Nations League-Underhilling: Julian Nagelsmann and the DFB team

Relief, joy and satisfaction – the game against Italy produced many feelings with the German footballers. It is never wrong to start a new international year with a sense of achievement. And the 2-1 from Thursday evening in Milan is worth a lot, especially for further strengthening the self-confidence of the DFB selection. Because after the first step, national coach Julian Nagelsmann wants to “take the second and third step” with the amazingly well -played European Championship last summer.

Third victory in almost 100 years

The balance sheet shows why Italy is a German fear opponent: 15 defeats are still opposed to the tenth victory. The joy of Nagelsmann and his footballers when looking at another statistics was even greater: the last victory in Italy to date had succeeded in a DFB team in 1986, the first 1929. The goals of Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka now got the first victory in the 14th away game. So a lot was done in the Giuseppe-Mazza Stadium. And that with a strongly weakened team that had to compensate for the lack of Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz.

Because two teams always belong to a football game, this success should not be overrated. The Italian team is still in transition. For example, DFB captain Joshua Kimmich with his 98 international matches brought more experience than half of the entire opposing starting eleven. The fact is also: Italy does not do justice to the big name in world football. This is an example of the disappointing departure in the round of 16 of the European Championship against Switzerland. The only really convincing of 14 international matches last year was the 3-1 victory against France for the group start in the Nations League. But like Italy itself, the French have problems, the Belgians, who are also defeated in the group game.

Verbality of high spirits

Goretzka described the game in Milan as a “very round story”. Sure, after 16 months he enjoyed his coemback in the DFB team. Nagelsmann had sorted him out – and now, after improved performance at Bayern, brought back. The midfielder justified the trust, especially with the winning goal in the 76th minute, had previously appeared dangerously dead before the opposing and otherwise not noticed a few times. But in the high spirits of his satisfaction, the 30-year-old later shot verbally. Goretzka found the first half »not that bad. We were already the better team. «

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Maybe Goretzka felt it differently on the square, but he still transfigured the picture. A limited Italian team absolutely deservedly deservedly earned the 2-0 more closer to the equalizer to the equalizer due to the goal after nine minutes after nine minutes: on the one hand, it was much closer to the 2-0, because on the other hand it was very confident in the defense. In this respect, national coach Nagelsmann later showed himself cocky when he praised the great influence of Goretzka on the game.

Weak center

In fact, the barely existing offensive impulses caused the defensive pair of midfield Goretzka and Pascal great to ensure that Jamal Musiala had to get the ball deep in his own half. So he was more busy with the early game structure and was therefore missing his goal risk as a passer and executor on the offensive. And during defense work, the defensive German midfield center often offered the opponent more space than allowed: after the quick compensation by Tim Kleindienst four minutes after the restart, the Italians had the chance to take the lead again several times.

A development also includes setbacks. Not a perfect game, at the beginning of the year with little preparation – completely ok. And with the knowledge of the game of Milan, many have already expected: The beautiful, fast, dominant and inspiring game cannot be brought to the field without Wirtz and Havertz in the offensive series of three and some other missing actors. Therefore, despite the victory, neither the team performance nor the individual players should be talked too beautiful. For this, the really successful one should be put to the fore: The DFB team has shot against Italy. This also succeeded because corrections to the national coach had an effect after a poorer first half. And so the DFB team can make another piece of the “second step” in Dortmund this Sunday in Dortmund. According to Nagelsmann, he leads to victory in the Nations League. And then the third to the World Cup title.