Why Germany Never Found Their Form Against Spain

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 18, 2014

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Germany edged Spain on Tuesday, winning their prestige friendly 1-0, marking the Nationalmannschaft's first victory over La Furia Roja in 14 years.

The result was especially sweet for Joachim Low, whose dreams of winning Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup were ended by Spain. The trainer had Toni Kroos to thank for winning the match with a late strike from distance.

Although Germany indeed took the spoils, their performance overall left plenty to be desired. The result flattered the visitors, who created precious few chances and spent much of the 90 minutes playing a dangerous game of chess in their own half, trying to systematically work their way through a high-pressing Spanish forward line.

In the end, a calamitous error from substitute goalkeeper Kiko Casilla allowed Kroos to score with what was ultimately a rather tame and saveable shot. If Germany had to win, perhaps the manner in which they did was most appropriate.

Something can be said for the weather playing a role, and indeed there was a torrential downpour at Estadio Municipal de Balaidos in Vigo throughout the game. The pitch was torn apart, and players from both sides struggled to cope with the conditions. But even so, the hosts managed to have a much better handle on the flow of play.

From early on, Spain pressed high up the pitch, trying to force a mistake from Germany's relatively inexperienced back line. Benedikt Howedes was the only German defender with any appreciable amount of experience, with Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rudiger, Erik Durm and Sebastian Rudy having barely a handful of caps between them. To their credit, the German defenders played quite well.

However, goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler was a liability in possession. The Hannover man was perhaps too careful, electing to clear the ball hastily when under pressure.

Per the Bundesliga's official live ticker, Zieler completed just 63.64 percent of his passes, a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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