Germany’s Tactical Changes after the World Cup Disaster

After the disastrous performance of Germany at the World Cup in Russia, head coach Joachim Löw announced a radical change in terms of the tactical concept and the players of the national team. Löw admitted his mistake to hold on to his possession-based approach without finding the right balance between offence and defence.

Indeed, Germany struggled with preventing counter-attacks and thereby conceded goals right after losing possession. Moreover, Die Mannschaft missed creating goal-scoring opportunities against the low-blocks of South Korea and Sweden. Almost typical of the German mindset, passion and the willingness to run were demanded for future matches. Furthermore, Löw undertook some changes in Germany’s style of play with the beginning of the Nations League. 

But is the approach a promising one for the future of the German national team? We will try to find answers to that in the following analysis.

Tactical setup

The change should begin with the establishment of a different system. Löw set his team up in a 4-1-4-1 formation instead of the 4-2-3-1 he used at the World Cup in Russia.

Although Germany defended in a 4-1-4-1, due to the deep-lying positioning of Kroos in possession, the German system resembled a 4-2-3-1 in the attacking phase.

The wingers Werner and Müller both played quite narrow. This was caused by the role of striker Reus. The Dortmund attacker should utilise his combinative skills by dropping into midfield from time to time. The full-backs Ginter and Rüdiger were the only players to provide full width.