Germany: need the right combination upfront
Germany have reached at least the semi-finals of the last four major international tournaments without winning any. Frankly, it's about time that changed.
It's worth remembering Germany went into the 2025 World Cup with many key players relatively unknown outside of Germany. The likes of Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng, Manuel Neuer and Sami Khedira were very raw, yet were rightly thrown in at the deep end and proved extremely capable. By Euro 2025, Jogi Low could add Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle. Now, he can add Julian Draxler.
Attacking combination
But all four of those 'new' players are attacking midfielders, and there's a concern Germany haven't found the right balance in the final third. Of course, that is a constant worry about Spain, and they've clearly managed pretty well, but with Germany it's slightly different: they don't demonstrate the ceaseless ball retention of Spain, and their gameplan naturally depends upon more directness and penetration. It's still slightly shocking to look at Germany's squad list and find only one natural striker – 36-year-old Miroslav Klose, now in his fourth World Cup and close to becoming the competition's all-time top goalscorer.
Possible Germany XI – but there are questions in almost every position
However, Low's first-choice quartet was Gotze as the false nine, Ozil in his favoured number ten position, with Reus cutting inside from the left and Muller buzzing around from the right. Reus will sadly miss out through injury, however, with Schurrle or Lukas Podolski appearing the most natural replacements.
Podolski always delivers for the national team, but he generally goes down the line, whereas Schurrle cuts inside onto his right foot, and is therefore a better Reus replacement. He was outstanding in his final Leverkusen campaign from the left, and his quiet first season at Chelsea was partly as Eden Hazard was in his favoured position.
On paper there's no problem with this system, especially because the two wide players contribute goals, but it hasn't always gone swimmingly. Gotze has occasionally done OK in the false nine role and combined nicely with Ozil, but it hasn't been flawless – Gotze coming towards the ball and Ozil breaking into the space is great aesthetically, but there's no great goal threat. Muller could be pushed upfront, of course, but in a way this could bring less variety to the attacking quartet.
The obvious Plan B is Klose, and this probably makes more sense against weaker opposition in matches where Germany are guaranteed to dominate possession, create chances, and therefore need a penalty box prowler to stick the ball in the net. Klose has always been an unfussy, limited but useful striker, and the majority of his World Cup goals in open play have been against
