After the World Champions opened their Euro 2016 campaign with a 2-0 win over Ukraine in Lille on Sunday night, they look like a good shout to make a deep run in the tournament. Here are some of the main talking points to come out of the match.
Neuer could win this tournament for Germany
The pre-tournament main contenders – France, Germany, Spain, England, Belgium – all have top-class keepers but Manuel Neuer is more than just a great shot stopper. He is key to the way his side build attacks from defence and the importance of his ball skills should not be underestimated.
Think back to England v Russia on Saturday night. Joe Hart, the England stopper, spent a period early in the second half trying to play like Neuer. The Manchester City man was trying to put his centre-backs into a decent position to get a move going from the back, but Hart is no great shakes on the ball.
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Instead, his wayward passing caused panic and gifted possession to the Russians. It sparked a period of pressure on the England goal and you just sat there wondering “why is he doing this?”. England were creating needless problems for themselves because they wanted to maintain possession, no matter how deep in the pitch.
Neuer, on the other hand, rarely makes mistakes with his feet (although he badly misread a throughball towards the end of Sunday night’s game) and he is like a third centre-back for the Germans. His full-backs can therefore push further up the pitch, allowing Germany to get forward quickly.
Neuer’s positioning as a sweeper keeper also lets his centre-backs hold a higher line, knowing he’s there to mop up behind them.
Throw in his obvious class stopping shots – he made about five top draw saves against Ukraine – and it’s clear Neuer could be the difference between success and heartbreak in a tournament where there is no standout side, yet.
Kroos is a luxury player, but worth the risk
A lot of teams at this tournament are fielding a defensive midfielder who sits in front of the two centre-backs as a safety net. N’Golo Kante for France, Eric Dier for England and Spain’s Sergio Busquets are obvious examples.
They win the ball and pass it short to creative teammates.
If a team plays 4-2-3-1 then the manager can even stick two defensive minded players in there. Kante’s performance against Romania showed what an important position it is as he stopped endless opposition moves in their tracks.
Joachim Low seems to be going against the grain, slightly, in his team selection.
Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos anchor the German midfield and neither is a classic defensive midfielder.
It leads to an incredibly exciting front six with Julian Draxler, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze. They can all thread a pass through the eye of a needle or stick one in the top corner from 25 yards.
And Kroos is the man who ties everything together as the deepest of the midfielders. His long-range passing is sensational, highlighted by a 40-yard ball he put straight onto Khedira’s toe in the first half.
He doesn’t seem to like tackling though and it feels like Germany might be a bit lightweight and give up a few chances down the middle of the pitch as the tournament progresses.
At Real Madrid, he has Casemiro alongside him to do his dirty work in a three-man midfield but Khedira is the only man in Germany's line-up who could be considered a genuine ball winner in any way.
After Neuer though, Kroos might be the next most important member of Germany’s XI. The creativity he provides, when added to the rest of a star-studded frontline, could be a difference maker when Germany come up against teams who have made more defensive minded selections in their centre midfield.
Come back Hummels, quickly
One worrying aspect of this performance for Germany was the amount of pressure, and chances, an average Ukraine side were able to create. Only Jerome Boateng’s incredible goalline clearance in the first half kept Ukraine out.
Against a better team, they would have been punished and it is clear that injured centre-back Mats Hummels, who should be back against Poland, is needed.
His partnership with Boateng should shore up a defence that kept just a third clean sheet in 12 games against Ukraine.
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