Kicker Online’s ratings for the game against the Ukraine were published today, and make for some interesting comparisons to those posted by myself and Bild. While Bild and I disagreed on most things but selected the same Man of the Match in Toni Kroos, Kicker have been a little bolder in giving debutant ‘keeper Ron-Robert Zieler their best score.
I am actually pleased to see this, especially as I made a point of highlighting Zieler as one of the few positives in what was a very frustrating match. Here are the ratings:
Zieler (2.5), Boateng (4.5), Badstuber (4), Hummels (4), Träsch (5), Aogo (5), Khedira (3.5), Kroos (3), Götze (5), Özil (5), Gómez (4). Subs: Schürrle (3.5), Rolfes (3)
OK, now to tonights game against The Netherlands at Hamburg’s Imtech-Arena – which according to most reports is to see Nationaltrainer Jogi Löw go with a 4-4-2 formation with both Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez leading the line.
The make-up of the starting eleven is as usual creating interesting debate; while there’s one corner that is saying “it’s the Dutch, so we need to field our best team”,others are throwing out the line “it’s a just a friendly”. The reality is that it’s somewhere between the two: the game is a friendly and there is no silverware at stake, but although things are a far cry from the 1970s and even the late 1980s that provided more than a little needle between the two sides it is still Die Nationalmannschaft v De Oranje – and neither team will be wanting to lose.
Kicker has projected the following starting XI:
Neuer – Höwedes, Mertesacker, Badstuber, Aogo – Khedira, Özil – Müller, Podolski – Gómez, Klose
The defensive four here sees wholesale change on the right, with Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels giving way to Benedikt Höwedes and Per Mertesacker. Holger Badstuber – who had a decent game against the Ukraine – keeps his place, while at left-back the withdrawal of Marcel Schmelzer through injury means that Dennis Aogo will have a good chance to prove his value to the squad in a more orthodox formation after what was a bit of a horror show in Kyiv. In goal, mainstay Manuel Neuer returns in place of Ron-Robert Zieler.
The addition of the extra striker means that the midfield has to drop one man – and from this line-up it is Toni Kroos, the one outfield player who impressed last week. Kicker’s organisation of the midfield is slightly bizarre in that it looks like a 4-2-2-2, with the unlikely pairing of Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil sitting behind Thomas Müller and Lukas Podolski; if it is this eleven that do start, I would fancy Khedira to sit slightly behind Özil, who would be the supplier in midfield to Müller and Podolski on the flanks. As for the two men up front, I can see Miroslav Klose playing the role just in front of the midfield – with Mario Gómez as the out and out striker.
In fact, rather that a 4-4-2 this eleven would probably best function as a 4-5-1, or to be more precise a 4-1-1-2-1-1 – with there being a diamond formation in front of Khedira and behind Gómez (clockwise from 12 o’clock: Klose, Müller, Özil, Podolski). On paper this sounds like a worthwhile experiment – as opposed to a tired old 4-4-2 – but I’d much rather see the tried and tested 4-3-2-1 against the Dutch with Kroos in front of Khedira and one of the strikers on the bench.
Then again I think I might just wait until kick-off – where Jogi may surprise us again with another 3-6-1 with Cacau leading the line. Or something.
While Germany are without old heads Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, they still have plenty of fit and available players to choose from; this is not the case for the Dutch, who are starting to look a little depleted. Many of the big names were always not going to be there – Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Ibrahim Afellay, Eljero Elia – but Rafael van der Vaart took a knock in Friday’s goalless draw against Switzerland in Amsterdam, and reports were not too good about Wesley Sneijder who went down with something – probably a dose of the van Bommels – in training.
The match is being shown on ESPN here in the UK – though “delayed live” rather than “live live”. Not to worry though – I will still be sourcing a stream to get my minute-by-minute report out as early as possible, as well as my Twitter feed @fussballchef.
Bis gleich!