analysis
The German U21 national team was eliminated from the group stage at the European Championships in Georgia for the first time since 2013. The “minimum goal of the Olympics” was missed by far. The reasons for this: wrong tactics and not enough talent(s).
Yes, Hermann Gerland – the German coaching luminary – was also part of the U21 national team at the European Championships. However, as Antonio Di Salvo’s assistant coach, the 69-year-old stayed in the background as he likes best. However, his advice could not avert the embarrassing end of the group stage as bottom of the table.
“Always luck is skill” – this football wisdom comes from Hermann Gerland, but it is already a few years old. In the last three tournaments, the German U21 national team was in the final of the European Championship – Germany celebrated twice. The teams and the coaching staff must have really been able to do something.
30 shots for a hit
Now, in 2023, Germany has been eliminated from the group stage for the first time in ten years. The balance: sobering to embarrassing. Defeats against the Czech Republic and England, a meager draw against Israel despite being outnumbered by 45 minutes. In total, the DFB-Elf tried to score 60 times – they succeeded twice.
“The luck that we didn’t have at the back, we didn’t have at the front either”, said Germany captain Yann Aurel Bisseck after the 2-1 defeat by the Czech Republic. And even before the England game, striker Kevin Schade took the same line: “We were unlucky. Normally we win both games.” But if Gerland’s wisdom is actually correct, then it can also be reversed: “Always bad luck is inability.”
German opponents with a perfect match plan
Yes, the German team was not pursued by so-called luck in this tournament. Of course, a deflected shot could have jumped differently. And of course that could have changed the course of the game. But anyone who tries to score a goal so often and fails again and again is simply (currently) not good enough. But if you’re not lucky all the time, you can, as we know, force it: not through the sheer number of shots, but through the quality of shots and chances. The DFB-Elf did not succeed in that either.
The German group opponents have shown the DFB-Elf perfectly in terms of match plan. The Israelis knew that they were inferior in terms of play, but they can defend and counterattack and were successful with it. Above all, the Czechs recognized the speed of their wing players as a strength and achieved success with it. As tournament favourites, England are a complete and versatile team: Whether it’s individual action, deep balls or one-touch football – they can do it all. The sporting director of the national teams Joti Chatzialexiou saw the end “a cat and mouse game”.
What is the strength of this team?
It was clear how Germany wanted to succeed – but was it the right approach? Over the outside to the front and then find a buyer for the flanks. The DFB-Elf hit a whopping 90 crosses in three games – it was almost never dangerous. The only goals came from a free kick (Bisseck header) and a shot from 16 meters (Stiller). The team simply lacks the players to hit really dangerous crosses, let alone convert them.
In order to crack the mostly deep opponents, there was almost always a lack of speed, precision in the passing game and also the courage to go into a one-on-one game in the German game. “In the end, it’s exactly the issues”said Chatzialexiou after the England bankruptcy: “We’ve been denouncing that in German football for a long time. There’s still a lot of work ahead of us so we don’t miss out on the connection to the top of the world.”
Chatzialexiou is putting his finger in the wound – not only in that of the U21s, but also in that of the senior national team and the entire DFB youth work. Because if several DFB teams have the same problems, it may not be bad luck, but inability.