The DFB team must rely on these strengths against Denmark

The former Augsburg and Schalke player Bundesliga-Trainer Manuel Baum illuminates at the European championship in Germany (June 14 to July 14) the tactical tricks of the tournament participants. At the Editorial Network Germany (RND), to which Sportbuzzer also belongs, he explains magenta-Expert on the games of the German national team, what makes the DFB team and their opponents special, where there can be problems and what to look out for. Finally, Baum predicts the outcome of the game. Today: the analysis of the eighth-leg between Germany and Denmark on Saturday (9 p.m., ARD And MagentaTV).

Manuel Baum, former Bundesliga coach, is active as an analyst and expert for MagentaTV during the European Championship. MagentaTV shows all European Championship matches live.

Against Switzerland, Germany often had to try from outside

Against the Swiss man-orientation, Germany came much less often into the space in front of and behind the opponent’s defense. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala were always closely covered by the opponent’s halfbacks, so they could never show up and develop without pressure from the opposition. The necessary ball security was lacking against the aggressive, urgent situation and therefore they lost 32 balls in midfield against Switzerland, while against Hungary and Scotland together it was only 33. Because the center was blocked, they often had to resort to the wing (25 crosses) and only rarely found a breakthrough.

With Denmark, a flexible but more passive opponent awaits the ball. In the 5-3-2, the Danes often defend with pressure in midfield, but just like in the final phase against Serbia (only 31 percent ball possession in the 60 to 90 minutes), they also like to block deep in certain situations. They are vulnerable when running deep behind their own defense (Germany has already played 30 passes behind the opponent’s chain), because the central defenders Jannik Vestergaard and Joachim Andersen (both with a top speed of under 30 km/h) lack speed.

Denmark hits too many early crosses

Nagelsmann’s team will have to be careful when defending against the counterattack, as Rasmus Højlund (top speed 35.5 km/h) is difficult to stop in transition play. Against Switzerland, the DFB team changed their structure against the ball for the first time. Robert Andrich dropped between the central defenders, allowing Joshua Kimmich and Maximilian Mittelstädt to put the opponents under pressure early on and still not be outnumbered by the defence. Three Swiss attackers had to. Nagelsmann could decide to do the same again against structurally similar Danes.

Denmark builds up patiently from the 3-2-5, especially Andreas Christensen (95 percent success rate) is important in the build-up of the game. Often you find the gaps in which Eriksen in particular moves well and then plays the balls to the wing. Because the track players Joakim Maehle and Alexander Bah are not dribblers, they hit a lot of crosses early (63), which means they rarely pose a goal threat.

➜ The German deep run triumphs (tip 2:0)