The German team has a series of pending tasks for its return to Wembley, one of the favorite stadiums of the Mannschaft where it has won the Eurocup twice, in 1972 and 1996, although it is also associated with the defeat in the final of the 1966 World Cup. Germany will play the eighth of this edition on that stage, on Tuesday against England.
The game that Germany has been showing, despite the match against Portugal that generated optimism, does not allow to easily think about the possibility of reaching the title again and not even reaching the final. Joachim Löw, their coach, is receiving a lot of criticism.
In general, a great defensive insecurity has been observed and in attack the team has complicated life when the opponent closes behind. Against Portugal he scored four goals but the Portuguese played very open, which helped the Germans find spaces.
The first challenge is to improve in defense and, above all, to have a better reaction in counterattacks and in situations with set pieces. That is something that has been said since before the European Championship and Joachim Löw does not seem to find the formula. The instability even seems to create insecurity in the normally reliable Manuel Neuer, as seen in the second goal conceded against Hungary.
The other is greater offensive forcefulness. The formula of arriving through the two lanes, Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens, worked against Portugal but there are those who say that precisely that system ends up taking spaces away from players like Serge Gnabry or, against Hungary, Leroy Sané who are forced to dive to the center. Those take away the possibility of exploiting their speed on the wings.
It is unlikely that Löw will change the scheme and that is known by critics who also complain about the little that some players are contributing such as Ilkay Gündogan, who starts in all three games, or Sané when he has had minutes.
Facing the game against England, Goretzka, who scored the goal that gave Germany qualification, could enter through Gündogan. It is quite possible that Thomas Müller will start again after starting on the bench against Hungary with knee problems.
The one who unblocked the game against Hungary, despite the fact that the goal was scored by Goretzka, was Jamal Musiala with his ability in closed spaces. Giving him ownership, he is 18 years old, would be a risk.
On the other hand, it would be interesting to see him play against his second homeland, as he calls England, where he went through all the lower categories of the national team before opting to play with the German senior.
Optimists, and also some players, have stressed that the game against England will be different, more open, as it is unlikely that England will choose to lock in behind.
In addition, it is also remembered that Wembley is a stadium that is usually good for Germany.
“It will be a different game. We have seen that we play better against teams that try to get the ball. We have magnificent players and we have confidence despite the difficult 2-2 against Hungary. And Wembley is given to us,” Neuer said.