For Joachim Low’s Germany, 2018 was a very poor year. Disaster at the World Cup in Russia was followed by defeat in the UEFA Nations League. This called for Low to pick a new side for the start of the Euro 2020 qualifiers. There was no inclusion in the squad for the World Cup-winning Bayern Munich trio of Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels. However, Low brought in youth such as Niklas Stark.
Standing in their way was the team who battered the Germans 3-0 at the Johan Cruyff Arena in October. The Netherlands, who have fantastic youth coming through their sides such as Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong, had qualified for this summer’s Nations League finals in June. Since not qualifying for last year’s World Cup, they have been in quality form ever since. Captained by Liverpool’s Van Dijk, there is a good argument the Dutch can win the Euros in 2020. In this tactical analysis, we will look at how a new look Germany beat the in-form Dutch.
Lineups
One would associate discipline with German sides in the 2010s, normally with four defenders and two holding midfielders. This performance was completely different. Taking inspiration from the Bundesliga, Low went for a 3-4-1-2 which has been seen from managers such as Frankfurt’s Adi Huttler and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann.
Key to success was left wing-back Nico Schulz who plays this system under Nagelsmann. On the other side, PSG wing-back Thilo Kehrer started. Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka played as a front three.
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