Steffiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Points (Road to WWC 2019)[R]

It looked to me like Germany played very flexible out there today, switching between 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 with Elsig and Doorsoun allowing Germany to attack as they managed to hold a high line very well today. I like Elsig’s game, so do I feel about Demann’s game as well - idk how these two would compliment each other though as they’ll lack speed and that’s where Doorsoun comes in. Doorsoun seems to be very loyal and disciplined, partnering whoever she partners really well.

Peter won’t play CB ever again in this NT though. Highly doubt she’ll be able to compete with Maier for a RB spot as well, but she’ll probably be around in the squad...

 

Rauch is a really average defender... always has been, and it's meant she's had to fight for more advanced roles for her club, in positions she's never really going to feature for the senior wnt.

So while she had a... OK individual performance vs Austria, I don't see how she fits into a squad featuring Simon, Maier, Schweers, Peter all ahead of her; oh, and this with Rall yet to be tested, knowing B.Schmidt and Siems both better possible FB options too.

As long as the various youth teams remain pointless, I think it's only a positive having a prospect like Gwinn within the senior team, even if it's just to train.

But Gwinn seems to be a player who still requires a lot of direction from the coach, meaning her productivity at the senior level is still far too indecisive compared to her impressive form at club level.

 

I’ll take her anyday even if it’s just to train with the NT and then giving her some playing time

Btw I said in the other thread that Fischer’s leaving Wolfsburg so I feel rather confident when saying that Elsig’s gonna replace her as her contract expires with Potsdam after this season

 

They started with a 4-1-4-1 and then reverted to 4-4-2 for the second half, resulting in the GK and CB's having a more effective ability to pass their way out from the back, because Magull sat next to Däbritz in CM, providing an important extra body/passing option to out maneuver Austria's high pressure.

Yeah... Doorsoun and Hendrich, are both better players when they're defending like DM's who happen to be covering CB's. So it would make sense they seem to work better next to a CB partner who'll attack the ball, while they use their speed to sweep up anything around them.

The team just needs a more stable CM, to allow the CB's to split and pass the ball more effectively from the back.

 

lol... Peter will remain a part of this squad as long as Neid and Ballweg are still part of this program. But when you remember how bad Peter - Henning looked vs Austria, and compare that to the Doorsoun - Elsig partnership, I think you might be correct in the opinion Peter never starts as a CB for this team again.

I wouldn't be so sure... Wolfsburg will just take the contract Fischer had, and recruit another foreign option before they bring any new domestic international CB to their club.

To be honest, looking at squad depth I think Bayern will have a better chance of getting Elsig. (They still used Laudehr as a CB in their recent UCL match)

 

I just watched it, my thoughts; definite experimental with the lineups, but why bother with the RB's, Peter & Rauch? On the other hand I can see how Horst wants to bring somehow the league's best players, Dallmann & Magull, into the starting lineup(something he didn't do in his biggest game vs Iceland), but trying to find room in the all ready crowded CM spots is another matter/ Magull first starts at fwd, then keeps switching with Dabritz at DM. In the meantime, Huth has to play more centralized to make room for newbie, Gwinn, instead of her favored, right winger slot. Maybe these interchangeable witched were made to confuse the opponents from closely marking, but often can be more confusing for the perpetrators(which often happened during the Jones era).

Popp stays as main striker by proxy. Schuller I think will do good as a super sub, as she can use her speed more effectively against tired defenses. Elsig proved that she at least should make the WC team, obviously a strong performer on defense & a threat offensively, but can she handle the likes of a speed burner like Sam Kerr remains to be seen?

not much even out of the better FB combo in the 2nd half, Maier & Simon, but that's cause Horst keeps them well grounded, but that will die when MVT takes over.

so how many games/friendlies does Horst have left?

 

Hrubesch started a team with Däbritz sitting behind both Magull and Dallmann in the central mid-field, but the team as a whole couldn't really be as effective as they should have been in the 1st half, due to Huth's inability to play/stay wide left, and Austria's early tactical change which saw them apply more aggressive pressure to Germany's back 4.

So it wasn't a bad idea... it was just a 1st half team that lacked the correct balance in key areas, but still ended up wasting various clear chances that should have easily seen them gain a 2 or 3 goal lead before half time.

Oh, and the more I see Magull playing as a CM like she did in the 2nd half, the more I think she should replace Marozsan to become the teams first choice CM in future too; constantly being a far more impressive player in a deeper role than Marozsan's ever showcased playing for the senior team in the same role.

 

Using recent form, past performances, I see a future team of...
--------------------- Schult ---------------------
Maier -- Doorsoun --- Demann -- Simon
-------------- Magull --- Popp ----------------
Däbritz ------- Marozsan ------- Schweers
----------------------- FW ----------------------
Leaving a space for a striker other than Popp to be found, with options like Hendrich, Huth, Dallmann, Schüller, and even Kemme potentially fighting for a WC starting place.

So even if the unprofessional nonsense returns with MVT's arrival, there's no reason why Hrubesch can't leave a solid platform for the team to continue improving with Schüller, Rolser, Petermann, all fighting for a striker role.

 

In a good cohesive team, she wouldn't be left on her own to contend with numerous 1v1 duels with loads of space behind her... so your really not asking a question doubting her ability to defend speed, your asking a question about this team ability to defend against speed correctly as a cohesive unit.

During the 1st half, you saw the trouble that can happen with a slightly unbalanced team trying to pass the ball around the defense, and none of that was because of any defenders weak recovery speed.

 

I see no reason why Marozsan wouldn’t and shouldn’t start if fit, but as you pointed out then definitely playing behind the striker with Magull playing CM together with Popp. Dallmann’s not been bad for the NT, but she’s fighting for the same spot as Marozsan really and that’s the problem while Magull strikes me to be more of an allround midfielder than Dallmann

Huth... not sure where to place her really as I find her slightly inferior to Magull and Dallmann so I’d play her out on the wing but there I feel like Schweers and Däbritz are better options as Huth looks rather limited to me at times

 

here was supposedly the lineup configuration,
https://us.women.soccerway.com/matches/2018/10/06/world/friendly-women/germany/austria/2925431/
but it seemed a lot of switching was going, as Horst went back to the lone DM which a times seems like it was Dabritz, then Magull. Definitely Gwinn was an outside mid, I think Huth got to move up to fwd, when Magull moved back to DM. a bit uncharastically of Horst to keep switching his players like that instead of letting them play at more naturally, but then again, that's what friendlies are for.

this would be my lineup vs a top 5 team

............................Schmidt

Hendrich.........Denmann......Elsig..........Simon

...........................Leupolz

Huth..............Dallmann......Dabritz........Schweers

..........................Popp

with Schuller & Magull being first choices to sub in

 

@hotjam2 For somebody who does nothing but frame every debate around the simplistic idea of speed and athleticism, it's really weird seeing you randomly decide Demann and Elsig would combine together as Germany's best CB duo.

And how does Hendrich start at RB having never showcased the same ability as somebody like Maier in that particular role; oh, and this when it's obvious Hendrich could be far more important within a DM/CM role too.

Then while I'll ignore how you forgot the team captain aka Dzsenifer Marozsan, It's hilarious seeing the highly inconsistent Dallmann ahead of Magull in a CAM/CM role, because lets be real here... as long as Magull remains healthy, it's just not happening anytime soon.

 

He didn't ask anybody to switch roles. Austria simply changed their system (smart decision) early in the match (note early sub) to apply more pressure to Germany's defense within Germany's half of the field.

This eventually leading to Magull and Dallmann both dropping back deeper to try and create extra passing options for the GK, and CB's, as Däbritz's was constantly being marked centrally, stopping the team from smoothly transitioning towards the mid-field and attack without losing possession of the ball in very dangerous areas of the field.

And Huth wasn't a FW anytime during her first half of contributing nothing. She's just completely one dimensional as a right sided attacking player, and never been anything but terrible at playing a wide left role lol.

 

@hotjam2
You mean Schmitz? She’s great, I hope she’s able to get some more games in the future but for now I’d go for Schult.

Okay who the hell is Denmann lol?? You’ve called her that for years
I’d like to see Demann and Elsig tried together, but they’re too slow probably and in a backline featuring Maier as well with rather average speed, Doorsoun is much needed. Doorsoun’s a good sweeper, but still very good/better than Peter to press high and defend and she does know how to play the ball up to the midfield although she’s been outshined by Demann and Elsig all her games.

Dallmann and Huth are super subs how I see it now

 

I swear, between you & Batfink; your pretty heartless: don't you know it was Huth's two goals that saved GE in the only game that really mattered?(the return Iceland match)

 

I like Huth, and would be perfectly OK seeing her start as the right AM, or as a striker, but if I'm thinking about selecting a balanced attack, she can't play on the left, and Däbritz is a better player; am I wrong..?

So if Popp was moved to CM, allowing Huth to be given a lone forward role in this team I'd be fine with that too. But I made the forward option open, knowing it's the one position where nobody has produced a real claim to be the 1st choice option.

 

--------------------- Schult ---------------------
Maier -- Doorsoun --- Demann -- Simon
-------------- Magull --- Popp ----------------
Däbritz ------- Marozsan ------- Schweers
---------------------- Huth ----------------------

Knowing Huth's effectiveness versus most opponents doesn't come from her providing assists or crosses from wide areas of the field, I just thought she'd be better used as a FW option within a WC squad lacking strong/mature FW options.

Schüller, Rolser, Popp, Petermann, Huth being strikers. Versus Däbritz, Schweers, Dallamann, Gwinn, Knaak, Huth as the current wide AM options.

Why would you waste Huth as a wide AM when you already have Däbritz, Schweers, Dallamann, Schüller, Gwinn..?

 

your starters are weak defensively though(as compared to Leupolz & Hendrich, who are really good defenders)last game it was Dabritz poor defending that gave Austria's only goal, she also gave away a free kick in an dangerous area that Canada turned into a goal

besides Jones bad coaching, it was the 1v1 dual where Harder frequently burned Maro that gave Denmark that big win at last Euros

don't know how many times lil Leo been beaten on the dribble; I bet Megan Rapinoe sends roses to the GE coaching staff every time she's sees them send out Maier to defend her, lol


Doorsoun hustle's really well, especially getting back on defense, but I'[m not sure as of yet if she can handle the more physical or top of the line fwds of the world & besides that, doesn't clear the ball all that well & has a hard time finding open players up ahead/though just passing it to the DM seems to help/

with Elsig, at least you get someone who plays very physical, especially with high balls, as well as has those strong long balls for outlet passes/quick counters, but does suffer from not being a fast runner, thus you wouldn't want her in there when high lining your back field, but would be better if you backs are against the wall(which happens against stronger teams)

a reminder that in the ever changing world of woso, where more & more females start playing the game year after year. 'pretty play' will only get you so far;
at the current Concacaf, traditional teams like Costa Rica & Mexico, who seem to know their soccer chops(as Jorgi found out this last summer) have been all ready eliminated from the WC, thanks to losses to squads like Jamaica & Panama, who's raging hormonal teens just blew right by their defenses

 

So you mean the really gifted AM playing within her new lone DM role got exposed by an Austrian coach intelligently changing the way his team effectively press the ball inside Germany's half of the field... wow, shocking...

Oh, and I like the way you continue ignoring the roles players like Leupolz & Hendrich have also played in some pretty tragic defensive performances for the national team. Like during one of the worst performances the wnt has ever produced on home soil, you know... the 90 min horror show vs Iceland.

Plus how does Marozsan playing as a CAM effect the team defensively..? And what does talking about Maier's defensive failures under Jones mean, when this is the same coach who thought it a genius idea to make Blasse 1st choice RB, in a defense featuring Henning - Peter - Kerschowski lol.

LOL, seriously... your calling my potential 11 defensively weak, when you can't even recognize the potential issues with Demann and Elsig as a CB duo, and this when you put a defensively suspect Leupolz ahead of them in a lone DM role...

 

I agree.. Doorsoun still showcases some concerning traits as a CB. But when your seeking ways to create a more compact team, expecting to defend and attack with improved/smoother transitions, both Doorsoun and Hendrich are the only options to partner Demann, or Elsig.

And whoever you pick in defense, your still not getting a strong defensive team performance without other factors like the mid-field and attackers playing their roles correctly too. This being a factor you never seem to want to acknowledge about Germany.

The team aspect is really important to the way everything works; and yet your highlighting random nonsense about CONCACAF, not acknowledging Germany still a successful wnt program simply carrying a lot of unnecessary disorder.

A senior team just beginning to regain some form of a past identity needs more structure and balance, not less.

 

Yeah, this sounds like somebody who's never witnessed their favorite team accomplish anything with style lol...

But lets be real here, I don't think Germany's senior wnt have ever won anything playing to their opponents strengths, with many of the teams current problems only starting to negatively manifest once they began to stupidly run into the brick wall of uncharacteristically 1v1 natured football.

So I don't know what MVT will achieve, but I do know it's only going to continue looking really bad should it follow any of the themes Neid started, and Jones continued.

 

I really do understand your concerns about Maier, I mean she's been beaten quite sometimes, but no defender is able to win all of their 1v1 duels. So then it's up to the team to be compact and the centerbacks or defensive midfielders being able to cover up when the fullbacks lose a duel. So I feel like under Hrubesch, the backline has been able to be compact with small gaps, helping each other out if someone loses a duel. Conclusion: the backline really looks like a unit, and there's no reason why Peter or Blässe should play there instead of Maier.

I watched the 2nd half of the game against Austria again, and Elsig was really impressive. So where Elsig stood and marked really high, Doorsoun was always slightly behind her, much like a sweeper. That worked really good. And yes, Elsig has something that Demann doesn't have and that's her aerial ability and physicality, but still Demann's been excellent as a CB so I'd stick with her for now.

So I see, Hendrich played as a CB for Bayern today, and Demann was later subbed on as a defensive midfielder for Magull. Hendrich had an awful pass though which led to a goal for Hoffenheim.

 

And yes, I'd like to see Elsig and Demann together one time, as they'll try to hold that high line for Germany, but I'm pretty sure that at one point in the game, they won't be able to hold it and then there'll be a 1v1 situation vs the goalie.

Okay but how can you blame Marozsan for not defending good enough against Harder when she's not supposed to defend as much as she did under Jones lol.

 

LOL, she's exactly the same as Doorsoun when it comes to making careless passing errors from a CB position, but Hendrich is the significantly better player whenever she's deployed as a mid-fielder, so....

Elsig's passing seems to be really underrated too, as she's just as accurate as Demann in the ability to execute long direct passes, and the quick mid range passes, that end up being perfectly targeted into the feet of the CM's and forwards.

It's just currently Demann's general composure that still makes her the obvious 1st choice CB. But Elsig's overall game with her superior physical attributes probably makes her stronger defender if she's used within the right kind of team.

 

since the international threat seems pretty much dead on Big Soccer, I figured I'll post this game over here so it might give us some idea on MVT's coaching system this Swiss vs Belgium play-off game


guess she's playing the preferred Batfink/Thomsen 4-2-3-1 style(hip, hip, hooray!), it's hard to know how effective it was as her team has gotten considerably weaker as several vets retired(Bernauer, Moser Burki, Abbe) as well Bachmann & Dickermann might be passed their prime.Their one speedy, Swiss youth prospect, Lehmann, come in at the 2nd half mark & scores both their goals. Otherwise no really quick counters as Belgium compacts the game iwith a high back line. The Swiss give up two soft goals, but at least have their defense back there