“A statement win”: Why Germany deserved the victory on a disastrous opening night for Denmark in Euro 2022 – tactical analysis

The Euro 2022 tournament is very much up and running, with fans around Europe becoming engrossed in the action and enjoying the talent on show. One of the matches of the first round that garnered plenty of interest even before the tournament started was Germany against Denmark in Group B, seen by many as the “group of death”. With much-fancied Spain also in the group and widely expected to top it, the meeting of the sides coached by Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and Lars Søndergaard was seen by many as the game that would decide who would join them in the knockout rounds and who would have their competition ended prematurely.

As it turned out on Friday night, Germany were too much for their Danish opponents to handle, with their game plan executed well and causing plenty of problems. However, Denmark did start well, as this tactical analysis will demonstrate, so there are some positives that they can take from their performance. The analysis will look at these moments and then highlight where it all went wrong for them, as well as indicate the specific tactics that helped Germany to take what was in the end a comfortable win at the Brentford Community Stadium.

Lineups

Germany set up in their favoured 4-3-3 formation, aiming to keep their team balanced and capable of attacking and defending with equal quality. Merle Frohms was given the nod in goal, having starred for Eintracht Frankfurt Frauen in their successful qualification for next season’s Champions League, whilst the back four was split evenly between domestic rivals Wolfsburg Frauen and Bayern Munich Frauen, with Bayern’s Giulia Gwinn and Marina Hegering being named alongside Wolfsburg’s Kathrin Hendrich and Felicitas Rauch.

The midfield was also made up of players from different clubs, as Lyon Féminin’s Sara Däbritz, formerly of PSG Féminine, joined Wolfsburg star Lena Oberdorf and Bayern’s Lina Magull in the central third, whilst star Bayern attackers Lea Schüller and Klara Bühl lined up alongside influential Wolfsburg forward Svenja Huth at the top of the pitch.