German Fraulein National Team 2020 & beyond

Horst, du Teufelskerl !!!

Sorry,


we prefer

 

For 70 mins Germany were in control of this match, with Hrubesch making two stupid subs at the same time, that would absolutely place this game in favour of Canada.

Luckily for Hrubesch though, he met a side today with worse attacking efficiency than his own, or this game could have been over in normal time.

And while it's a genuine accomplishment for this group of players to reach the medal rounds, I still see them come out of this match likely having learned absolute nothing over the past 4 matches.

When Gwinn was injured for the WC, the wnt coaches stupidly destroyed the whole team instead of selecting Linder as her replacement. And now missing Oberdorf, I feel like we're witnessing the same flawed response repeating, with Senß the natural replacement for Oberdorf sat on the bench...

So with Nüsken being Germany's best player today, with her removal from the mid-field a complete brain freeze moment that would almost cost this team a chance to medal at this tournament.

But potentially even worse, was seeing this error with mid-field only further compounded with Hrubesch removing Endemann, as it a sign him not grasping this all coming from his mid-field constantly being at fault for his teams offense not functioning correctly right now.

 

You mean no attacking efficiency? If I'm not mistaken, Canada didn't have a shot on target until late in the second half.

 

Very happy with the result, but it was a bit of struggle to get there. Frustrating again that early chances went begging. If either or both of those early chances is converted we see a different match with Germany controlling the game I think.
Kudos to Brand in particular for constantly pushing forward and making the canadian defence accountable. One thing that was noticable however was that Germany seemed to struggle to press the canadian defence who seemed to not only be able to clear the ball away with ease, but to be able to launch passes which put them straight back into a strong offensive postion, clearly an issue to work on.
AKB clearly the hero of the day, the second half save after another defensive lapse, kept her team in it, then sheer brilliance under pressure in the penalty shoot out. Spare a thought for Syd Lohman, who went very close to being both hero then villian, I'm sure she was as releived as anyone after the match. Feel an early goal against USA would be very beneficial, lets hope early chances are presented and nailed. Excited for the next match.

 

Wrong game! The one you just described was USA-Japan.

Mmm, yeah, it definitely was Lohmann reaching it, wasn't she?

Well mission accomplished: the cheaters are out.

Now, since you managed to achieve that result so well, would you accept another important mission? It's nothing new, it's still about kicking some North American ass...

 

This is the point I making...After winning the first half battle, as soon as Hrubesch removed Nüsken, Germany would find themselves comprehensively dominated in almost every factor of this contest.

Canada over the 120 mins creating 22 shots compared to Germany's 13, while Canada would hit the target 5 times, where Germany not including the late header from Lohmann would only manage a huge underwhelming... 1 .

Both teams being relatively poor at passing/possession based football, would see Germany end with 55% possession overall. But this is the one of two areas they'd win today; looking at the other positive factor of Germany winning aerial duels, probably being the only reason they didn't lose today...

Hrubeshc's teams selection losing in overall tackles, big chances missed, through balls, touches inside the opponents penalty area, final 3rd entries, successful long balls, crosses, ground duels, dribbles, interceptions, ball recoveries... lol, Hrubesch should thank the gods he got to face Canada's one dimensional attack.

 

Just watched the highlights: why did Berger had a bandage next to her ear?

 

With Germany's attacking play not functioning today, this team would spend most of it's time being worse than the WC team...; but now benefiting from having genuine defenders like Gwinn, Hegering, Solano, all stepping up to make major contributions that were missed under MVT.

So missing both Däbritz, and Oberdorf to injury, it's even more frustrating to think how much better this team could be right now with stronger possession orientated CM/AM's like Lattwein, Magull, or Gräwe.

But if we've not seen the best of Minge (she a box to box CM), only seeing Lohmann used sparingly to mixed effect, what happened to Senß...? Potentially the Olympic teams best CM option, but never used...

Germany started well Vs Canada, lost their way, but had the coach almost lose this match because he refuses to view Popp as a forward, or Senß as a DM/CM.

This the problem with Brand. She's actually been one of the teams worst players... Brand loses possession far too much, but has this negative trait being mixed between random moments of potential high quality that will typically look good but lead to nothing.

Brand Germany's lowest rated player Vs Canada, Zambia, and USA. With her best performance coming Vs Australia, when Germany's general play was just lots of long balls.

I think it's getting incredibly difficult to defend her starting ahead of Endemann right now, with it being crazy seeing Hrubesch allowing her to stay on the field ahead of still superior Bühl.

Yeah, this started Vs Iceland during Euro qualification, and has been a huge tactical flaw ever since. For some reason I can't grasp, Germany removing their best defensive attribute (pressing), in exchange for a very very bad mid-block defensive structure opponents walk through with ease..

Vs USA it killed Germany, and Vs Canada it became a major issue once Germany's mid-field removed it's only competitive element towards controlling general play (Nüsken).

And what's strange about this, is knowing it's not just a senior team thing either, as this same approach forced onto u17 and u19's this year, producing similar poor performances/results.

Berger has been soooooo strange to watch during this tournament lol. Her #1 quality that's genuinely elite compared to Frohms, is her ability to deal with arial crosses with high amounts of efficiency.

Berger so good at this, it's basically eliminated any chance of opponents being able to score against Germany through high crosses/FK's.

But in every other aspect of her game as GK, I'm still 99% convinced Frohms the superior talent lol. Which made it a surprise to see Berger so confident in her PK saves, when she's been anything but confident doing the same routine saves during normal play...

 

With all the issues Hrubesch is having with his unbalanced mid-field, I think it's time he started to seriously reconsider what he's done so far, and asses the tools his key players poses, and how to make them work effectively for the whole team effort Vs USA.

In this situation if he doesn't want to see a repeat of the first encounter, I think this could be really smart...
Bühl -------------------- Popp -------------------- Endemann
------------ Senß -------------------- Nüsken ------------------
Linder ---------------- Hegering ---------------- Gwinn
-------- Solano ------------------------- Hendrich ---------
Hegering already plays like a libero, Solano proving she can bring similar Hegering like stability to the defence. This just makes sense if your looking to establish a better defensive platform Vs USA, no?

And if the coaches refusing to have this team press, we could see this shape occur with Hegering being a DM Pivot....
---- Bühl ----------------- Popp --------------- Endemann -----
Linder ----------Senß ----------- Nüsken---------- Gwinn
-------- Solano -------- Hegering ------- Hendrich ---------
It creates a stronger low block, but also has the benefit of mirroring USA's inverted 3 at the back when in possession of the ball...

They brought extra CB's, which allows Hegering to play as a DM. And with Hegering being one of the teams best players, it makes far more sense to use her as a genuine libero now, rather than believing another sighting of a Popp - Minge double 6 will compete better Vs the USwnt.

 

I like Schüller, I like Brand, I like Minge, but Vs the USA again it's time Hrubesch used his damn squad.

Selecting extra CB's for the Olympics, also including a surprisingly healthy Hegering who's 100% capable of being a strong DM presence.

Germany needs more controlling presence in CM, and they have this with Hegering and Senß.

 

Eurosport highlights don't show the Lohmann penalty. Under the bandage was the equipment which made it possible for the German coaches to tell Berger in which corner the Canadian players will shoot.

 

That's what I had figured: earphones vs drones!

 

Brand

This is Brand's impact on Germany. And after match day 1 it's been increasingly superficial...


Bühl

Bühl being brought off the field early Vs Canada was absolute madness from Hrubesch, as without the need of in depth data, it should be obvious why she's been Germany's most effective wide forward.


Endemann

Brought into the Canada match as a sub, then removed in the same game when she's still performing better for the team than Brand lol...; there's clearly way more she could offer this team.


Schüller

I feel like she's been good, but should have done a lot more with the amount of chances she's wasted.

Of all these Hrubesch's best attacking options, but it's seen Brand getting progressively worse over time, making more bad decisions with each match she plays...

 

Popp

For all of her obvious issues as a CM, Popp has been Germany's most consistent performer; which is slightly concerning lol

Nüsken

Has been performing better moved into a more conventional CM role. Not a real controller of match tempo, once she was taken off Vs Canada, it's telling Germany would instantly begin to crumble without her.

Minge

Making the best of a bad situation, Minge has been tasked with a role she's not best suited to play, but done her best to help the team regardless of her positional limitations.

Senß

Not once has she been utilised in her best position, and currently a victim of Germany's horrible player analysis department. She's the one player I'm convinced ready to perform if given the opportunity.

Due to some flawed selections, and strange player analysis... Germany's mid-field the absolute weak point of this team, which is dumb knowing post Olympics it's set to be the strongest department of the team...

 

Gwinn

When Gwinn combined with Huth down the right, it created a fantastic pairing for Germany. But without someone as stable in front of her now, while she's very good individually, I don't think we've come close to seeing the best of her during these Olympics.

Ruach

... Considering her strong qualities in progressive passing, I think she's been underwhelming in many defensive aspects of her game, and almost invisible in her attacking qualities too.

I don't know what's wrong with Linder, but it feels like Germany are currently operating with a down grade at LB. Which shouldn't be the case knowing the high level experience that comes with Ruach.

 

Hegering

Constantly criticised for holding together a tactical nightmare... she doesn't get enough credit for the consistently solid defensive work she provides this team.

Hendrich

Hendrich defending deep is always a complete mess, who'll produce shocking errors at times with almost minimal amounts of pressure placed on her. But place her within a team possessing a quality mid-field in front of her, and you get a really impressive CB/ball recovery machine.

Schulze Solano

I don't think she's made a single tackle so far this tournament lol, but continues to appear a far more assured CB defending spaces from deeper positions, using a style different but potentially complementary to one, or maybe both of the current starting CB's.

There's going to be a lot of change with the defence after Hrubesch's time ends. Solano likely part of the future, as both Hegering and Hendrich's time comes to an end.

And right now, the potential of seeing all three start Vs USA sounds interesting, as it might be the missing ingredient to this teams poor mid-field stability...

 

I would love nothing more then that, but I`m also realistic. The only way Germany can reach the final is going old school. Play ugly and somehow win...hahaha.

 

Germany is much too flat on energy for any pressing
I like the formation with Solano,Hegering and Hendrich in the back. We will need the Libero for the extra cement backline. And when we have the chance to go forward, Popp needs to get one good cross.

 

Ughhh... listening to Hrubesch lie to himself about how misleading the first encounter supposedly was, I fear your correct about Germany needing a whole lot of luck to escape this semi final without another lopsided defeat...

I already know Germany allowing 80% of possession to their opponent, won't function the way it did for Japan during their ET defeat Vs USA. But I'm also not seeing any hints to suggest Hrubesch ready to try something different.

39% for the 1st half seeing Germany losing 3-1.. at HT. But seeing Hrubesch talk about needing to win more 50/50 duels, should probably confirm we're about to see him use the same underwhelming tactics, and hope for the best.

It's not an energy problem... it's a tactical problem. And this always a real shame when you understand not long ago, Germany's approach to counter pressing the best we've seen in women's football...

About to face an opponent who's already completely exposed the tactical weakness of his 4-2-4, the reality Hrubesch isn't even considering a significant tactical/player change is crazy...

The USwnt set to deploy the same 3-4-3 system, confident it will just overwhelm Germany's weak mid-field. If Hrubesch just accepted his teams mid-field is bad, he still has the players to create the perfect defensive shape to turn this into a more competitive contest.
------------ Senß -------------------- Nüsken ------------------
Linder ---------------- Hegering ---------------- Gwinn
-------- Solano ------------------------- Hendrich ---------

 

@Lohmann

We did it !!!

 

Germany has beaten Spain in the final

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like the football team will