At a conference in Frankfurt in March, national team director and German legend Rudi Völler, men’s national team boss Hansi Flick and the U21s head coach Antonio Di Salvo all recognised the need for a conjoined programme which would incorporate the country’s highest youth level players with the first team.
Players such as AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw have already trained with the main national side and will likely rotate between the U21s and the men’s team until they are at an age where they are fully ready to step up on a permanent basis.
It will come as no surprise then that the U21s, guided by the former Bayern Munich forward Di Salvo, play a similar brand of football as the national team in an attempt to bridge the gap between the first-team and the Nationalmannschaft’s top level of youth football.
Di Salvo’s appointment as the U21s head coach was a natural progression from the former manager Stefan Kuntz who left the role after Euro 2020 to become Turkey boss. Di Salvo worked under Kuntz as the assistant manager and has been with the German national team’s youth pathway from U19s to U21s for a decade now.
The 43-year-old, who retired early into his playing career at just 30 after suffering a knee problem, is set to take charge of his first U21s tournament this June through July since being named as the head coach at the back end of 2021.
With Flick and Völler watching closely behind, Germany’s finest young talents will take centre stage in Romania and Georgia as they attempt to defend their crown.
This tactical analysis piece will take a look at the tactics that we can expect from Di Salvo’s side based on recent games while attempting to predict the team’s starting XI as well as the players that we believe will be the bright sparks for Deutschland.
Predicted Starting XI
Di Salvo has mainly deployed a 4-3-3 during his reign in charge of Germany’s U21s and so it is unlikely that we see the coach divert away from this.
Given that the squads have not been released yet, this predicted XI is solely based on the recent international friendlies for Germany against Romania, Japan and even Italy at the end of last year.
Noah Atubolu will likely be the man chosen to protect the goal and will do so behind a back four comprised of Kilian Fischer at right-back, Yann Aurel Bisseck and Jordan Beyer in the heart of the defence, and Luca Netz at left-back. Bisseck and Beyer will be the defensive partnership in the middle provided Malick Thiaw doesn’t travel with the team. Should Thiaw travel, it’ll almost certainly be Bisseck and the AC Milan man in the middle.
Di Salvo’s preference over the past few friendly matches has been to have Yannick Keitel as the number ‘6’, or the single pivot as it’s also called, while Denis Huseinbašić and Tom Krauß play in more advanced roles in the middle of the park. The trio are all wonderful on the ball but possess different player profiles which make them gel together very nicely.
Up front is where it gets interesting. Ansgar Knauff is almost a dead certain to start on the right flank and Noah Weißhaupt may well get the nod on the left. However, whether Di Salvo starts Jessic Ngankam up top as the sole number ’9’ or Union Berlin’s Jamie Leweling will be interesting to see.
Let’s look at the potential age profile of Germany’s squad. The squad is predicted based on our own opinion as well as the most recent players that were called up for international duty and so may not be entirely accurate upon release.
Attacking Phase
Given the array of quality players within the country’s ranks, it is no surprise that Germany like to dominate possession of the ball, create lots of chances, put plenty of crosses into the box and score an abundance of goals. The way in which certain teams go about doing this will vary from nation to nation but, for the most part, the top sides will rule these metrics.
Building out from the back using the goalkeeper has become a worldwide trend in the modern game. Teams are becoming more and more comfortable when playing out from deep and this has only improved because players are being trained to do so from a very young age. Emphasis on build-up play from infancy has benefitted Germany massively, especially when you see how efficient the U21s are in these areas.
Given Di Salvo prefers to use a 4-3-3 formation, there is a huge burden placed on the number ‘6’, or single pivot, to screen behind the opposition’s first line of pressure and provide accessible passing angles for the defenders and goalkeeper to be able to reach him.
When certain teams play out from their own third, the players move it down the flanks as it’s much less dangerous to lose the ball in the wide areas than in the central spaces. But not Di Salvo. He wants his team to play through the pivot which they are generally pretty good at.
Here, the option to play the ball out to the right-back was on for the German centre-back. However, Freiburg’s midfield technician Yannick Keitel had also provided an excellent passing lane behind Japan’s first line of pressure for the ball to be moved into. The centre-back took the risk and it paid off as well.
Playing this role does require a high level of technical quality as the player needs to always have the correct body posture and must be comfortable receiving under pressure and with limited time and space. Thankfully, Di Salvo has an array of players capable of filling this void, including Keitel who could be a key player for the U21s this summer during the Euros.
The risks of losing the ball in and around your own third are colossal, hence why the players need to be comfortable on the ball and always have the correct body position. However, the benefits of doing so are even greater.
Once Germany break the press, Di Salvo wants his players to strive forward as quickly as possible to exploit the opposition’s unprotected backline with pace, power and precision.
Further up the pitch, Germany’s attacking becomes a little more patient and methodical. Di Salvo has a set structure that he wants his players to adhere to in order to break down a deep defensive block set up by the opposition.
This structure has changed depending on the players that the young head coach has available to him but there was a consistent pattern over the course of the two friendlies that Germany played against Romania and Japan back in March during the international break.
At the base of Germany’s positional attack is a 3-1 structure with the single pivot taking up a similar role behind the opposition’s first line of pressure, although there is even less time and space given how condensed deep or mid-blocks normally are.
To create the three-man first line, Di Salvo instructs his right-back to tuck inside and essentially become a third centre-back. However, it must be said that this is completely conducive to the opposition’s defensive frontline. If they defend with one up top, there is no need for the right-back to tuck in as Germany will already have a 2-1 with the centre-backs. But, if the opponent use a two-man frontline, then the right-back will have to push in to create a 3v2 situation.
Romania and Japan both defended in a 4-4-2 during the middle and low block phase and so the right-back was always narrow.
Furthermore, the left-back will advance forward on the left, allowing the left winger to invert in the halfspace. Meanwhile, on the far side, the right winger holds the width instead of inverting as the right-back is deeper and plays more centrally. The two remaining central midfielders push behind the opponent’s midfield line, for the most part, but this can vary.
Quite often, the shape looks like a 3-1-6 in possession but can become a 3-2-5 if one of the advanced central midfielders drop into the pivot zone to help create another angle behind the opposition’s first line of pressure.
Unlike during the build-up phase, Germany’s main method to break down a defensive block under Di Salvo has been to attack the wide areas. This is done either through wide overloads or switches of play to an isolated winger to attack his marker.
At Frankfurt, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, Knauff is an excellent dribbler in 1v1 situations. Germany’s U21s overload one side of the pitch quite a lot, as we’ll get to in just a moment, and if they can’t break through the defensive block on one flank, they will switch it out to the opposite side, particularly to Knauff given his strong 1v1 qualities.
Of course, there is a possibility that Knauff doesn’t play for Di Salvo, but the manager will certainly put a winger on the right into the team who excels in 1v1 situations. Once the ball reaches the winger from the switch of play, they can attack the fullback and put the ball into the box.
Nevertheless, there is a strong possibility that Germany can break through the opposition’s defensive block by overloading one side of the pitch. They create overloads with four or five players in order to ensure that they always have an extra man.
The objective is to get the ball into a position where it can be delivered into the box with precision for players to attack. To do this, Di Salvo ensures that there are as many players in the box as possible.
As we will discuss later in this scout report, this can often be to the detriment of the team’s rest defence structure as, the more players that are inside the penalty area, the fewer there are defending further down the pitch.
However, there are massive benefits to packing the box in the way that Germany’s U21s do, namely that there is a higher chance that a cross will reach one of their players and that there is a greater chance that a rebound falls to one of the German players.
Here, the initial shot was saved by the Japanese goalkeeper, but with five players inside the penalty area, it kindly fell to a German player who won a penalty after repossessing the ball.
Germany’s U21s are very fluid in possession and each player understands the role given to them by the coaching staff which is a testament to the work that Di Salvo has done. The strategy is high-risk, high-reward, especially when the Germans are in the final third, but the risk pays off quite a lot and certainly makes for an entertaining watch.
Germany are one of the most interesting teams to watch in possession from a tactical viewpoint and possess some incredibly talented players such as Knauff, Jamie Leweling, and Jessic Ngankam, just to name a few, with runs from deep from technically-gifted midfielders such as Denis Huseinbašić and Tom Krauß. The issue for Antonio Di Salvo will be who he picks to start from a pool of wonderfully consummate players.
Defensive Phase
Like their tactics in possession, if you have watched Germany over the past decade, it should be no surprise how Di Salvo’s boys set up out of possession.
Germany press very high up the pitch, looking to win the ball back as close to the opposition’s goal as possible. The shape is normally a 4-3-3 but there are some interesting tactical details about how Di Salvo wants his team to press, namely the role of the striker.
It is common in football for the centre-forward to lead the press, angling their pressure to split the opposition’s centre-backs and force them to play to one side of the pitch. From there, the team can lock on and man-mark on the flanks, hoping to win the ball back.
Di Salvo’s side press differently, though. The striker’s job is to sit on the opponent’s deepest midfielder and block the passing lane to this player. Meanwhile, the two wingers are tasked with pressing the centre-backs.
What’s even more interesting is that the wingers press invertedly to force the opposition to play inside rather than to the flanks.
This seems rather dangerous as the main idea when defending is to shuttle the attacking team into uncomfortable areas such as the wings where it’s really difficult to progress play due to the limitations posed by the sidelines. But there is a method to the madness.
The main idea is to go man-for-man against the remaining central midfielders. As the wingers are pressing from out-to-in rather than in-to-out, the opposition’s centre-backs will either pump it long, which can lead to an easy turnover, or will play a risky ball into the feet of one of the marked midfielders to which Germany can then jump them and potentially nick the ball.
There is a massive problem with pressing in this manner. While the wingers are pressing the central defenders, they must also block the passing lanes to the fullbacks. If they don’t, it offers an easy progression for the attacking team.
There were several times when opponents have exploited this flaw in Germany‘s press. Once the pass is made to the fullback, the nearest central midfielder must come across and press but when done quickly enough, the midfielder may not be able to get over in time, leading to easy progression down the flanks.
Other nations will certainly look to take advantage of this, but when it’s done correctly, it can be extremely dangerous as Italy found out in a recent friendly at the end of last year.
The two wide players were leading the charge and the right-winger managed to nab the ball from Italy’s wide centre-back. The ensuing transition led to the opening goal of the game which Germany went on to win on a pitch that resembled a rural Irish bog.
Nevertheless, once the press is broken, Germany drop down into a mid-block, looking to compact the centre of the pitch. The wingers don’t fall back, though, to create a 4-5-1. Instead, they stay high, maintaining the 4-3-3 shape.
However, the forward line’s aim in this phase is no longer to force the opposition to move centrally, but to make them play down the sides, meaning Germany have two different approaches when defending in a high block and a mid-block.
Germany’s U21s are a tough side to break down but an even tougher side to play through when pressing high. In typical German fashion, they want to make life as uncomfortable as possible and are quite flexible to adapt to the demands of the opposition’s attacking structure, making them one of the best sides defensively going into the competition this June.
With players such as Yann Aurel Bisseck, Burnley’s Jordan Beyer or potentially AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw in the heart of the defence, teams may find it incredibly gruelling to put the ball in the German net.
Transitions
As aforementioned in this analysis piece, Germany can have problems during defensive transitions due to the sheer risk applied in the final third when searching for a goal.
Germany can pile five, six or even seven players into the box at once when in the final phase of the attack but this can be a problem as there are fewer players lower down the pitch in case the opposition turnover possession and hit them on the break.
Here, Germany had eight players in the Romanian box — yes, eight — meaning just the two central defenders were outside the penalty area. And no, this wasn’t the second phase of a set piece. This was the end product of a positional attack.
This isn’t an ideal rest defence structure because these two centre-backs could be easily overloaded by the opposition’s forward line during the defensive transition… And they were.
Just a few seconds later, Romania had a 3v2 situation and were baring down on Germany’s goal. Luckily, a poor touch meant that the ball went out of play but it could have easily ended in tears for Deutschland.
Di Salvo needs to find the right balance during games to ensure that his side are committing enough bodies into the box to score but are also secure during defensive transitions. Having seven to eight players in the box isn’t the best route, although it does make for fun viewing.
Attackers
There is a lot of quality in Germany’s attacking department. The battle between Jessic Ngankam and Jamie Leweling will be an interesting one to see who will wear the number ‘9’ shirt for the national side. However, having both talented strikers in the squad will be massively beneficial for Di Salvo if he needs to bring one on from the bench to grab a goal.
On the flanks, Ansgar Knauff will be a big threat for Deutschland. As aforementioned, the Borussia Dortmund loanee is excellent in 1v1 duels and Germany use the nippy winger as an outlet to switch the play and isolate the fullback on his own. From there, Knauff can take his man on and either have a pop at goal or whip it into the box.
Nevertheless, having the rotation options of Faride Alidou and Maurice Malone will be helpful in games where a different profile of player is needed on either flank, or Malone can even play through the middle if necessary.
Midfielders
Denis Huseinbašić, Tom Krauß and Yannick Keitel are a fluid and well-balanced midfield. Keitel is normally the deepest of the three and sits in front of the backline, picking up passes behind the opposition’s first line of pressure.
Meanwhile, Huseinbašić and Krauß play further forward, often between the opposition’s lines, and look to receive in tight pockets of space. The duo are even given license to drop deep and help Keitel, or whomever the single pivot is, during the build-up phase.
Furthermore, Huseinbašić and Krauß are far more attacking than Keitel. Very often, one or both will make darting runs into the box from deep to try and latch onto the end of a cross as Germany look to pack the box and take risks to put the ball into the net.
Should either of these three men need to be rotated, Di Salvo has some decent options on the bench to use, including Eric Martel of 1. FC Köln as well as Angelo Stiller of Hoffenheim.
Defenders
Germany have a solid backline, with or without Malick Thiaw. As of writing, it is still unclear whether the AC Milan centre-back will be taken on the plane to the U21 Euros. If he is, it would massively bolster the German backline. However, if not, there’s no need to worry as Di Salvo already has a very strong defensive department without him.
Yann Aurel Bisseck has been sensational for Germany’s U21s alongside Burnley’s Jordan Beyer. If Thiaw is not with the squad, Bisseck and Beyer will be the central defensive partnership.
Nonetheless, the German flanks are very strong too with Wolfsburg’s Kilian Fischer and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Luca Netz occupying these positions. Both are deployed quite differently in possession with Fischer becoming a third centre-back and Netz bombing on, but they are equally as effective, just in different, more subtle ways.
If needed, though, Simon Asta can fill in for Fischer while Noah Katterbach is very capable of slotting in for Netz on the left, giving Di Salvo plenty to think about.
Key Player
The choice of who could be Germany’s key player ahead of the U21s Euros was incredibly difficult given the array of quality that is in the squad.
However, we’ve settled for Ansgar Knauff. From watching Germany play, the team are so reliant on the young winger to either put crosses into the box, be an option to switch the ball to, take on his fullback 1v1, and sometimes even score and so the Dortmund loanee will be one of the most important players for the Nationalmannschaft this summer.
Anyone who has watched Eintracht Frankfurt this season will know the talent that Knauff possesses. Sometimes, getting it out of him is an issue but when the youngster shows what he is capable of, he is unplayable. And Di Salvo will be hoping he gets the unplayable version of Knauff this month.
Tournament prediction
Anything can happen in tournament football. Germany’s main side were a perfect example of that over the course of the last two FIFA World Cup competitions where they failed to progress from the group stage on both occasions.
It must also be said that, subjectively speaking, this German U21s team are not as strong as when they last won the crown in 2021. However, the squad is still stacked with talent and with a wonderful coach on the sideline, anything can happen.
Comments