After a convincing 2:0 victory over Peru on Saturday, Germany came crashing down to earth again with defeat to Belgium. The one goal-margin flattered Hansi Flick’s outfit who were outclassed and outfought for almost all of the fixture. 

Particularly the first 30-odd minutes were a disaster, with Domenico Tedesco’s side over-running the German outfit to take a 2:0 lead that could have easily been 3 or 4.

In today’s article, we look at what went wrong for Germany in their first big test since the World Cup, paying particular attention to the first 30 minutes of utter Belgian domination. 

A lot of the issues both started and ended with Germany’s defensive structure. While on paper Flick set up in a 4-2-2-2, out-of-possession Germany would push an aggressive number of players into the final third to provoke a turnover high in the opponent’s half. 

It’s a systemic ploy that mirrors much of what Julian Nagelsmann did at FC Bayern this season, but how it was executed on Tuesday night was far from satisfactory. Despite committing up to 7 players in the pressing sequence, Belgium regularly found ways to alleviate the tension and break Germany’s first defensive line. 

There are a number of reasons for this…

The Central Midfield Structure

Hansi Flick opted for the preferred pairing of Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich for this fixture. Since 2018 the duo has been playing club football together for FC Bayern, and in the past 3 seasons, they’ve been the undisputed starting pairing for both club and country. 

However, despite their vast individual qualities, what became evident again tonight was how neither truly possesses the combative defensive qualities to clean up in central zones when possession is turned over, or a high press is broken.

With both players' skill sets primarily translating to that of a roaming box-to-box 8, the clear reserved midfielder was missing for large stretches of Belgium’s early dominance. With both players struggling to win all-important 1v1 duels, and regularly committing themselves to the initial line of pressure, Belgium were regularly able to dance through the central spaces which Amadou Onana and Kevin de Bruyne dominated. 

Only with the introduction of Emre Can for Leon Goretzka (minute 32) did things begin to shift back into equilibrium. The 29-year-old performed with the same maturity with which he has done for BVB all year. He provided a backbone of structure with a simple game in possession, and dominance and conviction in his actions against the ball. In his 38th national team appearance, Can was a bright spot in an otherwise dim display, completing 95% of his passes, and winning 7 of 7 defensive duels. 

Adam Khan @XxAdamKhanxX

Perhaps the only German player to come out of last night’s fixture with a better reputation is Emre Can. The BVB midfielder continued his stellar 2023 form with another dominant midfield display. His introduction in the 35th min. changed the game. 🔥

4:42 PM ∙ Mar 29, 2023

Not only was Can a top performer, but his introduction had a knock-on effect on Joshua Kimmich. The Bayern midfielder was then allowed to play slightly higher up the pitch, pressing with more freedom, and getting on the ball in positions where he could provide more of a direct attacking impact. ...