could have increased before the break. But the possibilities did not hide the fact that the DFB-Elf was still fighting. The game in depth demanded by Löw hardly took place.
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Ukraine was missing 14 (!) Professionals due to injuries and positive corona tests. An 18-year-old and a 21-year-old defended in the center of defense. But the German team lacked rhythm, especially on the outside.
“I made too many simple mistakes,” he complained. ARD-Expert Bastian Schweinsteiger during the break – and criticized Löw’s tactic: The five-man chain is the wrong approach because it means a player is missing in midfield. In fact, Kroos and company often encountered an opposing majority.
But the negligence was left without consequences as the unfortunate goalkeeper Bushchan dropped the ball on Goretzka’s head after a cross from Klostermann. Draxler missed the big chance of the preliminary decision (51st), Klostermann (57th) and Gnabry (82nd) also missed.
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With sports information service (SID)
