Where is the German 'tank' of yesteryear?

Most recently, in the last match of 2023, Germany lost 0-2 to Austria. Looking back at the last 10 matches, Germany lost 6 and only won 2. The teams that beat Germany were not big names: Austria (won Germany 2-0), Turkey (3-2), Japan (4-1), Colombia (2-0), Poland (1-0), Belgium (3-2). The same goes for the teams that drew with them: Mexico (2-2), Ukraine (3-3).

30-year-old striker Niclas Fullkrug (right) plays for the German national team for the first time

Friendly football is still just… friendly? Yes, in most cases it is. But Germany is the host team of EURO 2024, which means they will not play an official match in 2023. Germany's friendly matches are therefore much more important than those of teams that only play "perfunctory" friendlies. Remember: Germany had to fire coach Hansi Flick after a friendly loss to Japan 1-4 in September. In fact, when asserting that this is the weakest German team in history, people are not only basing it on the results of friendly matches in 2023. In both of the most recent World Cups, the German team did not get past the group stage. They were eliminated after losing to teams like Mexico, South Korea, and Japan. In the most recent EURO, Germany was also eliminated in the round of 16. As of 2014, Germany had never missed a Euro or World Cup final for six consecutive years (except for the first two Euros, when Germany did not participate). That is an incredibly consistent strength. But the German "Tank" has become quite mediocre during recent major tournaments, as mentioned.

In the past, everyone admired two major characteristics when talking about German football: "steel spirit" and the certainty in the disciplined playing style, likened to tanks. "Steel spirit" roughly means that regardless of the circumstances, Germany always tries until the last minute and often reverses the situation. Former England player Gary Lineker, once a "victim", had an immortal saying: "Football is a simple game with 22 players and in the end the Germans always win". Now it's the opposite: Germany once led 4-0 but still let the opponent equalize, in an official match. Or Germany scored in the 19th minute but still lost 1-4 to Japan, right at home!

The story becomes more complicated when discussing the certainty and discipline in the German team's playing style. Too certain, too disciplined, it becomes... difficult to change, not flexible. The Germans stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation that won the 2014 World Cup - just like the English only played 4-4-2 for decades after winning the 1966 World Cup. Each specific role in the German team has always been very clear. And so, the "Tank" was "pulled out" when Miroslav Klose retired without a worthy center forward to replace him. Kai Havertz or Timo Werner did not meet the requirements. So Germany had to use Niclas Fullkrug, a 30-year-old striker who until 2 years ago was still playing in the second division.

In addition to the striker position, German football also lacks full-backs. In the last 21 matches, "The Tank" has brought... 17 different pairs of full-backs. Thilo Kehrer, Matthias Ginter, Jonathan Tah, Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck... have all played full-backs in the national team, even though they were originally central defenders at their clubs. And when "The Tank" uses real full-backs like David Raum, Benjamin Henrichs, Robin Gosens, the opposite wing is usually a central defender. In only 3/21 recent matches, Germany has had a full pair of full-backs. In the most recent match (lost 0-2 to Austria), coach Julian Nagelsmann put... midfielder/striker Kai Havertz in the full-back position and... "got bricks"!

Lacking a good full-back and striker, the "Tank" has to experiment and change constantly, while flexibility has never been the German's forte. So they keep failing, systematically. EURO 2024 is only 7 months away...

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