When Lina Magull scored the first goal in Germany’s 4-0 win over Denmark, the whole bench, from head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg to substitutes, coaches and staff members, jumped up in joy.
Germany had finally rewarded themselves. After Felicitas Rauch had hit the bar twice, Germany took a deserved lead thanks to their intense pressing. For years, the team’s pressure on the ball carrier in a 4-3-3 formation has been tweaked and tinkered with. Rarely has it worked as well as it did in the opening game against Denmark.
Pressing as the key to victory
It all starts with central defenders Martina Hegering and Kathrin Hendrich, who start Germany’s pressing. Pressure in the opposition midfield is increased through the wingbacks and then the midfielders. Attackers Klara Bühl, Lea Schüller and Svenja Huth press from the front. This combination makes life extremely difficult for the opposition from their own goal kicks. Calm and collected build-up play is rare against this Germany team.
“It just worked. Everyone knew exactly what they needed to do today and everyone did it perfectly I think, so it’s definitely something to build on,” a happy Hendrich said after the opening-game win. Fellow defender and pressing coordinator Marina Hegering sees it the same way.
“That is our strength, pressing them in their half so we can use our strength in transition. With the quality we have this approach suits us and makes us strong.”
Marina Hegering has been integral to Germany’s success so far at Euro 2022
Exceptional fitness
Head coach euphoric was also full of praise afterwards. “It was a huge gift to be able to take to the field with this team,” the 54-year-old said afterwards, before adding special praise for her central defensive pair.
According to UEFA’s statistics, Germany ran over 110 kilometers as a team, with the defense particularly impressing. Wingbacks Giulia Gwinn (11.5 km) and Rauch (10.3 km) covered a remarkable amount of ground, as did central defenders Hendrich (9.3 km) and Hegering (10 km).
“It gives us confidence going into the next game. Simply this feeling of ‘we can deliver this performance’ is a huge advantage. We have a found way,” Hegering said of Germany’s new approach.
Germany’s new style of play actually matches their social media campaign, which since the start of the year has included the hashtag #hungriGER. This is in contrast to #DieMannschaft, the hashtag used for the men’s team at the historically bad 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Euphoria in Germany’s camp
After the performance in the first game, the mood in Germany’s game in Brentford is euphoric.
“We finally played confident football. The thing that impressed me the most were the things that weren’t obvious at first, the desire to defend for example,” praised the German FA teams director Joti Chatzialexiou. “That was the best performance I have seen from the team since I have been in the role.”
Germany though, is trying to keep their feet on the ground. “We are one of the favorites for the title and that was true before the tournament started. That we are now seen as a top favorite is not down to us, but down to you [the media]. We accept that, but at the end of the day we’re focusing on ourselves,” said Hegering.
Stay calm and keep going is the mantra for Voss-Tecklenburg and her group at the moment.
Next up: Spain
Next for Germany is Spain, another favorite for the title. They have dealt with the injury to recent Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and won their opening game 4-1 against Finland.
“Spain will be a different challenge for us. We have to press just as well again and stay compact, because they can play their way through the lines with their short passing,” Hegering said of Germany’s approach to the encounter.
The game is once again to be played at the Brentford Community Stadium, and although Germany might be without Lea Schüller after the forward tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and everyone in the Germany team are ready to jump off the bench in celebration all over again.
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