Belarus 0-2 Germany, Euro 2020 Qualifiers: Initial analysis and observations

Initial Analysis and Observations

• Despite the quality of your opponent, getting started on the right foot in qualification is a great thing. The 2-0 win for Germany flattered Belarus, as the hosts never looked like they were going to take this one from the Germans. Two wins out of two — both on the road.
• The attacking front of Sane, Reus, and Gnabry were good! They should’ve scored more goals though. Still, not being able to develop a forward is harming this team. Ever since Klose retired, they’ve struggled to find anyone up top who can put the ball in the back of the net and get the wingers involved.
• The three man backline of Tah, Sule, and Ginter did pretty good today. Hard to complain. Solid work all around.
• Germany’s next match is Tuesday against Estonia in Mainz.

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Full Time: Belarus 0-2 Germany

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87- Skavysh broke free, but he gets ran down by Sule. A nice sliding tackle in the box by Sule, prevents Neuer from having to do any work on this one.

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84- Sane leaps above everyone, but his header clangs off the far post. It somehow stays out, denying Sane a second goal.

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81- Goretzka comes on for Gundogan.

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76- Germany are in absolute cruise control right now. Everything they do nearly results in a goal now.

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74- Sane kicks it into the wall. It goes out for a corner.

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73- Kimmich draws a foul at the top of the box. Reus, Sane, Gundogan stand over the ball. Who is going to take the kick?

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71- Germany make their first change. Draxler comes on for Gnabry. It was a pretty good performance from Gnabry up top today. He’s a bit unlucky to not pull away a goal or an assist.

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68- Belarus makes another change. Kovalev is off for Gordeichuk.

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62- TOR! Marco Reus! Belarus 0-2 Germany. What a tremendous pass from Ginter. His pass cuts behind a few Belorussian defenders who were running into their box, but it was right into the path of Reus. He took a touch to push himself into the box and finished with a nice shot past the goalkeeper. It’s hard to see Belarus getting two goals here.

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57- Belarus makes the first change. Gromyko comes off for Korzun.

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54- Reus feeds the ball wide to Schulz. His low cross goes all the way through the box to Klostermann. The midfielder takes a touch to set himself up, and then kicks the ball way over the goal.

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48- Sane gets into the box again with ease, but his shot is blocked out for a corner kick. Nothing comes of it.

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46- Second half is underway.

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Halftime Analysis and Observations

• Bayern Munich target Leroy Sane took advantage of Germany’s best chance thus far, putting away a nice effort to give Germany the 1-0 halftime lead. Sane, Reus, and Gnabry have been causing fits for the Belorussian defense, and it’s a shame that they were able to put more balls into the back of the net. This lead should be more.
• Joshua Kimmich is a great central midfielder. With Germany opting for a three man backline (Schulz, Sule, Ginter), Kimmich is having free reign in the midfield while Klostermann does more of the mop up work. Kimmich is getting into the attacking third with time to pick and choose his passes. He’s been pretty great so far, finding Sane for the goal.
• Let’s talk about Manuel Neuer. This is the Manuel Neuer everyone loves to see. He’s been commanding in his box. He’s made great saves. He’s done crazy things like running a defender down into the corner, taking the ball from him, and then dribbling his way free of trouble. Neuer is one of the keys for Germany (and Bayern) to succeed. Please stay healthy, Manu.

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Halftime: Belarus 0-1 Germany

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42- You can see why Low and company want/need Kimmich in the midfield. The guy is everywhere today. He’s such a terrific player.

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32- Neuer is ridiculous. He just ran down a Belorussian attacker (Kovalev?) and took the ball from him at the corner flag. Then, with pressure mounting on him from the attacker (again, Kovalev?) Neuer did a few fancy spins and turns with the ball at his feet before finding another German player to give the ball to.

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30- HUGE SAVE NEUER! Naumov gets onto the end of a corner kick, but Neuer knocks it out for a corner. Big time.

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29- HUGE opportunity for Belarus. Dragun finds himself all alone in the penalty area, but before he can control the cross into the box, Klosermann blocks his shot.

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24- Belarus really isn’t offering much going forward here. Germany is in total control.

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18- Belarus break out, but the German defense is able to get back and set up. Kovalev tries a shot, but it’s easily block. Neuer isn’t challenged.

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15- Germany are ramping up the pressure now. A cross gets deflected out of the box to Kimmich, and his left footed shot gets blocked by a sliding defender.

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13- TOR! Leroy Sane! Belarus 0-1 Germany! Kimmich feeds Sane into the box with a nice pass. Sane has a little cutback onto his left foot and shoots past Gutor for the 1-0 lead.

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9- Near goal for Gnabry! He makes a blistering run out of midfield and takes a shot from the top of the box. Gutor gets a glove to it and deflects it away, but it falls to Reus. He rips a shot, and Gutor also gets a palm to that to keep it out.

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8- Gnabry gets into the box, and Belarus clears out for a corner.

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7- Germany have taken control of this game and are currently dominating possession. Belarus struggling to get a touch in right now.

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2- Germany come right back down at Belarus. Gnabry’s low cross into Reus takes a wicked bounce at the last second, and the BVB man isn’t able to get his shot off.

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1- Belarus comes right down on the attack, and Ginter commits a stupid foul outside the penalty area to give Belarus a free kick. Germany manages to clear.

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1- We have kickoff in Borisov. Germany’s Euro 2020 qualification campaign starts now!

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Lineups are out!

Four Bayern Munich players are going to start the match for Germany. Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Sule, and Serge Gnabry will work to lead Germany to victory in their first Euro 2020 qualifier.

Yes, it is only Belarus, but Germany need to get off to a great start in this one after disappointing showings at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2018-19 UEFA Nations LEague.

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Germany will be squaring off with Belarus in the Euro 2020 qualifiers and Die Mannschaft will be without its manager Joachim Löw. Löw will miss the game due to an injury that he sustained when he dropped a dumbbell on himself Marcus Sorg will be running the show in his stead.

Germany’s roster is deep offensively and in the midfield, but its defense has some suspect pieces. Niklas Sule has assumed the role of leader on the back line, but is not exactly surrounded by a stalwart cast as almost every other defensive option has question marks. With Joshua Kimmich expect to move up to play a defensive midfielder role, the back line could have some growing pains. Manuel Neuer is expected to start in goal.

Kimmich and Leon Goretzka should each play a big role in the midfield unit in the absence of Toni Kroos, while the attack will likely rely on Marco Reus, Leroy Sane, Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, and Kai Havertz.

As for Belarus, the squad will be heavy underdogs. Led by coach Igor Kriushenko, the Belarusians will looking to Stanislav Dragun and Ivan Maevski in the midfield, Denis Laptev is expected to lead the attack.

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