Before UEFA EURO 2016 began, the primary concern in Germany was about the team's defence. Mats Hummels was still injured and nobody knew when the new Bayern Munich signing would be able to feature in the tournament. On top of that, his replacement Antonio Rudiger sustained a cruciate ligament injury in the side's first training session on French soil.
However, by the time Germany secured a second successive clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against Poland, following their 2-0 opening win over Ukraine, talk of defensive woes had already become passé, as they say in the host nation. "Before, all you asked about was the defence and now suddenly you all want to talk about the attack," coach Joachim Low said to journalists after the goalless draw with Poland, in which his side failed to create many chances.
It is no great surprise that Germany's backline has ceased to be a talking point. Jerome Boateng has been in outstanding form since the tournament began and while Hummels had a couple of wobbles on his return in the second group game, the duo have demonstrated that their partnership in central defence is one of the cornerstones of the reigning FIFA World Cup™ champions at this tournament.
By way of contrast, discussions about 'false' and 'real' number nines swiftly became points of interest once more. To refresh your memory, at Brazil 2014 Germany usually played with either Miroslav Klose or Thomas Muller in the lone striker's role. Yet in European Championship qualifying it soon became clear that Low preferred Mario Gotze as a 'false nine'. Gotze's brace from that position in the 3-1 victory over Poland in EURO 2016 qualifying in Frankfurt in September 2015 is likely to have played a key role in his head coach opting for that line-up at the start of the continental showdown. When Germany lost 2-0 in Warsaw in the autumn of 2014, Muller started as the striker with Gotze employed as the playmaker just behind him.
Gotze may not have had much joy in the games against Ukraine and Poland, but Low nevertheless backed the attacker publicly: "He covered a lot of ground and it was difficult for him in the tight spaces." Yet it was noticeable that the scorer of the winning goal at the last World Cup ran himself into the ground without having any clear-cut opportunities. The only opening that sticks in the memory from the Poland match was an early header – and heading is not really Gotze's forte.
At the same time, Germany's game has suffered under Muller's curious 'EURO curse'. Top scorer at South Africa 2010 and with 10 World Cup goals to his name, Muller is yet to find the target at a European Championship in his second tournament. There is a partial explanation for that, though: in Brazil, Muller either played as the lone striker or just behind him, meaning he got into scoring positions more frequently. In France, however, he has played almost exclusively on the right wing and while he has made runs inside, he has often arrived too late. Furthermore, in 2014 a certain Philipp Lahm supported him on the right, whereas in the first two group games here he has been accompanied by Benedikt Howedes, who, while solid and reliable, is not as inspired going forward.
Changes were necessary and the coaching staff duly reacted. Mario Gomez, who was left out of the final Brazil 2014 squad due to fitness concerns following an injury, was drafted in, and Joshua Kimmich took over at right-back. The reshuffle paid off and it was no coincidence that Gomez scored the only goal of a chance-filled encounter against Northern Ireland, while Kimmich would have had three assists if his team-mates had been more clinical in front of goal. Luck was not on Muller's side, and he alone spurned four opportunities. What did stand out in that match, however, was the frequent interchanging of positions in the final third which helped Germany tear holes in the Northern Irish defence.
"For me it wasn't only important that he scored the goal, but that through his presence in the centre he always drew two defenders to him," said Low of Gomez after the match at the Parc des Princes. "He created space for his team-mates and was available for more vertical passes that we were lacking in our previous games. Jo Kimmich's runs were very good, he provided good crosses from the right and kept their defender busy. He didn't look nervous at all before the game. He was very self-confident and he's clever."
Kimmich making impressive stridesAfter several unsuccessful attempts at trying out players in the right-back position in the wake of the 2014 World Cup, the enthusiasm following Kimmich's performance against Northern Ireland was all the greater. A number of observers already claim he is the new Lahm. That is not too far-fetched an assertion given his intelligent attacking play, good vision and accurate crosses, but a single match is not enough to be able to say if the Bayern Munich player – incidentally a favourite of Pep Guardiola – will be a long-term solution.
"Philipp is the best full-back in the world and I've only just played my first game there in the national team," cautioned Kimmich.
Low has already indicated that Kimmich is likely to play in the quarter-finals against Slovakia, saying that he values his attacking qualities against deep-lying opponents, and expects Slovakia to sit back in the same way Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland did. Whether or not Kimmich would play in a possible quarter-final against Italy or Spain is another matter, however.
Incidentally, Slovakia were the last team to beat the current world champions prior to the start of EURO 2016, recording a 3-1 victory in Augsburg at the end of May. "I don't think the two games will have much of a bearing on each other," said assistant coach Thomas Schneider. "The first one was part of our preparations but now it's the knockout phase and that's completely different." He politely failed to mention that the fixture in Augsburg was played in torrential rain and that Germany fielded a largely experimental side that is unlikely to resemble the starting line-up on Sunday. Yet regardless of who plays, Germany can ill afford to be as wasteful with their chances as they were against Northern Ireland.