Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany: Initial reactions and observations

Initial reactions and observations

• Liechtenstein never had any intention of jeopardizing Bernd Leno’s goal. Their defense was positioned very deep, even when they were losing 1:0, and never tried to hit Germany with a counterattack.
• All in all, Germany didn’t impress on Hansi Flick’s debut match. But they also had their chances but failed to capitalize more than the two goals that came from two brilliant individual moments of brilliance.
• Liechtenstein actually defended very well and made life difficult for Germany’s attack. It felt like watching a tough Bundesliga side defending against Bayern Munich.

---

Full time: Liechtenstein 0:2 Germany

---

82’ — Florian Wirtz in, Joshua Kimmich off.

---

77’ — What a goal from Leroy Sane to make it 2:0 for Germany

---

73’ — Leon Goretzka comes in for Ilkay Gundogan

---

60’ — Serge Gnabry, Jonas Hofmann and Marco Reus come in for Kai Havertz, Ridle Baku and Jamal Musiala

---

45’ — The second half is underway!

---

Halftime observations and analysis

• Germany didn’t look too impressive. On Hansi Flick’s debut match as Germany’s coach, the starting eleven didn’t quite impress, especially when you take into consideration that they’re playing against Liechtenstein.
• The team is still working on the fluidity of their attacks, but things will probably get better with time.
• Robin Gosens was very good throughout the first half, but Ridle Baku still has some room for improvement.
• Jamal Musiala is incredible!

---

Halftime

---

40’ — GOAL! Timo Werner makes it 1-0 for Germany! What a pass by Jamal Musiala.

---

Kickoff: The game is underway!

---

One hour until kickoff: We have our first lineup of the Hansi era. Is that ... Thilo Kehrer?

---

It’s the beginning of a new era for German football, and Hansi Flick is at the wheel. With the World Cup coming next year, he has the task of turning this ragtag bunch of misfits into a working team. To help him, Hansi has most of his Bayern Munich core from his old club job, plus plenty of talent across the team.

While Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer may have been sidelined for this one, Germany have plenty of players who can step up in their absence. The question is the performance — what difference can Flick make? How will he organize the press? Who will he select for his first XI? We’ll be learning the answers to these questions and more in the coming days.

---

Match Info

Location: Kybun Park, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Time: 8:45 pm local time, 2:45 pm EST

TV/streaming: ESPN+, Find Your Country

Tips for commenting:

1. If you’re a new member, feel free to introduce yourself! We’re mostly very friendly! Also, we’re from all parts of the world so don’t feel shy if you’re from a country that doesn’t seem represented on the blog.
2. If the comments section starts to slow down for you, just hit the refresh button and keep commenting. It’s not necessary to have the whole comments loaded at one time while you’re just casually following along.
3. Keep the sorting to “newest” to easily follow the conversation. It puts the newest comments at the top.
4. Here at BFW we celebrate every goal like they do in the stadium: with a chant. The goal chants are for everyone to participate in! Even if you’re lagging behind the others, keep replying to the most recent call of the player’s name. Even if you missed the first call, just start from the second, and so on.
5. While swearing is allowed within reason, please be polite to your fellow posters and avoid gratuitous obscenities. Racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language is not allowed whatsoever.

Check out our beginners thread if you have any more questions. That’s about it. Auf geht’s!

Looking for an unending well of Bayern Munich content? Sign up for an SBNation account and join the conversation on Bavarian Football Works. Whether it’s full match coverage and analysis, breaking news, podcasts or something completely different, we have it all.