Spain vs. Germany: A Battle of the Heavyweights
The first match of the Euro quarterfinals will see Spain face off against Germany in Stuttgart. Spain are expected to line up in their standard 4-3-3 formation in order to counter the Germans. It also remains to be seen whether Spain decide to start with the balanced center-back pairing of Nacho & Robin Le Normand or an aggressive duo of Robin Le Normand & Aymeric Laporte. In their group stage matches, Spain started with Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Pedri in midfield so Pedri provides another option to Luis de la fuente in midfield, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal are most likely to be the wide forwards.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsman, could once again tinker with his starting lineup and will ponder whether to recall centre-back Jonathan Tah who served a suspension in the last 16 – at the expense of Nico Schlotterbeck. This game is going to be a tight affair, considering that each of their last four meetings between these two nations in major tournaments have produced only six goals (Spain four, Germany two), while no more than two goals have been scored in six of the last seven encounters in all competitions.
The wing-play is going to be worth watching – we all know how Spain’s fullbacks love pushing far up the pitch. Germany will be hoping to contain them using their wing-backs, but whether this will work out or not, we will have to wait and watch. Andrich will be deployed as a pure destroyer, a role he performs with great efficiency. However this midfield will sorely lacking the sort of guile that Bastian Schweinsteiger offered to the national team years back.
As a result, ‘disconnects’ can be often seen between the front three and the rest of the team, when building up play through the middle. This is where the role of Musiala is going to be all the more important – he should be allowed to come deep and play as a classical playmaker, rather than playing right at the back of Havertz. Andrich’s midfield partner, Toni Kroos will also have to do quite a bit of running.
Meanwhile, Wirtz as part of a front three, is playing in a role which he is totally unaccustomed to at club level. He prefers staying in midfield mostly right behind the striker. If he ends up occupying the same zone on Friday as his right back, it could cause an imbalance, as the right back will either have to stay deep or ahead of Wirtz at all times. The latter is definitely not going to be an option, as the Spanish left back and wide forwards will gladly utilize this space. If they stay deep, it will lead to a lack of width on the right flank.
The manner in which Lamine Yamal dovetails with Nico Williams also remains to be seen, and could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the game. Nico will also be playing a slightly different role as a converted winger to the one he has at Athletic Club He will be dropping in between the lines and playing the channels, depending on which stage the game play is at. Nevertheless, this is an attacking duo than can hurt any defense if allowed the space and time.
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Going into this game, Germany have won only two of their last 11 meetings with Spain in all competitions – their last was a slender 1-0 friendly victory in November 2014 thanks to an 89th-minute winner from Toni Kroos and Spain also Spain head into Friday’s blockbuster battle having not lost any of their last six competitive meetings (W3 D3) with Germany dating back to 1998, most recently playing out a 1-1 group-stage draw at the 2022 World Cup.
Most footballing fans will be expecting a lot from the future megastars, that is Lamine Yamal on the side of Spain and Jamal Musiala on the side of Germany. These two youngsters have been brilliant so far in the tournament, German boy Jamal Musiala who was on the score sheet when his side won against Denmark in the round of 16.
Lamine Yamal was also super when his side faced Georgia in the round of 16 phase. He provided an assist which helped his side to qualify ahead of Georgia. On the side of Germany, all players are available for selection. With the Spanish side, Nacho has recovered from a minor foot injury to make himself available for selection.
All in all, here’s hoping to see an excellent tactical match up from these sides. The midfield and the flanks are going to be key areas for both teams.
By: Alfred Amoah / @Laka993
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images