Inward pressing and channel balls: How Germany and France can exploit each other to claim a place in the Euros final – tactical preview

The dust of the quarter-finals has now settled, and the Women’s Euros’ penultimate rounds have been decided. England will take on Sweden while Germany will battle it out against France.

These are two incredibly exciting fixtures to leave supporters watering at the mouth in anticipation. The quality on display will be awe-inspiring while more analytical nerds like ourselves get to watch four great coaches work their magic from the sidelines.

Germany provide a familiar face in the semi-finals of the illustrious and ever-growing competition. Die Nationalelf have won the Women’s Euros more than any other nation since its inauguration back in 1982.

The eight-time champions, managed by the wonderful Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, are on course for their ninth title but will have to bypass a stern and stellar French team under the tutelage of the stubborn yet sterling Corinne Diacre.

Despite rumours of Diacre losing the dressing room due to her divisive squad announcement prior to the tournament’s commencing, France have surprised many by getting this far and have now put themselves into contention to win it outright.

Germany versus France, Voss-Tecklenburg against Diacre, this will be a must-watch semi-final of the highest quality, and we are here to preview it for you in the only way we know how – tactical analysis!

This analysis will be a preview of the Euros clash, looking at what tactics we can expect from the two titans of Europe and how they can look to exploit one another at the Stadium MK.

Battle of the 4-3-3s

While there is no guarantee, it’s likely that both Germany and France will set themselves up in a 4-3-3 in this crucial semi-final matchup. Both nations have been quite consistent with their usage of the conventional structure throughout the tournament thus far, although the French have been a little bit more persistent.

Voss-Tecklenburg has predominantly deployed a 4-3-3 during games, but against Austria in the quarter-final, the 54-year-old switched things up slightly, going with a 4-2-3-1, offering a little more balance in the middle of the park.

In this tournament so far, the 4-3-3, including its close cousin, the 4-5-1, have been used in 63 percent of Germany’s games, followed by the 4-2-3-1 in 27 percent.

Typically, the 20-year-old Lena Oberdorf sits in front of the backline as the single pivot, with Sara Däbritz and Lina Magull further forward as the advanced midfielders. However, against geographical and historical rivals Austria, Däbritz sat slightly deeper, forming a double-pivot with Oberdorf while Magull operated as a ‘10’ behind Alexandra Popp.