After finishing first in their group with seven points and without conceding any goals but only scoring two, England had to face Germany in the round of 16. The Germans finished second in the ‘Group of Death’ with four points and despite having a great attack and scoring six goals, their defence looked shaky with five goals conceded.
In front of 42,000 people at Wembley, one of the European greatest classic matches was played once again. With the Germans unbeaten in their last five visits to Wembley and their last encounter in a knock-out phase being Germany’s 4-1 victory in the 2010 World Cup, recent history was against England.
In a very tight match, England managed to defeat Germany 2-0 to progress into the quarter-finals. In this tactical analysis, we’ll look at both teams tactics to understand the key aspects that led to the final result.
Lineups
For the first time in the tournament, Southgate changed to the 3-4-3 formation that gave England great results in the last World Cup, changing Grealish for a wing-back. Pickford, still unbeaten, started in goal with Walker, Stones and Maguire as the centre-back trio. On the wing-backs, Trippier got into the team for the first time since the first matchday and Shaw continued on the left. RIce and Phillips, a very solid partnership, completed the midfield line. Upfront, Sterling and Saka played alongside captain Kan. England’s bench was full of attacking options with Grealish, Foden, Mount, Rashford and Sancho.
On the away side, Löw also opted for the 3-4-3 formation and made three changes from their draw against Hungary. Goretzka played instead of Gündogan, forming a partnership with Kroos in midfield and in attack Müller and Werner started instead of Sané and Gnabry. The rest was the same with Neuer in goal; Ginter, Hummels and Rüdiger at the back and Kimmich and Gosens on the sides.
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