Germany drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their final Group A match in Frankfurt on Matchday 3 of the European Championships. Niclas Füllkrug scored the equalizer for the Germans in the dying minutes of the match after Switzerland had taken the lead in the first half.
Germany’s Midfielders Have Been Prolific So Far
İlkay Gündoğan, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have all scored so far for Germany in the competition, which is a very good sign. Emre Can has also found the back of the net once. Hence, the Germans should be confident enough ahead of their round of 16 clash.
Still, it is Havertz’s lack of decisiveness inside the final third that might continue to worry the hosts. They will need goals from their front man in the knock-out matches and cannot afford him to be short of confidence, either. Their full-backs like Joshua Kimmich, Maximilian Mittelstädt and David Raum are well capable of playing crosses from the flanks and hence, having Füllkrug from the start should enhance their chance of scoring a goal.
Germany’s main tactic will still be playing a lot of passes in the middle and final thirds. However, should that plan not work, they will have to resort to playing crosses from the flanks, with the centre-forward being the target. Dropping Havertz should decrease their efficiency in passing, but it might still help to make them more lethal and incisive with a direct style. It will be Nagelsmann’s call to make eventually. It will be interesting to see the approach he adopts while selecting his first XI.