The Germans are waiting at least for the semi-finals of the tournament.

Failure in the League of Nations, where they did not beat the Hungarians away, but lost to them at home, does not negate Germany’s strength. However, they were often wrong, they lost points with the Italians and the British. Today at Wembley a win over the unfortunate hosts will not allow them to take first place in the group. The Germans caught the coronavirus, did Neuer and Goretzka jump into Oktoberfest? And even if without them there’s a luxurious trio of Gnabry and Sane cool insiders Muller, Gundogan and Kimmich, it’s time for Flick to admit that Germany has some weaknesses.

No center forward

We cannot remember Gerd Müller, Völler and Klose, just remember the existence of Podolski with 49 goals for the national team. Or Bierhoff, who scored twice in the Euro 1996 final. Oliver has been working for the German national team for a long time in the position of sports manager created especially for him, and certainly does not see a person of his role on the pitch. Werner is not a central striker and Timo does not indulge in stability. Thomas Müller has goals for the national team, but it is not Lewandowski. Adeyemi at Borussia Dortmund, after the discovery of cancer in Aller, he did not take a position in the center of the attack, and sometimes went out on the right wing. Royce – We wish Marco to have time to get back in shape after his injury and fly to Qatar, who is also a non-striker. Germany does not have a center forward. All attempts to close the hole by Havertz and Gnabry are doomed to failure. Was it worth giving instructions to academies to find the right person among young people? A strange deficit with such a cool school. The talented Wirtz is also not a striker, he plays lower.

Average peasants on the sidelines of the defense

In the Nations League only Kimmich has come out more often than Raum, but David from Leipzig won’t beat all Goliaths in Qatar. We are talking about a decent left-back, simply lacking in skill. Tedesco was sacked because the club officials don’t like Domenico, but Leipzig often lost. There have been enough purely football misses and Raum hasn’t made the time in the line-up, which he joined last summer from Hoffenheim. Germany on the win world Cup-2014 Höwedes played on the left. But Raum, despite the fact that he knows how to dribble and impose a fight in the selection, will give in to Benedict in terms of class. Kehrer, Can, Gosens and Günther exited from the left in qualifying world Cup, but there are no new Lams here. As well as on the right, because the thirty-year-old Hofmann is good in one game, and in another he misses in defense. Unreliable on the edge of Flick’s defense. Again, the hope that someone will suddenly shoot like Gosens at Euro 2020.

Weak Rüdiger partners

Süle, Schlotterbeck, Klostermann and Koerer are definitely not Spartak’s defensive defenders in their worst games, they are all stronger. But more like Taski than Rüdiger. Antonio became a world-class star. Even if he remains a weird guy. Predictably, he said his idol was the rabid Pepe, but he also admitted he made mistakes as part of Chelsea to create a dead crowd. Flick won’t appreciate if the Real Madrid defender does the same with Germany. But who to put next to Antonio, so that the duet resembles a group of Boateng and Hummels in Brazil? Probably Zule. But did the defensive lines of Bayern and Borussia Dortmund and Niko impress with their reliability?

Ter Stegen’s jealousy for Neuer

Manuel in Bayern indulges in the exits almost in someone else’s penalty area, because he is bored. And in the national team Neuer thinks about the competition, because Ter Stegen has declared the task of removing the veteran from the reserve. True, Flick kills intrigue in a duel. If the Bayern goalkeeper does not have the coronavirus, as he does now, then Manuel plays on base. Although we will not take away from the Barcelona goalkeeper the right to be considered a high-class goalkeeper. In a world without Neuer, Marc-André would be playing one hundred games for Germany. For this team, the rivalry between goalkeepers is not new. Kahn and Lehmann shared the first issue first. Also, both initially sat quietly behind Capke in a disaster for Germany world Cup-98. After them, Neuer has arrived for a long time, but it is unlikely that he has been fed with confidence this season, having suffered serious misfires in the Bundesliga with Bayern. Enough spark in training in Qatar between the two goalkeepers: under attack the key position of Flick will initially be evident.

Too bold composition

The rear cannot provide a reliable defense for Flick’s team when up to eight people simultaneously rise to the attack. Germany is playing incredibly boldly, the old rationality is a bit lacking. On the other hand, did the Germans always put on an ideal defense at the World Cup? But when there were Boateng and Hummels, Lam, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Kroos and Khedira played, the composition was harmonious. Hence the 7-1 triumph with the Brazilians, and then the tiring victory in the final against Argentina thanks to Gotze’s goals and Higuain’s mistakes. Now they are all on the attack, even the reserves – Havertz, Musiala, Gnabry, Goretzka and Adeyemi – shout about the direction of the German game.

This is just the richness of the choice does not deceive rivals such as Hungary and North Macedonia. On the other hand, almost all of the above is described by the phrase “they are crazy about fat”. For the vast majority of world teams, Germany’s “problems” would seem insignificant. And now remember what their fate was like in the big tournaments after the victorious final. In 2016, the Germans beat the Italians on penalties, but lost to France and a brace from Griezmann.

Two years later, Lev was waiting for a cold shower in Russia. Despite Kroos’ Sochi hook, they flew into the Mexicans and Koreans, took the last place in the group. And at Euro 2020, predictably, the Joachim era is over. Eliminated in the playoffs by England, with whom he will still play today. A year ago Sterling and Kane scored in the second half, now the result is not so important for Southgate, already relegated to the second division of the League of Nations. But the absence of tournament intrigue doesn’t clear the game state.

Coaches know the traditions of confrontation. England vs Germany is a football classic. And if they try, they will highlight the shortcomings for the coaches that need to be corrected before the start in Qatar. With just two months ahead, the Germans are by default the favorites of the tournament, but in the Nations League Flick has abandoned the fight to reach the final and today they will play Italy and Hungary, who did not make it to the World Cup. for first place in the quartet. The Germans do not like the last line of England any more than their own failure.