In what was one of the most dominant performances of the tournament so far, Germany overwhelmed Slovakia to make it to the quarterfinals of the Euro 2016 at Lille. The first half especially was a devastating display of their attacking quality as the Slovak defence was subjected to wave after wave of constant pressure.
Joachim Low opted to leave out Mario Gotze and Julian Draxler came back into the side having been dropped against Northern Ireland. Joshua Kimmich kept his place at right back in what was only his third start for the national team after an impressive outing in the final group game.
Jan Kozak on the other hand made 4 changes to the side that held out for a goalless draw with England. Duris started upfront and Skriniar and Hrosovsky came in midfield with Kucka moving out wide while Gyomber started at left back.
Germany’s Shape and Style of Play
Turniermannschaft or ‘The Tournament Team’ as they are called seem to have found the perfect balance in the starting XI after a bit of chopping and changing in the group stages. Kimmich seems to have cemented his position at right back as he offers much more going forward than Howedes. As Gotze had been less than impressive in his three outings, Draxler came back here with verve and panache and was responsible for stretching the Slovakian backline skinning opponents at will and adding thrust and impetus to the German attack.
Germany’s Passing Network (Courtesy @11tegen11)
The introduction of Gomez in the last two games has provided a focal point to the side with the trio behind him exchanging positions with ease. His hold-up play was effective in involving the men behind him and Slovakia who were able to sit deep and frustrate England couldn’t cope with so many different avenues of attack through which Germany were able to get in behind the defence. The two fullbacks pushed high up to overload the wide areas and linked up with the three behind Gomez who would drift infield. The striker’s pressing upfront along with Muller disrupted any constructive passing from the Slovakian centrebacks and they were forced to rush not being afforded any time on the ball.
Advanced Positions of German Fullbacks
Draxler’s ability to dribble past opponent was also an important aspect and Kucka found it near impossible to track his man. In the middle of the pitch, Kroos and Khedira were seeing a lot of the ball with their opponents hemmed in and there were a lot of vertical passes from the duo to break lines and find Muller and Ozil in halfspaces who would move into central positions.
The Germans were quite direct in their approach, moving the ball swiftly and with precision completely overwhelming the Slovakian low block. Khedira too move push up from the base of 2 to allow more lines and different layers of depth. Furthermore the passing range and quality of the two centrebacks were utilised in the progression during build-up. With Kroos operating in the left halfspace and Boateng in the right, they found the wide players and fullbacks with accurate long passes with quite regularity. One of the standout passes was Hummels’ to Hector from the left halfspace which found the fullback in behind the rightback.
Kroos and Boateng’s Distribution
The opening goal came fairly quickly from a corner following Khedira’s header being saved by Kozaki from a Kroos free kick on the right. The corner was cleared but Boateng waiting in acres of space on the edge of the box lashed it first time into the bottom left corner albeit it took a slight deflection of Skriniar.
Only five minutes later, Skrtel conceded a penalty on Gomez after a long diagonal from Kroos had found Kimmich on the wing and his pass to Muller was cleverly clipped first time by the “Raumdeuter” towards the striker. Ozil’s penalty lacked conviction and was at a comfortable height for Kozacik but the German’s never ceased in their intensity.
The pressure mounted as the half progressed and Draxler who had been dangerous all half linked up with Hector and then dribbled past Kucka to set up Gomez for the second. His 8 dribbles completed was the highest of the tournament alongside Gareth Bale against Russia.
German Pressing
Another feature of their game were the transition from attack to defence upon losing the ball. With Kroos further up the pitch, Germany ensured that he wasn’t caught out by having whoever of Khedira along with the three attacking midfielders was deepest to track back with intensity. It wasn’t exactly the gegenpressing of Jurgen Klopp which involves hounding the opposition and winning the ball back immediately upon the loss of possession. This was more tracking back and covering spaces and then winning the ball back. Upon recovering the ball, the fluidity of the three and Khedira allowed them to hold temporary positions until they got back in shape.
Germany’s Possession Regains High in Midfield (Courtesy @11tegen11)
Slovakia’s Approach
Slovakia, forced to spend most of the time without the ball, were using their wide players to track the three attacking midfielders leaving the fullbacks to deal with their counterparts. Skriniar who is a centreback at Sampdoria was operating at the base of midfield with Hamsik and Hrosovsky slightly ahead of him. The two wide players Weiss and Kucka had to tuck infield without the ball as the players they were tracking would rotate and move in centrally so it would become a narrow 4-5-1. On the rare few occasions they broke, they would split wide trying to stretch the German defence. Weiss had a good opening early in the half as he got in behind Kimmich after a one-two with Skriniar. Their best chance also came from the wings when Pekaric’s cross was met my Kucka but Neuer made a sharp save.
Slovakia Passing Network (Courtesy @11tegen11)
Second Half
Kozak hauled off Weiss and introduced Gregus as another holding midfielder because by half time, Germany had 15 shots at goal which was a record in the first half of a match of the Euro 2016. They were able to exploit the wide positions and Weiss and Kucka weren’t proving affective at stemming the tide. Hamsik dropped deeper to provide more control and Slovakia got back in the game although Germany had done their job and had already started to ease off. It was a narrow 4-3-2-1 shape with Kucka pushing closer to the striker from the right and Hamsik doing likewise from the left. Gregus on the left and Hrosovsky from the right of midfield had somewhat interchangeable roles with the two ahead of them. Sestak’s introduction after the hour mark for Duris led to more of a 4-3-3 formation and although Slovakia were getting more joy going forward from their midfield and pressing Germany more as well, they didn’t create much and Germany were able to play around them.
Slovakia Second Half Formation
Toni Kroos’ corner flicked on by Hummels and smashed in by Draxler just after the hour mark sealed the game and Germany had only two attempts at goal, that too in injury time, as they were able to rest Boateng, Draxler and Kroos with all three having an exceptional evening.
Conclusion
Germany put on a quality display overall without being troubled by Slovakia on the break. They were able to penetrate the defence and were relentless in their approach play, something that England couldn’t do in their last game against the same opponents. The movement and guile of the three behind the striker linking up with the advanced fullbacks troubled the Slovak defence and the game had ended as a contest within the first half.
Expected Goals over the 90 minutes (Courtesy @11tegen11)
They were able to rest key players and didn’t have to come out of the second gear for the second half, which would ensure that they are fresh for either Italy or Spain, both teams being responsible for knocking the Germans out twice each in major competitions in the last decade.
Against The Cross Bar 