UEFA Nations League 2020/21: Germany vs Spain – tactical analysis

Germany hosted Spain at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart in what was the most anticipated fixture of the opening round on Thursday. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent suspension and resumption of football, the national teams faced each other in Round 1 of the UEFA Nations League.

The game ended 1-1 with both teams playing a calculated strategy. Under Joachim Löw, Germany played counter-attacking tactics with Timo Werner and Leroy Sane which caused problems for Spain early on. After going a goal up in the beginning of the second half, they sat back defensively and invited Spain to play a more positional attack with the fresh vigour of 17-year-old Ansu Fati. Spain were resilient in looking for their chances, and finally found their break in the final minute of play with the latest Manchester City signing, Ferran Torres playing a key role in the goal as we shall examine in this analysis. This tactical analysis will use statistics and key instances from the game to break down both teams’ tactics.

Line-ups

Germany: Trapp; Kehrer, Rüdiger, Süle, Gosens; Can, Kroos; Sané (Ginter 62), Gündoğan (Serdar 74), Draxler; Werner (Koch 90)

Spain: De Gea; Carvajal, Ramos, Pau Torres, Gayà; Ruiz (Óscar 79), Thiago, Busquets (Merino 57); Navas (Fati 46), Rodrigo, Ferrán Torres