Individual criticism
The German team starts the game in Belfast confidently but has to worry about victory in the end. Nick Woltemade’s unorthodox goal is the highlight of the game – the Sportschau individual review.
Oliver Baumann (Goal): The German keeper wasn’t challenged much in the first half. One would have liked a little more precision with his long passes. In the second half he proved to be life insurance and secured the victory for the German team. Especially when the Northern Irish put a lot of pressure on the German goal at the end of the game, Baumann held strong several times. In the end he had three saves. He was the most stable German player that evening.
Joshua Kimmich (defense): As he did against Luxembourg, the German captain lined up at the back right, but this time he remained much more inconspicuous against the physical Northern Irish.
Jonathan Tah (defense): Tah had to fend off some long balls from the Northern Irish, which he did quite well in the first half. In the second half he showed some insecurities and inaccuracies. Overall, a rather pale performance.
Nico Schlotterbeck (defense): Schlotterbeck initiated many actions, especially in the first half, he played safe passes and looked for duels with the strong Northern Irish. He showed one of the most stable performances in the German team that evening.
David Raum (defense): Started off strong, went into the game with a lot of assertiveness and dynamism and made it 1-0 with his corner. He underlined how important he is on the left side. In the second half he slowed down a bit and was no longer as present as he was at the beginning.
Aleksandar Pavlović (midfield): Always trying, but not always successful. He lost two thirds of his duels and was lucky to get a free kick from the Norridians after he pushed past Shea Charles remained without consequences.
Leon Goretzka (midfield): He rarely managed to penetrate deep, but Goretzka always had at least one opponent on his heels. Overall, stays inconspicuous throughout the game.
Florian Wirtz (midfield): Wirtz was very present in the first half and showed a good eye for his teammates with some nice passes. He didn’t find the lightness that he seemed to have lost recently in Belfast either.
Serge Gnabry (attack): Committed appearance from Munich. Gnabry tried a lot and made few mistakes.
Nick Woltemade (Attack): With his goal to make it 1-0 in the 31st minute, he provided the highlight of the game. With a lot of assertiveness and a somewhat unorthodox movement, Woltemade pushed the ball over the line with his head and shoulder. After that he dipped a bit, but didn’t make any major mistakes.
Karim Adeyemi (attack): The bottom line is that Adeyemi didn’t look good. Although he had some dynamic actions in the first half, the missed counterattack in front of the goal in the 47th minute and his yellow card, which led to a suspension in the next game, overshadowed the good moments.
Substitute
Maxilian Beier (from 64th minute for Adeyemi): Had little influence on the offensive game.
Waldemar Anton, Robert Andrich, Ridle Baku, Jonathan Burkardt were used, but only played a few minutes – too short to evaluate their performance.