Lennart Karl and Nathaniel Brown were allowed to start in the DFB team’s 4-0 (1-0) friendly win against Finland and did a lot of self-promotion in the process. In addition to the youngsters, Deniz Undav also shone. The individual criticism.
Oliver Baumann: Had almost nothing to do. With the ball at his feet, the representative of the old/new number one Manuel Neuer acted in a straightforward and calm manner.
Joshua Kimmich: As usual, Kimmich played a major role in building up the game from the right-back position and repeatedly moved far into the center. His pinpoint cross to make it 1-0 by Undav was strong, a few further crosses came to nothing, and Kimmich had no problems with the few opposing counterattacks despite his not-so-high top speed.
Jonathan Tah: Had no problems against Finland’s high balls, was always attentive and had no creative role in his own possession.
Nico Schlotterbeck: At the beginning I tried one or two diagonal shifts to the right wing and had to delete every now and then during the few Finnish attempts to relieve the pressure. He did the latter confidently.
Nathaniel Brown: The Frankfurt player was allowed to start on the left side instead of David Raum and created the first big chance of the game with a low cross. The youngster did a lot of self-promotion when he had the ball, took part in combinations and even appeared dangerously in the middle shortly before half-time. Brown positions himself as a valid alternative for the starting lineup.
Felix Nmecha (until 83rd): At the beginning, Nmecha used his role in the midfield center in possession of the ball as a “box crasher” to advance forward – with and without the ball. These were hardly productive that evening, but the idea of his role was definitely recognizable. His physical presence in the duels was good for the team overall.
Aleksandar Pavlovic: Had a lot of ball contact without making a big impact. He and Kimmich were often close to each other in the build-up and seemed to fill a similar role, which didn’t produce as much return against the deep Finnish block. When there was more space in the second half, his involvement in the offensive game was more effective.
Lennart Karl (until 72): The young Munich native recommended himself for an important role at the World Cup. Already in the 10th minute he was applauded for a courageous tackle with which he ended an opponent’s counterattack and continued to participate in the counter-pressing with a lot of energy. As a carefree one-on-one player, he also annoyed the Finnish defense on several occasions – even if some of his dribbles ultimately yielded nothing. At the corner to make it 1-0, he acted quickly and played briefly to Kimmich, and he prepared the 3-0 with a perfect pass – an excellent international match.
Jamal Musiala: Nominally, Musiala was lined up as ten in his comeback after an injury-related absence for over a year. In this role he had little space and rarely had the chance to show off his skills one-on-one. Accordingly, little was seen of him. With a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, he made it 4-0, which his teammates cheered euphorically. With a view to the upcoming tournament, the Munich player needs playing time and a sense of success – he got both. Even if, understandably, he is still a bit short of his best form.
Florian Wirtz (until 72): In the first half, the Liverpool player had many eye-catching moments, combined with the backheel, had promising finishes and was somehow always dangerous when he moved forward with the ball. He started his second half with an international goal for which he really didn’t have to do anything while counter-pressing while waiting at the penalty spot, other than positioning himself there. Instinct or luck? Doesn’t matter. Wirtz appeared to be in good shape and ready for his role as a key player at the World Cup.
Deniz Undav (until 60): In the eighth and 26th minutes, Undav missed the first big chances of the game against Lukas Hradecky and also looked a bit unhappy in the following minutes. He lurked, worked against the ball, but unlike at VfB Stuttgart, he hung in the air during combinations. But all of that was lost: first, after a corner, he scored his sixth international goal in his ninth appearance with a fairly unchallenged header, then immediately after the restart, after good counter-pressing, he made it 2-0 and completed a counterattack with strong timing and a lot of physicality to make it 3-0. However, he then grabbed his thigh and had to be substituted.
Substitute:
Maximilian Beier (60th for Undav): Came on for Undav after an hour, but was no longer able to set the tone, also because the DFB team was no longer as pressing for further goals. With the last chance of the game he almost made it 5-0, but it was blocked.
Leroy Sané (72nd for Florian Wirtz): In injury time he dribbled decisively into the penalty area, but somehow didn’t finish.
Nick Woltemade (72nd for Lennart Karl): Was visibly trying to present himself, but was mostly hanging in the air.
Nadiem Amiri (83rd for Nmecha): The local hero was able to collect a few more minutes at his home game in Mainz.
