One night back a year and a half ago, the German team named Na s dream of winning the home championship × 2

Sports Weekly All-Media Special Reporter Huang Sijun

After nearly 11 months, the dream of the German national team winning the home championship was once again shattered ahead of schedule. They also faced the "God Generation" from the Iberian Peninsula, with a score of 1-2, and even Kimmich assisted Werz to score, but the process and impression were completely different. If the referee lost to Spain in overtime in the quarter-finals of the European Cup last year, which finally won the championship, can also be attributed to the referee's missed blow to Cucurella's handball in the penalty area, and can be defined as a shameful defeat, then this time, after the referee raised his hand and did not blow Werz's goal, he was still strongly reversed by the Portuguese team and missed the UEFA League final, it must be defined as a collapse and a defeat. As Naglesmann said: "This is our worst game in nearly a year and a half." The German team ended its eight consecutive unbeaten games (5 wins and 3 draws) since last year's European Cup, and the unbeaten record against Portugal in the past 25 years has ended.

1 suddenly collapsed after 0

How bad is the German team in Munich's Allianz Arena? This data alone can tell you a rough idea. According to Opta statistics, the German team's expected goal is 1.11, while Portugal is as high as 2.92! In other words, the visiting team should have scored 3 goals. If it weren't for the equalizing 1-1 Francisco Concesan who missed two excellent opportunities at the end of the game, and Telstegen made three wonderful saves, it would be unfair for Germany to concede 4 goals.

In fact, the "worst in a year and a half" of the German team was concentratedly reflected after Werz's first record. In the first 50 minutes, the German team was still the one with obvious advantage in the field. In the middle of the first half, Waltermad, who made his debut in the starting lineup and Goretzka, who continued to play at the No. 10 position, forced Diogo Costa to make a wonderful save. At the end of the half, the German team led 7-4 with the goal, while the visiting team's four shots all occurred within 15 minutes of the game, and did not really threaten the "Special Lion" who returned after more than 10 months. But by the end of the game, Germany had only nine shots (i.e., only Werz scored and two shots from Adeyemi hit the post in the second half), while Portugal had as many as 17. After the first record in the 48th minute, the German team suddenly had a short circuit. There may be 3 turning points in

. First of all, there was huge controversy in Werz's goal itself, which caused the game to be interrupted for 2 minutes. Wiltz intercepted Trincon from the left on the frontcourt, and then cooperated with Kimmich and headed the ball and scored without any problem. The problem lies in Waltermad, who had never touched the ball throughout the process. He was in an offside position and blocked Portuguese defender Ruben Dias, who was closest to Wiltz. Before Werz headed the ball, Dias raised his hand to protest. Even German fans felt bad after watching the slow motion, and predicted that the referee would be very likely to yell Walter Mad over. But unexpectedly, Slovenian referee Wincic personally went to the sidelines to view the video. Through a replay from one angle, it was quickly determined that Walter Made did not constitute an active offside, nor did he foul Dias, maintaining the valid judgment of the goal. What exactly is Wincic's basis? Maybe he felt that Dias was too far from Wiltz, and even without Waltermad's block, he could not stop Wiltz from shooting. UEFA may have an official interpretation in the future, and I hope I don’t have to wait another 3 months this time.

This controversial verdict made the Portuguese team soldiers extremely dissatisfied. The Portuguese Football Association's professional football director and former international Joao Pinto, who was sitting on the bench, was yellow due to fierce protests. Shortly after the re-telection, coach Roberto Martinez was given a yellow card for protesting another penalty from the referee. The Portuguese players on the court were obviously inspired by the penalty that was not conducive to the team, while the German team, which should have been highly motivated by the goal, seemed unsustainable. Central defender Robin Koch said in confusion after the game: "Then it feels like we're completely collapsed. We can hardly get into the dangerous area with the ball." The starting arrangements and on-the-spot adjustments are both debatable

The second turning point soon appeared. Martinez decisively replaced three players in a row in the 58th minute, replacing Trincon, Ruben Neves and Joao Neves with Concesan, Vitinia and Semedo. Ruben Neves, who was replaced (basically not involved in the offense, his main task was to limit Wiltz) and Trincon, were indeed the two starters with the weakest sense of existence, while Vitinia and Concesan, who were replaced by the position, sounded the horn of counterattack for Portugal.

In fact, Nagelsmann's reaction was also very fast, and he responded 3 for 3 after 2 minutes. He replaced Waltermad, Sane and Mittelstedt with Phil Kruger, Gnabry and Gossens. I only had two small men when my opponent had two big men. Such a targeted substitution happened in the German vs. Portugal game, which seemed reasonable. I thought the German team would start bombing at high altitudes (just after replacing Kleintinster in the second half of the first leg against Italy), but nothing happened. Post-match data shows that the German team made 13 crosses in this game, with a success rate of 0!

Jona Don Ta, who just joined Bayern, performed in a mess in his new home court.

In terms of the purpose and targetedness of substitutions, Nagelsmann seems to have no problem with this adjustment, but even he admitted after the game that the substitution was actually too late. "We actually wanted to substitutions during the halftime break. We played drowsy and wanted to inject more energy." In other words, Nagelsmann was also not satisfied with the team's performance in the first half, especially since the two sides were not opened, it was difficult for Mitelsteet to form a joint force with Werz, while Kimich's side was tired of dealing with Pedro Neto's rapid impact with Jonathan..

Since the players' strength and level are limited (or professionally inappropriate), why should they still insist on playing "advanced football"? This is the characteristic of Nagelsmann, and it can also be said to be a problem. Even though he took office in mid-season to lead Hoffenheim to play a relegation battle, he still held high the banner of offensive football. He rarely compromises about his football philosophy, such as he likes to pile 3 or even 4 "No. 10" in the frontcourt, without a winger, or even a big center who repeatedly proves that it is effective. In this game, he put Walter Mad, who was selected for the first time, directly into the starting lineup, and letting Phil Kruger go behind like last year's European Cup is another clear proof.

Waltermad's national team debut had many highlights. After the game, he left early and went to the U21 team to prepare for the European Youth Championship.

Although Walter Mader is a few centimeters taller than Phil Kruger, everyone knows that the Stuttgart star is a big man who plays with his feet, otherwise he would not have the nickname of "2m Messi". No. 9, like Waltermad, who has both body advantages, delicate footwork, and can run without a ball, is definitely more in line with Nagelsman's aesthetic than "rough brothers" like Phil Kruger or Kleindinster. This is the case with the main center Havertz in the European Cup. In fact, Waltermad plays more often in the No. 10 position than in the center in the German U21 team. In other words, all the four players in the frontcourt who started this game were "No. 10" - Nagelsmann's definition of Sane has never been a winger.

Naglesmann's persistence in his football philosophy, on the one hand, allowed the German team to quickly get out of the shadow of Flick's tenure and reshape his distinctive game style, but on the other hand, it directly led to the team being unable to use home games to win the championship for two consecutive years. As for the US, Canada and Mexico World Cup in a year later, there will probably be no dramatic changes in both Nagelsmann’s football thinking and the German team’s talent pool. Win the championship? I'm afraid there will be a lot of miracles, or at least make sure that Musiara and Werz can make their debut together from beginning to end.

How can you win if you don’t play to the limit?

Let's not go far, let's go back to the realistic topic of collapse in the second half. Don’t forget that in the second leg against Italy, the German team, who was in Dortmund, also collapsed in the second half, completely lost its rhythm and fighting spirit, and was almost staged by the Italians to make 3-chase 4-chasing. Is that German team not as strong as Italy? As the captain Kimmich, who played for the 100th time for Germany, said after the game: "We must understand that if we don't put in 100% effort, it will be difficult to face any opponent and we cannot compete with the top European teams. We must let every player play to their limits, otherwise it will take a lot of luck to win the game."

Naglesmann cannot achieve the goal of winning the UEFA League.

If you don’t have enough strength, you can gain a fighting spirit. Germans know such a simple truth better than anyone else. Nagelsmann also said: "We have to give 100% to compete with the top European countries and even do better. If you don't attack 100% then any C-level team can tear you apart. We didn't play 100% today, which is why we didn't win."

So, facing the third place battle between France or Spain on Sunday, can the German team, which has suffered such a blow, regain its combat effectiveness? Nagelsmann, who was unable to achieve his championship goal again, said: "I don't care so much about No. 3. I would rather see us finish fourth after a top game than third after a bad game. We have to use the game to grow. But if we play a top game, there will be a great chance to win. From a psychological perspective, playing third place will not make you happy. But this is an excellent opportunity to mature and prove yourself." Not only that, Nagelsmann and the German team also need to use this honor battle to prove that they are not in a huge crisis again, otherwise the public pressure of the "World Cup season" will be imagined.