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Thursday, September 03, 2020
Again there was no victory against Spain: in the first game of the Nations League, the only phantom international match in DFB history, the German soccer team conceded a very late draw. After a ten-month break from international matches, both teams have good chances.
New start with lights and shadows: In a long and hard football classic, the team against Spain missed a warning signal in the last second of the start of the Eurocup season. Despite the lead, national coach Joachim Löw’s selection in Stuttgart reached 1: 1 (0: 0) after nearly ten months of the former world champions’ ghost crown game. Timo Werner’s goal (minute 51) was matched by Luis José Gayà (90º + 6th) and thus prevented Löw’s first victory in competition against Spain.
“It’s very annoying. We put a lot into it and created a lot of opportunities,” Werner said at ZDF. “I think four minutes were announced, then you get a goal in the sixth minute of injury time. A little strange.” However, it was a step in the right direction.
289 days after the last international match, substitute captain Toni Kroos and returnees Leroy Sané and Niklas Süle clearly showed the match’s lack of freshness and practice. After all, they really made their way, especially in the second half. Löw managed without four triple Munich winners around Manuel Neuer. Like two years ago against France, the DFB-Elf started the second edition of the Nations League with a draw and is still waiting for a victory in the competition after seven games. The next opportunity will come on Sunday when Switzerland is the rival in Basel.
Löw wore all black, but mostly on the edge of his training zone in white sneakers. The empty stadium had depressed the national coach shortly before the game. “It’s not what you want as a coach or a player,” said the 60-year-old at ZDF, before his team fully focused on kickoff. In a really offensive formation with a chain of three men and mainly two councils, the DFB team tried to pressure the Spanish from the beginning of their own half. Löw applauded the successful actions, but he also saw deficits, especially in the first half.
The Spanish played with a lot of pressure and caused errors in the coordination between defense and midfield. A weak back pass from Emre Can, who started somewhat surprisingly in place of Matthias Ginter in central defense, caused a misunderstanding between Kevin Trapp, who ran from his goal, and Süle. Against the pensive Rodrigo Trapp he knew how to clear with an entry into the penalty area (14th). Shortly before the break, the Frankfurt goalkeeper stood out against the Leeds professional (45th).
On offense, the young professionals of the DFB showed their enormous potential early on. Behind Sané, who was replaced after an hour, and New London’s Werner, Julian Draxler started as a central midfielder, somewhat surprising. With Süle, who played his 25th international match on his 25th birthday, Spaniard Thiago (both FC Bayern) and his Paris teammate Thilo Kehrer were one of the four professionals who had barely played in the Champions League final. eleven days ago. Robin Gosens, a quarter-finalist for Atalanta Bergamo, made his international debut.
Advanced winger Kehrer with a header (11th), Draxler (14th) and Sané (18th) put Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea to the test early. Until Werner’s goal after a good preparatory work by Gosens, many minutes passed without any remarkable offensive performance by the DFB team. Sané, who was not eligible to play in the premier category after his move to FC Bayern and therefore traveled to Stuttgart with almost no match practice, was initially the most conspicuous national player. Werner strengthened in the second half, the Chelsea striker also hit the side net after preliminary work by Sané (61st). Süle missed with a header to De Gea (79th).
In the absence of the Munich Champions League winners Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry, who would all be in the starting eleven at the European Championship next year in the form of the premier class tournament in Lisbon, Löw had less than three days to reposition his team. “Over the course of the game I don’t really know what’s going to happen. Who’s getting tired? Who’s running out of steam?” Loew had said. On Thursday night, the national coach resigned entirely from Leverkusen Kai Havertz, who is said to be about to move to Chelsea.
The Spaniards, who are in a stir with seven newcomers to the squad, turned out to be an unpleasant opponent, but far from overwhelming at the start. Following the German lead, Rodrigo (58th) with a shot just over the gate and Fabián Ruiz (64th), whose attempt was stopped by Trapp, had good chances to equalize. Trapp was also against Oscar (84th). But then came the dramatic end: Torres crossed again in the final seconds, Rodrigo extended Gaya, who pushed from close, Gosens mounted outside the goal and picked up the offside.
