World Cup start for DFB team: Germany’s fear of Japan’s counterattack

Status: 11/21/2022 7:41 p.m

At the start of the World Cup, Germany meets an opponent whose style of play it doesn’t like at all. The susceptibility to counterattacks was already fatal in Russia.

The enormous importance of the opening game in a major tournament is based on the fact that despite all reform efforts and reforms, the principle still applies: in a group of four, each team plays each other once. Thus, each team only has three games before going to the knockout stages or going home.

This also shows the at least great respect that the German national soccer team has for Japan, the opponent in the opening game of the World Cup in Qatar (Wednesday, November 23, 2022, 2 p.m. in the live stream and ticker at Sportschau.de).

  • World Cup preliminary round, Group E
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Just respect or even fear of Japan?

From some of the statements made behind closed doors over the past few weeks, it was clear that there was a little more than respect in the camp of the German team. It is feared that the Japanese will play disciplined and passionately on the defensive, only to succeed on the offensive by counterattacking.

Flick has counter-attacks trained

Word has gotten around in the world of big football that the German team doesn’t like that kind of thing. Niklas Süle confirmed this on Monday in the daily press conference. The elite selection of the DFB set a few priorities in the short preparation, and: “The counterattack protection is at the top.”

The fact that she has problems with having enough players closer to her own goal than the ball when the opponent switches to offensive is due to the German qualities and the orientation that national coach Hansi Flick inherited from his predecessor Joachim Löw. “We have great qualities with the ball”, said Sule. As if proof was needed, Bayern’s Jamal Musiala sat next to the Borussia Dortmund defender.

Problem: Only a few training sessions

Until the summer, the two trained together with the Munich team almost every day. Now they only come with the national team. Süle sees the rare joint units as another difficulty in finding the right balance.

Memories of Mexico defeat 2018

At the World Cup four years ago in Russia, it was fatal for the German team to be vulnerable to counterattacks. Mexico had great fun and ultimately succeeded in overrunning the then defending champions. Five of Mexico’s 13 shots on goal came from counterattacks, as did the only goal of the game.

Similar deficits as four years ago

“When seven or eight players play offensively, it’s clear that offensive power is greater than defensive stability.”, Mats Hummels complained at the time. The Dortmund centre-back, absent from Qatar, also said: “We played like we did against Saudi Arabia – only against better opponents.” In the last test against the Saudis, the susceptibility to counterattacks was already evident, as it was in the last test against Oman.

“Defensive is the key”, said Manuel Neuer in Qatar about the requirements for a good tournament. There was also concern that we would lose a little balance and possibly the game against Japan. The pressure in the second game against Spain would then be enormous.

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