Germany Crush Latvia As Seven Players Score Ahead Of Euro Start Games
Germany scored five first-half goals on the way to a 7-1 demolition of Latvia on Monday, completing a successful dress rehearsal for their European Championship campaign starting next week.
With Manuel Neuer becoming the first German keeper to reach 100 caps, the hosts were firing on all cylinders from the start and set a dizzying pace, Thomas Muller and Kai Havertz going close in the opening 90 seconds.
“We did a lot of things right today,” said coach Joachim Low, who will leave his post following 15 years in charge after Euro 2020.
“We had discussed things in the past days and what needs to be improved. In the first half, we had a lot of pace and speed, good pressing.”
Champions League winner with Chelsea Havertz then played a perfect one-two with Robin Gosens who fired home in his first international in the 19th minute.
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Muller quickly made it 3-0, the latter scoring his first goal since his return to the team last month following more than two years out.
The Germans showed none of the conversion problems that had plagued them in recent years and Havertz added another when his shot was deflected into the net by Latvia keeper Roberts Osols.
Serge Gnabry also got on the scoresheet on the stroke of half-time, firing in from a superb Mats Hummels cross before substitute Timo Werner flicked in five minutes after the restart to make it 6-0.
Latvia grabbed a consolation goal through Aleksejs Saveljevs’ fierce left-foot strike before Leroy Sane restored the hosts’ six-goal advantage with a simple tap-in.
Germany kicks off their Euro 2020 group matches against World Cup champions France in Munich on June 15. They also play European champions Portugal and Hungary in Group F.
“Our conversion rate was much better,” Low said. “It was an issue in the past months and we made our lives difficult. We need to finish the chances we create.
“Now we need to increase the pace even more and keep the intensity over 90 minutes and we will be good for next week.”
The initial reactions and observations in the game
Germany pulled off a dominant win, but the expectations are tempered by Latvia’s awfulness. Who knows if a performance like this will be enough against France? You have to wonder if the DFB deliberately scheduled this friendly as confidence builder, because it has little value as a test for the tactics.
Almost ever German forward scored, even ones in a rut like Timo Werner and Leroy Sane. Let’s hope it boosts their confidence as intended.
Toni Kroos and Joshua Kimmich were the main players controlling the midfield. Despite his goal, Gundogan wasn’t that great. Low should have subbed him off for Neuhaus at some point.
Germany’s passing and team chemistry are still lacking. They’ll need to work on it on the training pitch, because there’s no more friendlies left.
Can this lineup win the Euros? It was solid and dynamic, but we need to see how it performs against France before we draw any conclusions.
FT: Germany pull a Brazil on Latvia, winning 7-1.
76’ — GOAL! And literally second later, Sane makes it 7-1. Muller gets the assist.
75’ — Goal. A clean sheet was too much to ask for, huh? Latvia make it 6-1
50’ — GOAL! Timo Werner makes it 6-0.
45’ — The second half is underway! Leroy Sane and Timo Werner are on for Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz. How many more goals will we see?
Halftime observations and analysis
- Great game by Germany so far. The forward line is showing great chemistry and movement, and shifting Kimmich to RB has worked wonders on the buildup play. This is the best performance Germany have had in years.
- Of course, Latvia are hardly good opposition, so we’ll have to see if the performance holds up in the Euros. Of particular concern is the passing, which has been far from crisp.
- The ball from Hummels to assist Gnabry was unreal. The 25-year-old has been in a funk for some time now, so it was nice of Mats to give him a boost with such an incredible assist.
HT: Germany lead Latvia 5-0 at halftime.
45’ — GOAL! What a pass by Hummels! What a finish by Serge Gnabry!
38’ — GOAL! Kai Havertz makes it 4-0! Though it may go down as an own goal.
26’ — GOAL! Thomas Muller is back! He makes it 3-0.
21’ — GOAL! It hasn’t even been a minute, but Gundogan fires a rocket into the net.
19’ — GOAL! Robin Gosens makes it 1-0 from a great run and pass from kai Havertz.
Kickoff! We’re underway!
One hour until kickoff: We have lineups! It’s as we expected. Havertz and Rudiger come into the lineup, while Kimmich moves to RB. Kroos and Gundogan from the pivot.
#GER XI against Latvia:
Neuer (c) –
Ginter, Hummels, Rüdiger –
Kimmich, Kroos, Gündogan, Gosens –
Havertz, Müller, Gnabry. pic.twitter.com/9Ue728rEPv— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) June 7, 2021
Will the pain ever end? Probably not, but Joachim Low could make it subside somewhat. As Germany coach, he is solely responsible for the dire state of the national team at the moment, but he could also be its savior.
The last two Champions League finals and yesterday’s U-21 Euro final proves that the demise of Germany’s talent pool has been much exaggerated. In his squad, Low has starter quality players from both Bayern Munich and Chelsea, plus guys like Kroos, Gundogan, and Hummels — all of whom are near the peak of their respective positions. This is a team that could easily go head to head with France as far as the starting XI is concerned — they just need the right tactics to make use of the talent on the pitch.
