Germany 1-0 Portugal: Gomez gets the nod upfront, and nods in the only goal
The starting line-ups
The quietest of Euro 2012’s four games so far ended with a narrow German victory.
Jogi Löw had a few decisions to make – Mario Gomez, rather than Miroslav Klose, started upfront and Mats Hummels was picked over Per Mertesacker in the centre of defence. At right-back, Jerome Boateng played up against Cristiano Ronaldo, despite rumours that Lars Bender would be played out of position there.
There were no surprises in Paulo Bento’s team selection. Miguel Veloso played deep in midfield contrary to reports that Custodio would get a game, and Helder Postiga was the centre-forward.
This was a low-key, cagey match that never seemed likely to produce many goals.
Formation battle
Portugal were 4-3-3 and sat deep in their own half with three relatively defensive-minded midfielders, and rarely looked to break forward other than with the two wingers. Their out-ball was always either to Ronaldo moving inside from the left, or longer balls to Nani down the right. Postiga was rarely involved.
Germany’s shape was the usual 4-2-3-1, with Mesut Özil drifting from side to side, and the two holding midfielders, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira, taking it in turns to go forward. The full-backs stayed relatively deep, probably fearing that they’d leave space in behind for Ronaldo and Nani to break into if they attacked. When Ronaldo did recievethe ball on the run, Boateng stayed narrow and showed him wide.
Midfield battle
The key battle in this game was Özil against Veloso: Özil naturally plays right-of-centre, Veloso naturally plays left-of-centre. Veloso tried to stick tightly to Özil, and although his tracking was generally very good, Özil is just so clever at finding pockets of space in the channels and on the flanks, and his constant lateral drifts were often too good for Veloso. The Portuguese midfielder was reluctant to move a long way from his designated central holding position, for fear that other players would move into that zone and cause problems between the lines.
Özil’s movement is generally lateral anyway, but with Veloso scared outside the width of the penalty box, Özil’s passing chalkboards were the definition of a central winger (nominally playing as a central playmaker, but never actually receiving the ball in the centre of the pitch). Germany struggled to create clear-cut chances, but their best moves in the first half generally came after good work from Özil.
Elsewhere in the midfield zone, Meireles and Moutinho tracked the runs of Khedira and Schweinsteiger. As the German duo moved forward in turns and switched from right to left, Meireles and Moutinho were happy to be drawn out of their natural position, as long as their opponents didn’t find space when venturing forward. Khedira and Schweinsteiger didn’t want to over-commit, the Portuguese midfielders were concentrated solely on breaking up play, and so the first half was something of a stand-off.
Portugal chances
Portugal relied on counter-attacks and set-pieces. On breaks, they got the ball to the wingers well, but Ronaldo and Nani couldn’t produce a moment of magic to get into goalscoring positions. From a set-piece, Portugal came very close when Pepe hit the bar following a corner.
Bento’s side will be criticised for playing in a negative manner, but looking at Portugal’s side logically, it’s difficult for Bento to justify playing an attacking game. They have no number ten or a real creative influence to break down a packed defence, and their best bet is relying upon the wingers on the break – that’s the only way Ronaldo and Nani will be able to compensate for the lack of a prolific striker and a creative midfielder.
Germany crosses
Besides, no-one is surprised when sides play this way against Spain – it’s standard practice. Therefore, it’s hardly shocking that teams will play this way against Germany, a side widely considered to be very close to the level of Spain.
The difference, however, is that while Spain are narrow and often lack a traditional number nine, Germany have a prolific central striker in Mario Gomez. With Portugal’s midfield three staying narrow, Germany were sometimes allowed space on the flanks to get crosses in, and although the goal came from a deflected cross and can hardly be attributed to a piece of genius tactical thinking, the mere fact that Germany were happy enough to centre the ball demonstrates one reason why they’re more of an all-round threat than Spain. Gomez had also threatened from a couple of earlier deliveries from wide, then nearly connected with a low centre from Thomas Muller minutes later.
Perhaps Portugal even opened up too much. In the ten minutes before Gomez’s goal they’d become more offensive, playing higher up the pitch, pressing more, getting Joao Moutinho into space between the lines (his pass to Ronaldo looked like it had created the best chance of the game, but Boateng got a superb block in) and pushing Meireles forward to the edge of the box. Germany pounced when Portugal had finally started to play football.
1-0
At 1-0 down, Bento decided to bring on Silvestre Varela for Meireles (Nelson Oliveira had already replaced Postiga upfront) and Portugal went to a loose 4-2-3-1 system, with plenty of movement from the three nominal wingers behind Oliveira. And, with an extra attacking player, Portugal played very good football – there were sharp combinations, movement into channels, an extra dribbler to run at the German defence, and much more urgency in the play. Germany defended well – Hummels in particular – but needed to make some desperate blocks at the back, and Manuel Neuer was also forced into action.
Portugal played ultra-defensive well, and they played all-out-attack well. It was the transition stage that seemed to cost them the game.
Conclusion
This wasn’t a complex match. Portugal started the game playing reactively, Germany were patient in the number of players they pushed forward. Only Özil’s movement, and his battle with Miguel Veloso, provided tactical interest.
Löw’s decision to start with Gomez just about paid off – although he seemed to be preparing Klose just before the switch. Klose still seems a better fit because of his combinations with the other attackers in high-speed moves, but if future opponents are going to park the bus against Germany but give them time in wide positions, Gomez might be the better option.
Glad Löw decided with Hummels in defence. Started slowly but eventually bossed the game and was rock solid. Boateng done a good defensive job on Ronaldo too.
very true about Hummels, can see him becoming immense as the tournament progresses. Possibly some bad(ish) blood between him and the others from club ‘ball that victories will inevitable smooth over. He can be the (international) revelation if Germany win, I feel.
I agree with you on Hummels, he and Badstuber (but specially him) really did great (new Beckenbauer?)
I have to disagree on Boateng though. If you watched closely you realise that he lost 100% of the 1-on-1 situations he had with Ronaldo, allowing him 2 shots on goal in the 2nd half and leaving him unmarked for a killer Moutinho pass (although he fixed that mistake with a very nice tackle). After he got booked, he became even more exposed and Portugal got 3 clear goal chances that all came from Ronaldo easily getting past Boateng and then assisting F.Coentrão, Varela and Nani. If it wasn’t for Neuer or the centre-backs making goal-saving blocks they could have lost the game there. For me, we was Germany’s weak link.
On the other flank, it seemed Lahm lacked the support of Lukas Podolski, who really did nothing noteworthy. I’d like to see Gotze play there, he is amazing, but if he’s out of shape I understand benching him. Maybe playing Toni Kroos as no10 with Ozil and Muller on the flanks?
As far as Portugal is concerned, I belive they mainly failed on their build-up play and they lost many counter-attacks by being too slow and not making the best passing decisions on the break. Moutinho and Veloso were good, but I think Meireles can do better. Since they now need to win their remaing 2 group matches, they’ll probably be more attack-mind and play more like they did in the last 20 minutes. If they do that I think they’ll naturally overpower Danmark and then have a winner-takes-all against the Duch. Don’t get me wrong, Danmark is a very good team like they showed in qualifying and yesterday, but I think Portugal is still better. However if they play defesnsively like yesterday and don’t improve on their build-up play and finishing (you simply cannot waste so many chances in a group like this) they may have the same fate as the Netherlands.
Agree, especially over Podolski.
I’d play Schürrle or Reus on the left instead of Podolski. I’d rather have Götze as a substitute for Müller.
Great analysis.
It seemed with Ozil willing to do most of his work on the wings and Gomez really looking sore and Khedira and S’steiger not anyone to deliver any final pass to any of the Attacking 3…also with Podolski and Muller not on their game…Germany’s attack was starved
I definitely think Germany are a better team with Klose up front rather than Gomez. The former’s movement and link up play with the other attackers makes them more fluid. Gomez is too static. He’s more of a Plan B.
He took his goal well though.
100% agree. I am hopeful that Low will start klose against the Dutch. Gomez is a better poacher, but against a team that attacks, klose’s fluidity and link up play will be far more important.
The main reason I think Gomez started today was the plain and simple fact that Portugal’s two CBs (Pepe and Bruno Alves) are brutal. Löw probably figured the younger, physically bigger Gomez could handle that style of play longer than the 34 year old Klose.
That being said, I still think Gomez starts the next game.
Great analysis (as always). Let me just ask you one question: don’t you think Low should have subbed in Schurrle and Götze(/Reus) for Podolski and Muller (near the 60 minute mark or even before)?
Not Muller. He defended really well in the final minutes. Podolski should be subbed early. Lahm looked really bad today partly because Podolski isnt helping with Nani.
yes muller played very well, his positioning on the right dovetailed very well with schweinsteiger drifting out there. He managed to get a number of great crosses in and make room for others to do the same. I think Muller has a lot of qualities and is generally underrated (not necessarily by you though!).
There were two things of note:
1. Portugal did their homework and were looking to cut supply from Germany’s central defenders to the midfield. Both Badstuber and Hummels are ball playing defenders and will usually look to pick the pass to either Schweinsteiger or Khedira, who were almost man marked most of the time. This slowed Germany’s build up play down considerably and Lahm, who would usually function as an additional outlet, had a, shall we say, “unremarkable” game.
2. While Portugal are often seen as a side high on flair, this centre back pairing and the midfield they sported today are tough as nails. Jogi Loew’s decision to field the physical Gomez over the unfit Klose was probably a good call to prevent further injury to the latter as much as anything ( Though it has to be said that Gomez isn’t really a box striker, he is at his best when he can run onto the ball and power past the defenders ). There are some knock on effects though and the attacking trident Podolski-Gomez-Mueller puts all of the creating on Oezil’s lean shoulders, a defensively solid side like Portugal can exploit that and they certainly did today.
I really appreciate what Podolski brings to the team, but in a setting like today he’s just doesn’t fit and Jogi should be more flexible when it comes to the left attacking position. The obvious choice would be Goetze, who isn’t fit unfortunately. Schuerrle is tactically naive and not a creator anyway, he should remain a super sub for the time being. This leaves either the passer Kroos or the highly mobile Marko Reus who both could play either on the left or just off the striker in Oezil’s position, who would then be nominally shifted to the flank. Particularly alongside Reus that wouldn’t really change what he does on the pitch though, as they would then interchange constantly.
Either way, while it may not have been the most entertaining match so far, it was argueably the one on the highest level by a considerable margin. The win for Germany was somewhat scrappy but a giant step towards the knockout stage considering the Dutch lost their opening match.
I like to add that I dont understand the swap between Ozil and Kroos. It could simply be for resting Ozil, but having Kroos on the pitch when Germany was simply sitting deep and defend is pointless as Kroos is a ball retentioner and cant provide counter attacking threat. Besides, the main threat of Portugal are from the wings so maybe a more defensive person should be brought on for Podolski.
I think Loew was just going for 1-0 there. Özil simply drifts around looking for space when the opposing team has the ball far enough from him. Kroos is quiet a solid defender for a 10. And there is no defensiv left winger in Germany’s squad, Grosskreutz was left home (probably for personal matters), he could have gone ultra defensive with Schmelzer…
The left attacking position is a drag for Germany. Podolski only shows up in games against bad teams or in those which are already won. He has only scored 2 of his 43 goals against big teams and doesn’t bring much more than goalscoring, although his defending has improved. Goetze is the only player who could contribute to playmaking, I hope he will get his chance… maybe against Denmark, when they win against the Dutch.
But Muller was one of the most creative players on the pitch, he swung in countless brilliant crosses and whilst he may not be as easy on the eye as ozil, that is still creativity.
i dont understand why he didnt sub podolski. schürrle or reus would have been good options.
im all for hummels but i was very surprised he played because löw simply trusts some players and uses them even if there is a huge outcry in public.
mertesacker just seems so slow and does too many mistakes nowadays. plus hummels has better passing. if mertesacker isnt brought on the pitch against the netherlands he might spend the rest of his career only as a substitute for the german team.
i would be surprised if we see gomez more often in the starting eleven, he is a good choice against defenders like pepe but klose just offers much more to the team.
I don’t understand why you said Gomez is the better option against bus parking. The only edge he has over Klose is his strength to contest with physical defenders. Otherwise, he has largely struggled against bus parkers, like Chelsea. His touch makes him extremely useless in tight quarters. Klose’s leap is phenomenal and I wouldn’t be surprised if he could score the same goal Gomez did.
I think you answered your own question.
“The only edge [Gomez] has over Klose is his strength to contest with physical defenders.”
Portugal has two of the most physical defenders in the world, Pepe and Bruno Alves.
It’s not exactly an answer to his own question. You can park the bus either using “monsters” like Pepe/Alves or using less physical defenders. And in this case Klose would still be the much better choice I think.
I thought Portugal were hard done by that result. They deserved a draw at the least. I was really surprised Gotze didn’t get into the game. Why play Podolski without Klose?
Goetze was injured during most of the second leg of the season and has about 15 pounds overweight. If he wasn’t a wonderkid he’d probably not be on the squad at all.
He’s not fit and not overweight. He is just incredibly strong for a 20yo dribbling playmaker.
#
his upper body strength has grown a lot within the season.
Indeed … teammates even dubbed him ‘Pummelfee’ (Chubby Fairy)
Thank you for covering the Euro Finals, I always look forward to your analysis. I agree with mftbol that Hummels was a rock in defense. Boateng did exceptionally well, too. Hummels played very well out of the back and rarely gave up the ball with a bad pass. It was amazing to me how Portugal was able to pile the pressure on in the final 10-15 min of the game. We were lucky (Germany) to come away with a win, but I believe we deserved it by play proactively rather than re-actively. One more win should put us into the knockout round
Vorwärts!
Portugal had more shots, just as many shots on goal, hit the crossbar twice, and created a ton of chances. Even the difference in possession wasn’t that dramatic at 57/43%
This wasn’t exactly Chelsea-Barca or Chelsea-Bayern.
So glad the negative team lost. I don’t understand why a team like Portugal is parking-the-bus with the players they have. As soon as Germany went 1-0 up, they showed what they can do if they play with more courage.
As an Englishman, I’m dreading what we’re going to play like. Of coarse I’ll want us to win but I really wouldn’t care if we lost to a point. We deserve to lose if we set out like Portugal did today. I know it’s a tactic which can work, but it’s just my opinion. I’d rather lose than play negatively.
How would you want them to play? They don’t have particularly skilled midfielders, and besides their wingers, their team is lacking in technical quality all over the pitch. By playing this way, they get the most out of their strengths. Their most dangerous players, the wingers, get lots of space on the break, and they don’t need particularly skilled midfielders this way.
Like ZM said, this is the only way to compensate for their deficiencies in their other players.
Yeah, I know. But like I said, I’d rather lose than than play how we are playing.
Don’t forget that national teams have to play with the players out there. And than, sometimes ‘parking the bus’/'defense first’ is a valid option. On top of that, I don’t feel that there is a team in the past four matches who parked the bus like Chelsea did in the CL final – being more prudent on defense does not mean directly that you’re parking it.
To be fair Veloso and Moutinho have excellent technique in midfield and both fullbacks are great at getting forward, so not exactly a limited team. They just lack a goalscorer more than anything. They were defensive because Germany are on the best teams in the world, but Jimmy has a point that they could have been more adventurous, the last 10 minutes showed they could do it.
As a Germany fan, I would be more happy if we park the bus and win all matches 1-0 than raping opponents 4-0 before eventually losing to spain.
I feel as if Portugal are still trying to find the balance between defending and attacking, their attacking build up in the first half was very slow and consisted of long balls from wing to wing since Germany by that time have already set up defensively. I believe Portugal will do much better if they allow cristiano to be a striker and allow quaresma or varela to be in his postion on the wing, surely the link of play will be a lot more efficient and the oppostion defense would have to worry about cristiano rather than a below average postiga who never really offers anything to portugal. Cristiano would at least exploit space behind opposition or offer a bigger threat upfront creating space for moutinho and meireles to push up and help build the play. I have big worries that other teams will exploit space behind coentrao as he pushes so high up if veloso does not cover him as he goes up, its the perfect scenario for a fast winger like robben to be really deadly. Nevertheless Portugal need more pace and need to be less reactive with the ball, they solely cannot really on the wings the midfield must push up and become more active in the play to support wingers.
Sorry for my English, not my native tounge and for any errors
Sorry I am curretly typing on my iPhone.
I’m always skeptical of CR7 lined up as a striker. It’s been tried in the 2009 Champs League final (his last match for Man U), in the Real-Barca 4 game smorgasboard (sp?) in 2011 and for Portugal at WC 2010. It seldom works.
Is there any reason Portugal don’t go with Ronaldo as a No.9? I don’t know enough about their squad but it seems to me that pushing him central and playing maybe Coentrao on the wing could be an option. Postiga clearly isn’t awful but it does seem a little as though he is there to fill a spot rather than actually bringing a huge amount to the team.
see World Cup 2010. It didn’t go very well.
I think it’s an issue of Ronaldo not particularly liking it, and that it makes sense to play your best player in his best position, rather than in a different position because there are fewer options. I thought Portugal looked very good once Varela came in the pitch, thought it was notable that he often was dribbling through the middle, behind the striker, which is really what I think Portugal are lacking, rather than a central striker.
Danny could have done that, he was a big loss for Portugal.
Agree, I think he has a level of quality, penetration and vision that is above the other midfielders. I think if he was there they would have played a little more pro-actively.
Ronaldo cannot play with his back to goal. He likes to run with the ball and shoot outside the box. Playing him as a 9 nullifies half of his strengths. He doesn’t have the playmaking abilities to play as a false 9 like Messi also. I actually think Hugo Almeida might be a better option than Helder Postiga.
I’d be happy to see Hugo Almeida never play for Portugal again. He is absolutely useless. A target man that doesn’t hold the ball very well, doesn’t use his height very well, and doesn’t head the ball all that well. I’d much rather see Nelson Oleivera and then Postiga.
Germany’s regular attacking intent wasn’t felt so much today.
Portugal defended well in the centre of midfield and Germany were way dull on the wings, in my opinion they lacked a player with some flair who can take the game to Portugal and muller and poldi were to “flairless”, goetze was much needed.
On the other end Portugal were clumsy on the break and lacked real penetration via passes and movement. I think moving Ronaldo into a “false 9″ position like he played for man united will benefit both him( doesn’t get enough balls out wide) and the Portugal team which lack a good striker and creative player in the center, two positions Ronaldo is good at and can do both at the same time.
He rarely plays well up front for Portugal though. I thought he had an alright game yesterday, Portugal just struggled to get him the ball. He looks better on the wing cutting inside than up front with his back to goal, where there will be less space for him to run with the ball.
I don’t think it’s fair to judge based on a couple of games where Portugal as a whole were miserable, he know’s the part and can be a real destructive force their.
Like you said, they struggled to get him the ball and that’s the point, when his on the wing he beraly gets involved, but as a “false 9″ he will be the main player as addition to making chaos for the opposition defense.
When i say “false 9″ I don’t mean I want him to stay with his back to goal in the centre, I want him moving across the field or dropping very deep so he’d still get to break from the wing, but this time dragging players all around by doing this. This is a rare tool to have for any team and should be used more.
Germany “widely considered to be very close to the level of Spain”? If this game showed anything then the complete opposite of the above statement. Once a team gave Germany the same treatment Spain regularly receive since after the 2008 Euros, they looked horribly out of depth. Not able to quickly combine in crowded areas through the middle. Forced out to the wings to play simple crosses into the box. No creativity. No fluidity. No goal chances. A lucky punch rescued them. The likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Silva, Fabregas would have no problems creating through the middle where the heavy traffic is. Özil was simply pushed out wide.
Spain receives a lot of criticism for their “controlled 1-0 victories”. Funny how the “most exciting side from 2010″ looks as “boring” once teams don’t go gung-ho on them like unorganised teams à la Argentina and England did.
“The mere fact that Germany were happy enough to centre the ball demonstrates one reason why they’re more of an all-round threat than Spain”
Is the Llorente-Navas combination “all-round threat” enough? Del Bosque had introduced a classical #9 in Llorente and used simple crosses against Portugal 2 years ago. Really nothing new. Spain remains the team with the highest tactical flexibility in the whole competition.
First of all we have got to recognize that the german side isn´t at there best yet.
The preparation started off late, and there have been some injury problems as well.
Schweinsteiger isn´t even close to be called fit and hasn´t got his form back, Klose probably the most complete striker in the tournament didn´t start due to an ankle issue.
So you shouldn´t overrate their display.
In 2010 Spain didn´t start the way they would have wantedt to either and the option to develop in to a more harmonic and healthy side might be better than starting on top of your form.
The criticsim Spain are receiving might come from their own supporters, expecting their side to score a great number of brilliant goals. It might reflect some of the desperation of the critics and rivals trying to beat Spain by giving them something to argue about.
By pointing out that Germany is now getting the same treatment as Spain, and compairing their results you kind of admit that it seems like these sides must be very close to each other.
The further comparison of the Llorente-Navas combination and the idea of beating Portugal by using simple crosses from wide is shwoing yet another similair approach of the two sides. The diffrence there is that Germany won´t have to sub in Llorente or Navas cause they do have the players and options to play out wide and use their presence in the box and their crossing ability, all in there starting line up. Two players brought in off the bench can hardly be called a permanent all around threat.
Plus Germany were never forced to play out to the wings, nor was Özil pushed into any wide positions he didn´t intend to move their anyways. It´s just an reasonable and logic way to play football against a very narrow and well organised team. And pretending that Özil was pushed out wide is a proof of an unaweareness of the movement and role a number 10 got to make, to create space not only for himself and get better angles to get in passes and crosses, or to drive back into the centre to receive the ball with a bit of pace, or dribble it into the middle, players moving towards the middle in a vertical way are always more dangerous.Further Özil played a great pass from out left to Podolski who srewed the shot, it was well played from the wide position, özil out left creating for the left winger who exploited the space Özil created. It was a poor finish but a great chance.
I don´t want to refer to the World Cup 2010 because football developped very rapidly since, but back then, Spain were unable to combine their way through the german centre nor were they able to get through the dutch centre. And very much like Ronaldo, Kroos had the biggest chance at goal whe the game was level.The lucky punch that rescued Germany as yout quote is an aquivalent to Puyols header against Germany. And even there it must be said that the goal was just a consecence of playing down the flanks.
There is no need to argue about witch side is having the biggest number of great central midfielders, and it´s clear as well that Spain is great in retaining and playing the football, and though Germany tries to press quickly after loosing the ball for about a few seconds Spain is having their an other edge on the German side. but they don´t have a natural Plan B in their side, whilst Germany can use many aproaches to win a game.
Spain might be flexible within the positions and zones in their system but I don´t see them vary in their style of play.
“By pointing out that Germany is now getting the same treatment as Spain, and compairing their results you kind of admit that it seems like these sides must be very close to each other.”
Yesterday’s game remembered me quite a bit of Spain’s WC 2010 quarter final win over Portugal.
Spain won most of their games at WC2010 the same as Germany did this one.
And this Spanish team is worse than the one at the world cup.
Spain-Portugal in the last WC did not go much different than Germany-Portugal yesterday. Portugal mostly sitting back, having a good defensive setup, and trying to attack via rapid transitions down the wings. Finally, Spain got a narrow 1-0 victory by a Villa poach that was on the edge of offside. Similarly, a lucky, but not undeserved win by Portugal’s opponent. I guess it is simply very difficult to do anything against Portugal if they play like that. Strong and fast players sitting deep, tactically well drilled. Ronaldo and Nani did well in their defensive contribution, too.
With Klose, Özil, and Schweinsteiger in top form, Germany might have been able to score via combining through the middle, but currently, they are lacking matches or are tired.
Completely hypocritical to say that Spain deserved praise for their 1-0 victories at the WC whilst denying Germany the same praise here. To say they lacked creativity isn’t fair – they created a couple of decent chances. Spain frequently only created one or two half chances during the WC (less than in this game) but won due to being so clinical.
I don’t think the presence of Llorente gives Spain any more of an all-round attacking threat. He’s not a guaranteed starter and isn’t likely to be given many crosses (due to Spain’s lack of width.) That’s not their natural way of playing. Germany looking like having more variety to their play this time round, unless Del Bosque unexpectedly changes things.
Klose fits brilliantly into their natural style and offers both an aerial threat and good movement to allow Germany to be fluid. I hope he gets the nod in future games. I agree with everything in the article other than the last line. Gomez’s first touch is inconsistent and his movement to drag the defence about isn’t as good as Klose’s. Klose offers the same heading ability but has a better all-round game. That he isn’t as prolific is made up for by that (and by him being more reliable in this setting anyway.)
Some points of interests.
1. Germany’s defence was quoted by every football analyst to be their weakest link but today they proved otherwise. Hummel, Badstuber and Boateng were immense. Hummel in my opinion was the MOTM. His defensive work was brilliant but his passing and distribution was even more impressive. In fact I would rather him as Germany’s best midfielder as he was doing more passing than defending until the final 15 mins and was more effective with his distribution than Khedira or Scheweni. He could be one of the players of the tournament.
2. Schweni was poor today with many misplaced passes and wrong decision making. I guess Leow only kept him from replacing so to give him some match practice. Mueller’s crosses were horrible though he somehow compensated by his work rate and tactical awareness. Podolski’s shooting was poor and is another player who does not merit a starting berth.
3. Portugal’s defence was poor despite keeping the score to 0-1. had Germany been sharper they would have conceded a hatful. Pepe and Alves were shaky and unable to contain Gomez.
Leow should consider making one or two chances to the team especially in the midfield/attack perhaps introducing Reus and/or Schurrle.
Muller’s crosses were immense, all into the right area with the defenders struggling just no German player contesting for them. He put in 3 or 4 quality balls.
True. One was brilliantly rescued by Meireles and another one just went over Gomez’ head.
I actually thought that Portugal deserved at least a draw from this match. They defended extremely well and, in the end, they created the better chances.
While he isn’t a natural #10, Joao Moutinho is capable of providing a killer pass. He had a fantastic pass to Ronaldo, but Boateng made an excellent tackle to prevent him from shooting. Once Nani moved centrally, Portugal was extremely impressive, but were unlucky with their finishing.
I would also like to praise Nelson Oliveira. He only played the last 15 minutes or so, but he was a huge improvement over Postiga. His pace and athleticism gives Portugal a totally different option than Postiga and Almeida, and Oliveira’s build up to Varela’s chance was fantastic. Hopefully Bento will start him against Denmark because he is an excellent young striker.
I hope so.
I’d like Portugal to start in 4-2-3-1 with Varela and Oliveira against Denmark. Dunno about going against Netherlands with that approach though.
I believe that when 2 teams play with the same formation, the one side who has better players is more likely to win (wasn’t the case in Denmark vs Netherlands, mind you).
They didn’t play 4-2-3-1 because their formations is 4-3-3 and please almost all teams play 4-2-3-1.Let there be some variety.
Variety for variety’s sake? Teams should play whatever fits them better, and not what is different.
I meant-let there be variey in terms of different formations in EURO 2012.Everyone playing 4-2-3-1 is starting to bore me.
I think the offensive struggel of Germany points to Loews biggest dilemma. If he’s playing Klose the teams will start parking the bus because the Oezil-Mueller-Klose triangle is tremendous in creating chances for each other in open space. However Gomez is for some reason not able to act as a sub… I think Portugal were quiet well defensivly today, because the realized that Gomez (and Podolski) would not contribute to playmaking. So they just took care of the overloaded left with Oezil and Mueller.
And Lahm was a huge disappointment today. Tactically he was the player who could have made the difference, but he was far to shy (blamed it on the weather on TV).
Germany played less than expected, and Portugal nearly outdone themselves – to the point Pepe wasn’t given a red card and managed to hit the post. Can’t say the scoreline is unfair though.
Due to the defeat, will Portugal try and be more attacking for the next matches?
I liked Varela in this game. Ronaldo and Coentrão had some chemistry on the left, but Pereira didn’t seem brave or skilled enough to support Nani. Varela and Nani made Portugal attack more from the right, balancing the squad.
On the other hand, Veloso/Moutinho/Meireles did a good job of neutralizing Özil/Schweinsteiger/Khedira. As both Denmark and Netherlands play roughly the same formation as Germany (4-2-3-1), unfortunately I don’t really foresee Varela starting either game, and so Portugal will still have a tendency to play more from the left.
Finally, I too believe the lack of a big-name 9 will be Portugal’s undoing.
Moutinho should have found Ronaldo early in the second half to make it 1-0. Ozil would have made that pass and Ronaldo would have been 1 on 1, but Moutinho’s ball was slightly behind Ronaldo, allowing Boateng to make a good play on it.
Moutinho played a good pass to ronaldo in the second half, but overall I was disappointed with his contributionm it’s a pity because he is a player with a good reputation.
I think that Portugal should utilize a 4-2-3-1 with Nani as the central playmaker. When Varela came on for Meireles and Oliveira for Postiga, Portugal quickly looked extremely dangerous. Moutinho is at his best as a deep-lying playmaker, so Bento should play him deep alongside Veloso. Of course Nani, Ronaldo, and Varela will have to work hard defensively, but I still think that a 4-2-3-1 could do wonders for Portugal.
Oliveira, Nani, Varela, and Ronaldo would form an excellent attacking foursome capable of creating many chances. Oliveira, unlike Postiga and Almeida, is blessed with excellent speed and technique, so he should definitely start. The kids got talent.
Anyone who watches the Bundesliga will be well aware of how good Hummels is. I’m not shocked here. And I’m happy Low went with him instead of Mertesucker. The fact that Merte was even in contention versus Hummels is almost laughable.
Boateng, for me, was Germany’s MOM. He completely shut Ronaldo up. Seems the only contribution he really made was that one cross into the area which was cleared by Lahm.
I think Podolski is a good inclusion in the side, and he stretched the play well on the left.
Muller left a lot to be desired, and I personally still think he’s living off the hype of netting 5 times in the last WC. Gotze is a much better player, and IMO would bring more trouble to the opposition. He’s a better dribbler, and more creative. And he would create more space for Ozil to operate in. Perhaps Low is worried about fielding two #10’s, rather than a more disciplined wide player (and goal threat) in Muller.
Probably the least entertaining match of the opening couple rounds, but it shows how a relatively strong side (Portugal) is approaching the Germans. I still think they have just as good a chance as Spain to win.
Completely shut down? Ronaldo was passing through him left and right (Boateng even got booked for hugging Ronaldo as Ronaldo ran through him), everytime Ronaldo made a shot, or a pass inside the box to a very dangerous shot by Moutinho/Nani/Meireles, he always passed through Boateng.
Did we see the same game? Podolski was invisible in the second half while Müller was motoring up and down with some decent crosses and good defending. Of course he can still do better…
Both teams defended well but it is clear both teams would have goal scoring opportunities considering the attacking talent on the field.
Portugal showed a good tactical display because every other style of playing would have harmed them. Solid coaching here to see and them stepping up to their best team play managed them to almost draw Germany. Great point by ZM to point out their mediocre transition play.
Germany’s backline was good especially Hummels and Badstuber had a great game as had Pepe and Alves. Boateng was solid against Ronaldo but Lahm had his weakest game in years. Nani dominated him. Schweinsteiger seemed to be the security option in midfield which is the right style for him considering his shape. Probably Kroos would have been an alternative for Khedira since he is the better build up player. Khedira’s Box-to-box is difficult to play against a packed defense.
Good display by Protugal midfield they shut down Özil very well who too had one of his weaker games for his side.
Low game for the football tourists but high overall quality on the pitch especially in terms of tactics and game plan.
Is it just me or do Germany still have lots of trouble breaking teams down? They could only get 2 goals against Israel (a poor side) in their last friendly, and needed a wicked deflection to score their goal against Portugal. I actually think Germany MUST get at least a point against the Dutch, since it will be a very open game and Germany need to take advantage of the space on the counter. I It will be much trickier for Germany against Denmark, as they sit with two banks of four and defend very well. I simply don’t think Podolski is the player to use against a side sitting deep. Löw should have recognized this earlier and brought on Schurrle (who changed the game against Israel) or Reus.
I am also very worried about Özil. He seems so tired and doesn’t have that same explosiveness and ability to change a game with the ball when everything else isn’t working. I’m wondering why Götze wasn’t brought on to add some energy and pace into the game.
James, I think the one dimension that Podolski brought was width. But his service as a wide player isn’t usually that great, so I think you may be right that he was extraneous. Teams are going to be willing to let Germany play the ball, especially wide, so in that sense he is somewhat “useless”.
His best assets (pace, finishing) were big for Germany in WC ‘10 when they kind of came out of nowhere. Now that they are a clear favorite, teams will play very compact against them.
Agreed, bring on Reus or Goetze. Though, I am a bit biased as Dortmund is my club.
IMO, playing Lahm on the left is a disaster waiting to happen. He offers no threat going forward (though he did great before he was moved to the right back) and defends very badly when faced with a tricky winger, like he did Nani this match. I still remember the goal Torres scored in the final of Euro 2008 in which the mistake came from Lahm. It’s unfortunate that Germany cannot find a reliable left back so that Loew doesn’t need to play Lahm on the left.
Next up, Robben.. Lahm and Boateng could technically swap places like in the World Cup 2010. But I am not sure how well can Boateng cope with left back having not played there for 2 years..
I would have liked to see Toni Kroos start instead of Khedira alongside Schweinsteiger. It would have been useful to have more creativity from deep to get through the Portugese defence earlier. Had Germany scored in the first half they would have forced Portugal to come out more and leave more spaces in behind to exploit. And counter-attacking still is Germany’s biggest strength.
Scoring the first goal of the game will be hardest and most important task for Germany at the tournament.
Khedira got forward well though, it was his cross that Gomez headed in to win the game. His energy is very important for Germany.
Schweini was awful slow. Khedira played a solid game. Kroos and Khedira would be my choice. Poldi and lahm were not working together, more stumbling then playing. Motm clearly Hummels. Even so some of his all-in proactive conversion moves give me heart pains, as if only one is missed, he will create a most deadly chance for his attacker.
Sadly for Portugal was their robbening finishing. And nobody remembered the SA England scene? German side needed a lot of luck.
Kroos and Khedira would also be my choice, but Löw propably knows what he is doing, having more information we have. Hummels was great and I shared your concern about missing one of his proactive conversion moves two seasons ago. But I cannot remember a time that they went wrong, so I feel quite safe about it.
I would have also liked to see Kroos start instead of Schweinsteiger. Schweinsteiger is just not fit. He was imo the reason for Germany having no pace on the attack. That pace would have helped them breaking the portuguese defence.
Schweinsteiger played an awful game, but is the only leader in the German team. As long as Khedira is not able to step into the role of a pace dictator (went totally wrong against Switzerland), there is no chance that Schweinsteiger will not feature. He will hopefully find his form in the next games.
1. So far this was the most tactically disciplined game of the EURO, with two sides working in general hard to track and to close down the space for each other. A draw would have been a fair result but Germany preveiled, perhaps rightly so because it was for most of the game the positive side.
From a German point of view:
This was hardly the first time Germany ( or Bayern ) faced a deep and defensive-minded team with a lot of quality. In this case they struggled more due to the merit of two strong lines, little movement up front, the poor form of key players like Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Lahm and the lack of offensive moments by the full-backs. The latter was likely partly due to Loews unwilligness to give Nani and Ronaldo room to attack the open space. In the last minutes Germany suffered far too much for a side which usually does keep the game much more under control.
On the bright side Neuer was as usually strong and the pairing Badstuber-Hummels was very strong. Both are very strong, modern defenders with Hummels playing with out the ball in general the more aggressive part while Badstuber backed him up. With the ball Hummels had clearly the license to push up the pitch while Badstuber kept his position and played a couple of fine long passes.
Boateng did mostly very well against Ronaldo, facing him a couple of time one-on-one with enough room for the winger to pick up pace. He hardly pushed, helping Mueller very little. Lahm had for a player of his quality and consistency a very poor day, suffering against Nani and helping little upfront. As we have seen many very strong games as a left full-back he should bounce back.
I agree. Hummels said that they heard of the result of the Holland game and knew that their primary concern was to not concede.
There is a truth in that. Holland had good chances and some nice moves but that didn’t bring them anything. So Germany focused on what was most important: getting the 3 points. The pressure will be on Holland in the next game and the fact that Holland has to attack will leave space for the Germans.
“Bento’s side will be criticised for playing in a negative manner, but looking at Portugal’s side logically, it’s difficult for Bento to justify playing an attacking game. They have no number ten or a real creative influence to break down a packed defence, and their best bet is relying upon the wingers on the break – that’s the only way Ronaldo and Nani will be able to compensate for the lack of a prolific striker and a creative midfielder”
Spot on – unlike Alan Hansen and co. Portugal produced a feisty, committed performance and Germany looked really uncomfortable with it – I thought it was a fascinating match for the most part and the Germans need to get used to the fact they few are going to allow them to play the counter attacking style they deployed in South Africa.
Honestly I don’t think Portugal played negative football. Both teams played similar football before the German goal. There were periods when both teams had to defend when losing the ball, normal stuff. Portugal lost the ball more times then Germany so they had to defend longer.
I don’t see how Germany was clearly the better team, as is assumed here on this website. Portugal had 11 corner-kicks versus 2 of Germany. They had 13 attempt versus 12 of Germany. 7 attempt on target versus 4 for Germany. Portugal had more successful dribbles and throw-ins as well, 26 versus 15. Furthermore, Portugal had an equal amount of key-passes, 9 versus 9, and more accurate through passes in the game, 1 versus 0.
The only three departments where Germany wins are the following: the goals, the pass accuracy (85 versus 78) and the possession (57% versus 43%).
How the British pundits like Alan Hansen think that Germany was way better is beyond me. Biased analysis.
throw-ins?! Blimey.
That’s what happens when people forget about the actual match and just look at stat pages…
Portugal were completely controled by Germany until they decided they actually wanted something out of the game.
Hopefuly this result will throw away any more inhibition and allow Portugal to play the football they are good at, instead the one they are passable at…
Portugal should field Ronaldo and Nani next to each other in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Nani behind Ronaldo and one of Postiga or Almeida. That’s the only chance they have to be dangerous offensively, imo.
Currently, they have two good dribblers out wide who (i) are too far from the goal to create chances for themselves, (ii) create chances for mr. No-one in the middle.
For Portugal, this struck me as a very similar performance to their performances at WC 2010. And I’m not sure why they persist with this extremely restricted style of play.
I would accept the tactical and sporting logic of such defensive tactics if it was effective, but it isn’t. Its not like they are overachieiving, winning games they shouldn’t, and getting further in tournaments than one might expect. They haven’t managed to win a game against an equal or superior opponent playing this way, so I don’t understand why they persist – particularly as the way they set up is clearly not getting the best out of arguably the world’s best player.
I was very impressed with Germany, as they managed to break down a defensive Portugal side. I find this more impressive than a 4-0 thrashing, though not as entertaining. This was the difference between Germany and Holland, Germany can handle the pressure and break down defensive teams, Holland so far hasn’t been able to.
Germany were excellent in defense and I don’t think there are questions marks over their ability to defend against counter attacks anymore. Hummels and Badstuber were excellent not only in defending but at bringing the ball out of defense. This really helped as it meant they didn’t give the ball away in dangerous positions. Boateng was also impressive defending wise against Ronaldo, though whenever he got forward he looked completely, giving the ball away at first, then eventually being ignored by the likes of Ozil.
I thought in attack they struggled to break this Portugal side down. Khedira offered good runs forward from deep midfield (Holland should learn something here) and it was his cross that lead to the goal (though the deflection was lucky). While Muller’s movement was good and he got into dangerous positions down the right. Ozil and Podolski for me were disappointing, Ozil looked very tired after a long season and Podolski lacked the quality needed whe attacking down the left. Maybe Kroos and Schurrle should be given a chance in the next game to see if they impress. Gomez was extremely quiet until his goal, which was an impressive finish, but Germany were basically playing with 10 men until that point. It was the right decision to start him, but Reus could be a good option as a false nine up front, seeing as Klose still does not look 100%.
Portugal will feel unlucky to have lost, but they were the weaker side. They looked dangerous when they got the ball to Ronaldo or Nani, but it just didn’t happen enough. Postiga was poor and will need to do a lot better against the Danish to keep his place. They were impressive some parts of their game however; Their defense was solid, Coentrao got forward to good effect and the midfield was solid and showed good passing ability – if not very ambitious.
I would tip both these sides to go through, they look the strongest defensively and have decent threats both on the pitch and on the bench (Oliveira and Valera showed they can have an impact).
completely lost*
Dude, what are you on about ozil being tired etc. He was germany’s best offensive player in this match, the only one who produced threats on Portugal defense. Most if not all Germany’s attacking moves were due to his credit. Despite playing the most risky passes leading to chances in final third, he rarely missplaced any passes with 90% passing accuracy (the highest). Also being the only one who made a lot of unpredictable run. There’s a reason UEFA awarded him as official MOTM.
Poldo, Mueller, Gomez, & Bastian were the ones who’s at fault for whatever Germany’s lacking in this match.
He easily wasn’t the MOTM though, Hummels was. Germany struggled to break down this Portugal side and that is Ozil’s main role, in providing creativity. From his own high standards I thought he struggled, he rarely got space in the centre and had to move out to the wings where he is less effective. /he wasn’t as bad as Podolski by any stretch and did a lot more than Gomez, but I still think he wasn’t at his best. H just didn’t look 100% to me. Just my opinion of course.
Hummels was very good indeed. But Ozil was impressive too considering the lack of support he had around him & all the chances he still managed to create. I thought Ozil did what he could, creating spaces none of his team mates except Khedira seemed to know how to make good use of it. He also throwing countless of good balls to Poldi, Mueller, Gomez who struggled even to keep it and break many good played started by Ozil. Mueller usually very good, I don’t know what happened to him in this match, he barely make his usual run.
It just shows Uefa never picks the right player fot the MOTM.
i blame fifa/uefa, blatter/platini is behind all that, they’re all corrupt… always the same stupid stuff. the man of the match is decided by a fan voting!
I stand corrected.
Concur with on German defence, for the first time in months a German defence line up actually looked solid and even outshone their offense. I was impressed by Hummel and Badstuber on the way they kept the ball and distributed it very well. In fact even Neuer joined in and was involved in keeping the ball. This was key as the Portuguese midfield was keeping Khedira and Sheweni closely marked. Credit also must go to Leow for allow Hummel the freedom to play in such way.
However, I would not venture in saying that now the team is no longer vulnerable to counter attacks, we need to see if the backline could keep the performance for the next several games to qualify such statement.
I thought the Portuguese defence was porous and only the German inability to finish and an unwillingness to commit more players to attack kept the score down. Many times there were no takers for crosses or no follow up on second balls from the offensive players like Podolski and Mueller or midfielders.
IMHO with the switch in German strategy to a more possession based style, the shortcomings of players such as Podolski and Mueller are sticking out like sore thumbs. The earlier Leow realises this is better. I would think players like Reus and Kroos or even Shurrle would be more suited for such style.
Gomez despite his goal, did not convince me. His lack of movement and situational & tactical awareness were glaring.
Only Oezil & Khedira were impressive on the offensive half of the team. Khedira in particular was impressive with his energy and drive, I felt he plays better for Germany than Real Madrid.
does this game really needs any analysis . it was a boring affair and at the end i felt like sleeping.
Wouldn’t Hugo Viana be better for this Portugal’s approach instead of Mereiles or Moutinho?
The trouble in the buildup will hopefully force Löw to restrain from using two rather straight strikers on the wing in the future. Müller is still an enormous off-the-ball player, but Poldi is too limited to either do link-up or buildup plays – sth that seems badly missing vs deep opponents, denying the necessary space to bring the wingers into positions (and Poldi couldnt even convert his 2-3 chances anyway).
Thus im really hoping for either Reus or Götze in the future. That would add another creative element into the game. And that player might also be much better able in shutting down his flank in the final 10-15 minutes – sth Poldi couldnt do or didnt care to do yesterday …
Just a few quick notes:
1. Germany were much more of a 4-1-2-3 than 4-2-3-1 in the build-up phase, with Khedira and Schweiny taking turns as the deepest midfielder. I think it played in to Portugal’s hands, since Moutinho is naturally the most attacking minded of the Portugal midfield trio- happy to push up to the first German midfielder with Veloso and Meireles picking up the other two.
2. Müller missed Lahm’s diagonal runs. At Bayern and during WC10, Müller could stay wide and rely on Lahm to storm into the space (or vice versa). Now he had Boateng to support him in the attacks, who played a decent game but doesn’t have the positional bravery Lahm has- which made the right side far more predictable than previously.
If Portugal play ultra defensive and all out attack very well, then why not line them up all out attack at the start and make the switch to ultra defensive when 2 goals up?
Why not go into the game with the attitude of needing to score 2 goals to win it (as 1 against Germany won’t be enough)?
Portugal didn’t look like scoring until late in the second and going for dead ball goals means you actually have to get the ball in a position where a player can get fouled near the penalty box or a corner can be gotten.
As for creative players … I thought C.Ronaldo was always lauded for his creativity (and goal scoring drive)? So make use of that in the centre with someone like Quaresma out on the wing. Then they’ve got Hugo Viana … not every country can have a top 10 creative player but if lacking creativity then why not start the most creative player you have? The defensive midfielders will mop up behind him, they looked very good along with central defense.
@ZM … you say Bento was criticised for playing very negative … well, maybe rightly so because even with the players on the field that don’t have a big name yet (eg Oliviera) they looked more like winning at the end when in all out attack.
Both teams knew that a win would put them in a perfect position to go through the group and playing in a negative manner means you need more luck (PDO) which means bounces need to go your way … you can counteract this by playing more positive and thus not having to rely on luck so much anymore.
(explanation: if you play negative, your few chances have to go in in order to win; on average 20% of the total number of shots result in a goal which means that with 5 shots you can expect 1 to go in (think flipping a coin, if you get 3 heads in a row the chance of tails next is still 50% but the expectation leans towards a tails because after flipping the coin an infinate number of times heads and tails will both have come up 50% of the time) … in the first half Portugal had 3 shots (from a final total of 11) 2 were on target, one was from a large distance (C.Ronaldo, SoT in min.26), Moutinho off target in min.41 and the Pepe shot in the final minute … in other words you’re looking at a lot of luck (PDO) for a ball to go in … I’m not saying that with 11 Shots they should have scored 2 goals, but the more they shoot the higher the expectation becomes for one of those shots going in (which nearly happened in the end!) thus they were not relying so much on lucky bounces anymore because you can expect (over time) to eventually reach that 20%.)
I know this is a tournament and thus the number of games that you have to keep luck high is very limited and thus a possibility (hey, it’s possible to flip heads 6 times in a row) for winning the whole tournament is always there … the key is that even if you play negative you have to create as many shots as possible and in the first half Portugal were not set up like that.
I had Germany down for a 3-0 win (first of 4 games that I got wrong on the final score side) and was actually surprised how well Portugal played after the Oliviera switch. If I look at it clinically I would start Oliviera and either play C.Ronaldo centre pitch (highest shooting threat) next game or play Hugo Viana in the centre (left footed thus that means removing Moutinho). Especially after seeing the Holland-Denmark game where Holland’s 2 defensive midfielders didn’t bring that much to the game, if I’m Portugal I need something special to break down the Danes central midfield partnership. I don’t know how the changes would work out tactically, but it’s something I would look into at training.
If judging a side’s performance, one should take into account their intentions, and if they succeeded in achieving their goals. Well, Löw said after the match that his priority had been to be stable defensively and to avoid running into counter-attacks. At half-time, this is, according to him, what he gave to his players (especially Müller, Özil, Podolski, Gomez) as a guideline for the second half: “Keep on breaking up Portugal’s flow, that’s the priority.” (not an entirely literal translation).
Taking this as the benchmark, they played quite well, I’d say. Which isn’t to say that there is no room for improvement…
I am a huge fan of Germany, but I don’t fancy their chances that much in Euro ‘12. That’s because thier lack of fully fit players.
Oezil not 100%
Schweinsteiger not 100%
Klose not 100%
Goetze not 100%
My choice is to replace Schweini with Kroos and switch Boateng-Lahm. That’s my choice though.
Poldi was more effective 6 years ago when Germany fielded a 4-4-2 and had more energetic wingers like Odonkor and Bernd Schneider, who they never really replaced. He also made a wicked pairing with Klose, and they complimented each other’s styles quite well.
When a team parks the bus, the only thing you can do is either a) set-pieces or else b) shooting through traffic, which can cause all manner of problems depending on rebounds. IMO, Germany played about 45 minutes at 80% then the rest of the game they were about 40%. They’re not capable of winning this tournament with those numbers.
That being said, it’s still early. I think against the Dutch, who will not sit back and who were atrocious in defense, that Germany will carve them up. The Danes should not be a problem.
AFTER WATCHING OUR NEW STRIKER PODOLSKI LAST NIGHT MUST ADMIT I WAS VERY DISAPOINTED WITH HIS PERFORMANCE. i’VE OFTEN WONDERED WHY? BUT i KNEW THEN WHY THE WORLD’S FOOTBALL GIANTS DIDN’T COME IN FOR HIM.
ANOTHER OF OUR SAVE MONEY BARGAIN BUY FOR GAWD’S SAKE aRSENAL SPEND REAL MONEY AND BUY THE CREAM BECAUSE THIS GUY ON LAST NIGHTS SHOWING IS NOT THE ANSWER.
Germany should have subbed Podolski and possibly Muller as well. I understand that Muller has great tactical awareness and helps defensively but his technique isn’t the best and surely Germany have another winger who can do the same job?
Podolski was woeful. Should be dropped for Reus.
Is Gotze fit or is he carrying a knock?
oh and can someone explain to me where the use is in a sub in the 94th minute? cant be for resting as one or two minutes dont make a difference and not for tactical reasons. the commentators most of the time say its “to gain time” but the refs surely know this.
can anyone explain that to me? i just dont get it.
It is to gain time, to break the opponent’s rythm and to take pressure away from the own side.
As ZM rightly points out, I was really impressed with Ozil’s movemement. Time and time again he created the space for Khedira to attack from deep.
If you fancy another read: http://tttfootball.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/germany-1-portugal-0-9th-june-2012/
Germany wasn’t at their fluent best last night, still got the result which is ultimately all that matters really.
Despite Gomez goal, I still think Klose is the better option, think his movement is far better and more intelligent. The way he creates spaces is fantastic, and he’s got an immensely good goal record as well. You can’t really argue with Gomez some will say though. He’s been criticized for supposedly needing ten chances to score one, last night he had one chance, and produced a great header.
Thought the Germans were solid in defence, as has been said, Hummels started off shakily, but he was dominant in the end, winning everything. Think he’s a bit suspect in posession though. Badstuber was very good as well.
As for Portugal, they defended well, but maybe they should have been attacking from the start? Soon as they went 1-0 down, they created some good chances, and were attacking well.
In my opinion, Portugal has great defense and wingers. Because they don’t have good striker solutions, their only option to improve their game is to change that midfield. Pepe-Meireles-Moutinho (Rolando is a decent CB that’d cover Pepe’s place easily, and Pepe has been used with success in WC 2010) would provide defensive solidity with Moutinho working as more creative man, or with Veloso-Moutinho/Meireles-Nani, with Quaresma or Varela in the right wing, just like yesterday’s last 15~20 minutes. Opportunities abounded once Nani was in the midfield and there was finally room for creativity.
In my opinion, I dont agree with this analysis 100% from Zonal Marking.
“Portugal played ultra-defensive well, and they played all-out-attack well”
They are saying as Portugal have been playing good but telling the truth it was a lot disappointing.
Yes,I just have watched the first 45′(I didnt feel like to see the rest,it was clear for me that Germany would eventually score 1 or 2 goals in the second period,because Podolski Gomez and Muller had wasted lot of chances….).But ,by what I’ve seen,Ronaldo wasnt good (it seemed he had no will to play)and the defense commited some unforgivable mistakes.
This tournament will set the end of the 4-3-3 trend.
I think Portugal had a OK game, although they struggled in front.
If the 3CM and Postiga are not working very well, I think they may try again the 3 winger formation. Giving CR (not sure he should replace Postiga or a CM) more freedom to drift into both sides. They may need another good left winger (not sure if Quaresma is still good and Varela is mostly used on the right) Nani looks ok when he stay on the right or drift into middle, but was limited on the left (as he did in ManU).
Hi there mates, how is the whole thing, and what you want to say
regarding this paragraph, in my view its really amazing in support of me.