analysis
In the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship, the team of national coach Julian Nagelsmann will face their first really tough challenge. But the “Furia Roja” can be beaten – if you ruin the evening for these players.
A “cracker”, the “first big endurance test”, “early final” – before the quarter-final against Spain next Friday, football Germany bows in humble respect to the “Furia Roja”, the “red fury”. But are the Spaniards really unbeatable? And how could they be beaten?
So far, Spain’s European Championship team has impressed in every game, and the 1-0 win against Italy in the preliminary round was a gala performance, a demonstration of modern football, in which the opponents were no longer suffocated by tiki-taka-style ball-pushing, as was the case in the past, but lightning-fast counterattacks and surprise attacks down the wings also provided moments of surprise. After a difficult start, the Spanish passing machine turned up the heat in the second half of the round of 16 against outsiders Georgia. Several individuals stand out in coach Luiz de la Fuente’s well-rehearsed team. Julian Nagelsmann’s team will only have a chance in the quarter-finals if they manage to eliminate these key players.
Rodri, 28
Full name: Rodrigo Hernández Cascante – also known as “Rodrigo”. The Spanish love to give their football heroes stage names, which is fully justified in this case. Rodri acts as the brain and control center of the Spanish game. He plays in the back midfield in front of the defense and distributes the balls from there as a pacesetter and creative mind – just like he does at Manchester City under the guru of possession football, Pep Guardiola. The 1.90 meter man is considered an anti-star and a reserved football philosopher. No tattoos, no Twitter – instead, he even found time to get a university degree (business administration and management) alongside his professional career.
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If you want to make the Spanish passing machine stutter, you have to take this man out of the game. The fine soul doesn’t like aggressive runs, i.e. stealing the ball in his own half. The problem: Even under pressure, he often still finds the right passing route – sometimes even the fatal one into the gaps in the opposing defense. The duel between Rodri and Toni Kroos, the strategist in the German back midfield, will probably decide the outcome of the German-Spanish summit meeting in Stuttgart.
Nico Williams, 21
Son of a Liberian mother and a Ghanaian father – and together with Lamine Yamal, the left wing of the feared Spanish wing pair. UEFA measured an impressive top speed of 34.7 kilometers per hour during his sprints. And what’s more: the ball is his friend. It almost sticks to the winger’s feet, his goal to make it 3-1 against Georgia was a demonstration. After the sprint, he took a quick look at the goalkeeper, then thundered the ball high under the crossbar with gusto and precision.
Germany’s right-back Joshua Kimmich will have a tough job ahead of him. Once Williams has picked up speed, he is practically impossible to defend, except through fouls. Anyone who resorts to this method too often, however, is in danger of being sent off at this European Championship. The good old German sliding tackle, which is experiencing an unexpected renaissance at this tournament thanks to Antonio Rüdiger, is also out of the question – once you’re on the ground, Williams will quickly disappear over the horizon. So: stay on your feet, disrupt when receiving the ball and double up – Kimmich will regularly need support from a second defensive colleague in his almost impossible task.
Lamine Yamal, 16
The prodigy of Spanish football – in his case too, Spanish ball culture benefited considerably from migration from Africa. His father is from Morocco, his mother from Equatorial Guinea. French champions Paris Saint-German have just offered 250 million euros for the young hyper-talent. Yamal is a homegrown product of FC Barcelona and has internalized the Spanish football philosophy at the famous youth academy “La Masia”. Small teams, small goals, technique, technique and more technique – that’s how they play there. Athleticism and strength can always be added later.
Like his colleague on the left wing, Yamal can send entire defensive lines into a frenzy with his speedy dribbling on the right. And like Williams, he can be sent “downhill” with deep passes – or get the ball “in his feet” and then really spin up with the ball. Yamal is a little less athletic than Williams, however, and not quite as dangerous in front of goal. The remedies are the same, however: disrupt the pass, avoid going down with a sliding tackle and always double up. The problem: if you double up on both Williams and Yamal, four German players are already tied up – just to keep the two guys on the Spanish wing in check.
Marc Cucurella, 25
This man is one of the most conspicuous in the team, and not just because of his magnificent hair, which is reminiscent of the hairstyles of Argentinian national players at the time. He is quite controversial at his home club Chelsea: He is considered a certain security risk there because he does not like to be forced into a tactical corset (bad) and sometimes neglects his homework as a left defender (very bad). But he is playing well at the European Championships and is an extra dose of danger in the Spanish game. The Spaniards launch almost all attacks from the left side, where Cucurella forms a congenial duo with the speedy striker Williams.
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With quick one-two passes they bridge the midfield together, and Cucurella can also tie up opposing players with his dribbling skills and open up spaces into which he then sends Williams with long balls. The man brings a touch of unpredictability and anarchy to the Spanish game – “completely detached” in the Spanish version.
But all of this also offers opportunities: while Cucurella lets off steam up front, unexpected spaces open up behind him, which a Jamal Musiala or a Leroy Sané, for example, could use for Germany. Another option would be to keep the good man permanently busy deep in the Spanish half, so that he is unavailable for attacking actions – especially since his strength in tackles has its limits. A left-back who would actually like to become a left winger can also be a weak point.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
