Germany is the reigning World Champion. But the two years since that extra-time win over Argentina haven’t been straightforward. Even as it continues to produce an assembly line of gifted mid-fielders, it is a bit short-changed at the back, especially after the retirement of Philipp Lahm.
And now, with more and more sides perfectly happy to concede the ball and hit on the break, Germany has also had to tweak its system. Fortunately manager Joachim Low isn’t averse to change. After having used false 9s throughout, he has brought back striker Mario Gomez. He even played with a three-man defence when Germany beat Italy 4-1 in March.
Many see the Euro as a stopover for assessment between two World Cups. If Low thinks so, it might be the best chance to blood youngsters like Julian Weigl and Joshua Kimmich as the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger are set to retire ahead of the title defence in 2018.
Game-changer:
Not for nothing is Thomas Muller called the “Raumdeuter” or “Space Investigator”. His languid style, positioning, intelligence and ability to pop up in unexpected areas make him an extremely tough player to track. It is difficult to imagine that he is still just 26 and has already played 70 times for Germany. He was part of the 2014 World Cup win. He was also the Golden Boot winner in 2010. But the nine goals in qualifying indicate the hunger is still there. Whether he starts up front, wide or centrally, his nuisance value will remain undiminished.
Fox in the box:
The only recognised striker on the whole roster is Mario Gomez. But his inclusion, after an absence of almost two years, might well signal the shift back to the era of orthodox centre-forwards from that of the false 9s. The 30-year-old might not start all matches, with Jogi Low still split between using Mario Gotze and Gomez up front. But his Golden Boot winning-effort of 26 goals for Besiktas in the Turkish league gives Low an effective Plan B.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Neuer (GK); Howedes (RB), Boateng (RCB), Hummels (LCB), Hector (LB); Khedira, Kroos; Ozil, Muller, Draxler; Gotze
Fun fact: The superstitious Mario Gomez turned down the chance to be officially presented by Besiktas, saying: “When I arrived at Fiorentina they had a big presentation in front of a thousand people but that didn’t bring me any luck so I decided against it this time.”
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Bernd Leno, Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Emre Can, Jonas Hector, Benedikt Hoewedes, Mats Hummels, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rudiger
Midfielders: Julian Draxler, Sami Khedira, Joshua Kimmich, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Julian Weigl.
Forwards: Mario Gomez, Mario Gotze, Leroy Sane
Coach quote:
We need two teams for this tournament. A team up until the round of 16, and then a second team - Low
Formation
With influential skipper Lahm now retired, Howedes will be moved to right-back position. Ozil and Draxler will be deployed on the wings with Muller taking the central role behind Gotze.
