UEFA EURO 2024: Uncovering Germany’s Achilles Heel – set-piece analysis

Germany look like strong contenders to win EURO 2024 following a strong start to the competition as the host nation. A 5-1 battering of Scotland set the tone for an exciting and high-scoring competition before a 2-0 victory over Hungary sealed their spot in the knockout stage and triggered an extension to the managers contract until the end of the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

Prior to the competition starting, I spent some time speaking with coach Antonio Luigi Guglielmi to analyse some of the teams taking part in the Euros to better understand what to expect in the coming weeks. When we came across Germany, it was immediately clear that there was a strategy focused on each player zonally defending space as high as possible to prevent opponents from being able to arrive in higher value areas and simultaneously leaving the defensive line until as late as possible, trying to catch opponents offside. Since Julian Nagelsmann took charge near the start of the season, just gone, there were under twenty free kicks they had faced in crossing situations at that point, but Germany conceded numerous chances that signalled alarm bells before the tournament even began.

Fast forward two weeks, the only goal Germany conceded came from a wide free kick, and another scare occurred in their game against Hungary, where they again conceded after a free kick, but this time, their high line did catch the opponent offside.

In this tactical analysis, we will delve into the tactics behind Germanys defensive system when dealing with free kicks, with an in-depth analysis of the details behind the different aspects of their defensive system. This set-piece analysis will also explore the various ways in which their high and late movement of the line has been exploited so far and how other teams at the Euros could attack and defeat a seemingly impenetrable German side.

Approach to Defending Free Kicks

We can see that the height of Germanys defensive line is situated along the edge of the penalty area when defending free kicks. When the free kick is within 25~ yards of the goal, the line drops a few steps but still is relatively high. This is fairly common amongst most teams, but what makes Germany stand out and potentially vulnerable is the timing of when the players move to cover the space behind them. Germanys line only retreats back to goal just as the taker is about to strike the ball, as seen in the image below.

The late movement back towards goal, as with other elements of Germanys free-kick defense, is a risk vs reward strategy.

Reward  Catch opponents offside by holding the height of the line/Prevent opponents from arriving in high-value areas

Risk  Leaves a lot of space for opponents to attack if the timing is right

Usually, the line drops slightly earlier, which means that when opponents are overly eager and attack the space early, forgetting about Germanys style, they are likely to be caught offside. Because of that, attackers must hold their runs until slightly later, which means they are only able to reach the spaces just outside the six-yard box by the time the ball arrives.

However, the amount of space that is left open is vast and can often be accessed, and the outswinging delivery should be used against Germanys system to exploit that space as well as provide the attacker with an easier chance of connecting with the ball with added power, which might be required with the shot being made from slightly further out.

We can see in the example below that through pure