Germany may have won its opening Euro 2016 game against Ukraine 2-0 on Sunday, with talismanic captain Bastian Schweinsteiger scoring late, but the victory also highlighted the need for defensive repairs.
The World champion looked to be heading in the right direction when defender Shkodran Mustafi, starting in place of the injured Mats Hummels, headed it into the lead from a free kick, something it had worked on in the run-up to the tournament.
However, instead of sitting back and relaxing, Germany coach Joachim Low had to wait until stoppage time for his team to secure victory when Schweinsteiger netted just minutes after coming on as a substitute. Group C rival Ukraine sliced open Low’s makeshift rearguard time and again in the first half with Mustafi and Jerome Boateng failing to work well together.
Boateng did produce a spectacular goal-line clearance but full-backs Jonas Hector and Benedikt Howedes also struggled to contain the speed of wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka.
The German defence was always going to be problematic with Howedes and Boateng only recently back from long injury absences. Hummels, Boateng’s partner in the middle during the 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil, is temporarily sidelined while fellow centre-back Antonio Rudiger was ruled out of the Euros with torn knee ligaments. Ukraine was unable to sustain the same tempo after the break but its display showed Germany will need to raise the game against Poland on Thursday.
Better organised “We had to make adjustments in defence,” said Low. “We lost a lot of possession in the first half. “In the second half we were better organised and had more control of the ball.”
