On the right track: National coach Julian Nagelsmann and his team have to learn from defeats and mistakes.
Photo: imago/Sven Simon
Like so many things in life, this European Championship has to come to an end. It was over for the DFB team on Friday evening in Stuttgart. When Spain fights for a place in the final against France in the semi-finals next Tuesday, the German footballers will already be on vacation after a long season. It could have turned out differently. But in the end the quarter-finals found a deserved winner because compared to life in football, some things are easy to explain: The Spaniards scored two goals through Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino, Florian Wirtz’s goal was only enough to equalize.
“The sad thing is that we probably won’t experience a home European Championship again,” said Julian Nagelsmann shortly after the bitter exit in extra time. With a little more distance, the national coach and his players will certainly find positive words to describe this tournament. After at least six years of German football shame, the successful restart is reflected not only in presentable results, but also in an exciting style of play. Even with the highly praised Spaniards as opponents, Nagelsmann rightly thought that his team was the better for an hour: “We had a lot more and clearer chances to score.”
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The header in sight
The longer the game lasted, the better and more dramatic it became. Wirtz was only able to equalize Olmo’s lead in the 89th minute. In extra time, the DFB team was closer to victory. A hand penalty that was clear according to the rules but was not whistled by the referee in the 106th minute was not the reason for the defeat, said Nagelsmann. That’s right: 13 minutes later Merino headed the ball into the net while standing alone, Niclas Füllkrug didn’t even hit the goal from a similar position in stoppage time. “It’s getting harder every second to realize that,” the striker said later. He meant elimination, but perhaps he had the image of his header in mind.
Defeats can also be profitable if you learn from them. In this respect, the German team has good prospects: the experience that young but already decisive players like Wirtz and Jamal Musiala were able to gain definitely makes them and the team stronger. And Nagelsmann’s necessary squad shake-up in March was a new start under high pressure with a view to the European Championships. The tournament had to be a success – and it was. Although no one in the DFB team had heard this yet, they all felt it in the appreciative applause of the supporters as they left the Stuttgart Arena. Now the national coach has a little less stress and more freedom to test. “Let’s see what’s right for the Nations League,” he said, looking ahead to the start against Hungary on September 7th. With the end of the European Championship, the new beginning really begins.
“It’s sad that we now have to wait two years to be able to become world champions.”
Julian NagelsmannNational coach
What applies to the players also applies to the national coach. On the one hand, the European Championships were his first tournament. On the other hand, Nagelsmann was not free from mistakes. Why he called Leroy Sané into the starting line-up again instead of Wirtz against Spain remained a mystery to many. Even in his previous appearances he couldn’t really make the German game any better. This was particularly noticeable against a good opponent like Spain: ineffective on offense, not consistent enough in pressing. Emre Can’s appearance was completely incomprehensible. In the middle of the game he was completely overwhelmed, he tried to save the ball and lost duels with cheap shots, but he didn’t succeed in that either.
The system paralyzed
Füllkrug’s header, the many other missed chances or the denied hand penalty – the German list of lost quarter-finals is long. Maybe the DFB team was 45 minutes short of winning against Spain. Because in the first half, the national coach himself had paralyzed the well-functioning system: the occupation of space and routes were no longer correct, nothing was compelling enough to keep the opponent busy from the start and make a lasting impression. He later did not reveal why Nagelsmann had lacked the conviction to rely on the tried and tested and thus his own strengths. However, he found the first half “bad.” And he corrected his mistake with “two correct personnel changes in the second half.” Robert Andrich for Can – the organization was right again, control of the game was quickly there. Wirtz for Sané – with the important playing partner of Musiala and Havertz, the Spaniards suddenly felt pressure.
Despite all the disappointment about the end of the European Championship for the DFB team, Julian Nagelsmann has not lost his desire and courage: “It’s sad that we now have to wait two years to be able to become world champions.” Yes, as in life, we also wait Football is the next challenge waiting to be mastered. We are definitely heading in the right direction.
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