As with Italy and Spain, European champions Germany aren’t devoid of young, quality talent either. The pool may have dried up a little compared to previous vintages, but Stefan Kuntz will be confident of seeing Germany defend their crown this summer.
2017 winners at Spain’s expense, Germany have been handed the favourable draw of the five pre-tournament favourites having been drawn alongside Austria, Denmark and Serbia. While Italy and Spain face off in Group A, and England and France do battle on Tuesday, Germany will be confident of topping their group and ensuring they needn’t kick their game up a notch until the knockout stages.
However, Kuntz isn’t completely set on a system coming into the competition. In Germany’s final qualification matches, the former Germany international elected for a 4-4-2 diamond setup, but in the friendlies leading up to the summer tournament, he experimented with a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-3 formation as he looked to settle on his preferred approach.
That being said, it didn’t impact the squad massively with Germany coming into the tournament in the midst of a 12-match unbeaten run, winning 10, and they have lost just one of their last 15 matches.
They’ll be confident of taking their good form into the U21 Euros and Kuntz can take solace in that he has experienced personnel in his 23-man squad, crucially in defence. Benjamin Henrichs, Lukas Klostermann and Jonathan Tah have all been capped for the senior squad and the trio are all likely to start this summer, providing a solid foundation upon which to build upon.
Tah in particular will be keen to end a turbulent campaign on a high note. Bayer Leverkusen eventually finished fourth in the Bundesliga, but it took a seven match unbeaten run to end the season to ensure they pipped Gladbach, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt to a Champions League spot next term.
The 23-year-old started 33 matches for Bayer Leverkusen and it was his calmness on the ball that resonated throughout the defence that helped Bayer to fourth. Only compatriot Niklas Sule (82.6) made more passes per game than Tah (75.5) of players aged 23 and under in the Bundesliga last season, that figure fifth overall to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘passing’.
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Tah may not have featured for the U21s since a 2-1 win over Norway in qualifying last October, but having captained the side to all three points that evening, Kuntz may call upon the young centre-back to marshal the defence alongside VfB Stuttgart’s Timo Baumgartl.
Who features ahead of the expected back four of Henrichs, Tah, Baumgartl and Klostermann, it remains to be seen. Mahmoud Dahoud is one of the more experienced members of the squad, but a lack of game time could cost him a starting spot. Even so, Kuntz may look to Dahoud to dictate the tempo in the middle of the park, that one of his key strengths, while Maximilian Eggestein and Levin Oztunali boast 36 caps between them, so Kuntz has players familiar with one another at his disposal.
It’s Kuntz’s defence though that may be the key reason why they come out on the other side victorious with the senior capped trio all first team regulars for their respective sides. Having limited Spain to just one goal two years ago, Germany’s title winning experience, coupled with a the knowledge of the game from the likes of Henrich, Klostermann and captain Tah means they’ll fancy their chances of success in Italy and San Marino.
