Germany reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League but were knocked out by Portugal before losing to France in the third-place playoff.
The DFB-Elf performance combined a promising style of play with a feeling that many aspects and choices can be improved ahead of bigger occasions, most notably the World Cup Qualifiers and the 2026 FIFA World Cup itself.
We cannot say that the performances under Julian Nagelsmann management represent a failure since he has helped the Germans reach an advanced stage in the UEFA Nations League.
Nevertheless, Germanys performance against France confirmed that many improvements are needed, especially in the attacking phase.
Although Germany gave the impression of dominating the game, they were unable to score.
Therefore, this tactical analysis article will identify Germany’s attacking issues and explore potential short- and long-term solutions for Julian Nagelsmanns men.
Germany Current Attacking Tactical Issues
Under the management of Nagelsmann, Germany have been using various formations depending on the opponent and the match plan, including the 4-2-3-1 formation, the 3-4-2-1 formation, the 4-1-3-2 formation, and the 5-4-1 formation.
This directly impacts the teams attacking strategy, as it does not maintain continuity in the team’s attacking tactics and does not reinforce the chemistry among the attacking players.
For instance, playing with two strikers in a match and then switching to two wingers and a main striker can automatically disrupt the chemistry between those two strikers.
Ahead of tougher encounters and tournaments, Nagelsmann will need to settle on a plan A for his attacking organisation and a plan B for emergency reasons or specific opponents.
Limiting the attacking organisation in terms of player roles is crucial to ensure more fluid play and make things easier for the players.
This also means that switching the attacking organisation almost every match makes things very complicated for the players, who might find it hard to grasp what is needed of them.
More importantly, these recurrent changes make it difficult for players to predict each other’s next moves or to understand one another automatically.
This quick understanding between players is very important, especially for national teams, whose players do not always work together for the entire year but only occasionally.
That makes it even more fundamental not to change the attacking organisation much, gradually building the chemistry between the attacking players.
The Best Possible Attacking Organisation For Germany
As mentioned above, Nagelsmann tactics have been employing various formations recently and frequently switching his attacking players, which confirms his indecision about what works best for the current Germany.
The indecision also confirms that he is not yet convinced by any of the attempted organisations or players.
At the same time, not giving the necessary time to such organisations or player choices automatically means they are destined not to be convinced and will not change.
Therefore, Germanys key solution is to identify the most suitable attacking organisation for the coming period and rely on it for a defined period.
It will be crucial to maintain no more than 1 or 2 formations for the upcoming period.
The 4-2-3-1 formation is better suited for Germany’s players, especially in terms of attacking, as they have many remarkable wingers, a reliable advanced playmaker, and several options for the striker role.
And since the options for the striker role are not yet convincing, given that Nagelsmann has not yet relied on a single striker for consecutive games and prefers to keep experimenting with options, it would be wiser to opt for a formation relying on a single striker and not two, until a first-choice striker is confirmed.
Germany Potential Solution In The 4-2-2-2 Formation
At the same time, Nagelsmann can prepare his players for a Plan B formation that relies on two strikers and can be used when needed.
This formation can be either the 4-1-3-2 or the 4-2-2-2, with the understanding that the 4-1-3-2 can be risky from a defensive perspective.
At the same time, the 4-2-2-2 would be more solid defensively, yet very attacking as well.
Furthermore, the striker role has been problematic for Germany during the latest period.
Nagelsmann has been using numerous names such as Tim Kleindienst, Nick Woltemade, Niclas Füllkrug, Deniz Undav, Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz.
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