Euro 2024: The German team's delicious "cocktail"

But the score did not say everything about the strength of the German team, but above all, it was the way they won that made the football world ecstatic.

Young coach + veteran = stable locker room

After being eliminated from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, in 2023, the German team continued to disappoint fans when they lost too much, even losing to Japan with a heavy score of 1-4, Colombia 0-2 and many other losses against Belgium 2-3, Poland 0-1, Türkiye 2-3, Austria 0-2... This series of bad results is unacceptable when Germany is the host country of the Euro 2024 finals.

That is why coach Hansi Flick was fired and replaced by 36-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann - who was also fired by Bayern Munich. So what has made the German team revive since the beginning of 2024 until now?

That is the agreement to return to the national team of conductor Toni Kroos. From March 24 to June 8, the German team won 2-0 against France, 2-1 against the Netherlands, 2-1 against Greece and only drew 0-0 against Ukraine. There is a notable detail, Kroos played in all 3 wins, but in the draw on June 4, Kroos was absent because he had just played in the 2024 Champions League final and made an important contribution to helping Real Madrid win the title on June 2.

And, as we know, Kroos played brilliantly in the 80 minutes on the pitch in Germany's 5-1 thrashing of Scotland, with a surprising pass that allowed Kimmich and Wirtz to combine and score the opening goal for Germany.

Of course, the revival of the German team also has the addition of quality players from two clubs Borussia Dortmund (finalist of the 2023-2024 Champions League) and the phenomenon Bayern Leverkusen with 50 unbeaten matches, setting a new record in European football.

However, Kroos' return is very important when coach Nagelsmann himself said in the press conference after the victory over Scotland that Kroos was the one who brought stability to the German team's dressing room.

Experience + youth = freshness

Not only Kroos, but also Kroos' veteran, 33-year-old captain Ilkay Gundogan, an indispensable player for Manchester City and currently playing for Barcelona. The duo Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan have been the launching pad for the three young strikers Jamal Musiala - Kai Havertz - Florian Wirtz to explode, especially the two young talents Wirtz and Musiala, like the number 10 twins.

Florian Wirtz, aged 21 years and 42 days, is the youngest player to score the opening goal at a Euros, and the youngest player to score for Germany in a European competition. At 17 years and 15 days, Wirtz was Leverkusen's youngest Bundesliga player, and at 17 years and 34 days, he became the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history.

Meanwhile, Jamal Musiala, 21 years, 3 months and 20 days old, scored the second goal, Bayern Munich's attacking midfielder played like he was playing, dancing with the ball in the middle of the opponent's dense defense. It was no coincidence that he wore the number 10 shirt.

With Kai Havertz, the 25-year-old striker, the author of the third goal is considered to be the one in between the veteran generation and the young talents.

Looking back at the 5 goals of the German team, scored by 5 different players: Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Nicolas Fullkrug and Emre Can. In which, 31-year-old striker Fullkrug and 30-year-old defensive midfielder Emre Can are playing for Borussia Dormund. Fullkrug replaced Haverts in the 63rd minute and increased the score to 4-0 in the 68th minute; Can replaced Kroos in the 80th minute, then determined the final score to 5-1 in the 90 + 3rd minute.

Another successful substitution by coach Nagelsmann, 34-year-old veteran Thomas Muller was brought on to replace young talent Musiala, in the 74th minute Muller passed to Can to score.

Listing in detail from substitutions to goal creators and scorers, we clearly see that the German team has depth and especially the veterans and new stars have quickly found a common voice.

From this harmonious harmony, the German team introduced a delicious Cocktail on the opening day of Euro 2024.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/euro-2024-mon-cocktail-ngon-tuyet-cua-doi-tuyen-duc-196240615151247459.htm