- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Germany have taken their first step on the way to challenging for the Euro 2016 title, recording a 2-0 win over the Ukraine in their first match of the tournament.
REPORT: GERMANY BRUSH ASIDE UKRAINE
Final score
Germany 2
Ukraine 0
World champions Germany get their UEFA Euros 2016 campaign underway in Lille, as they meet Ukraine in the second Group C game. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4:45am (AEST).
When Germany entered the 2010 World Cup, coach Joachim Loew stated they were preparing for the future, with the likes of Thomas Mueller, Mesut Oezil, Sami Khedira and Manuel Neuer in stead.
Fast forward four years, and that same team emerged victorious. Two years on and Germany is ready to capitalise further in their bid to unseat Spain as the next dominant force in Europe.
Minus the poise of former captain Philipp Lahm and the poaching threat of Miroslav Klose, this is essentially the same German side that won the 2014 World Cup.
Loew remains at the helm, and he will likely opt for a 4-4-1-1 formation that will see Mueller drop in behind a lone striker, likely to be veteran Mario Gomez, with Andre Schuerrle to sub from the bench. Aside from Khedira in front of the defence, the midfield will comprise of Oezil, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The biggest decision for Loew is whether to retain centre-back pairing of Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, or whether Boateng is shifted to right back, with Benedikt Hoewedes moving to centre and one of Jonas Hector or Emre Can occupying left back.
Ukraine will largely rely on wingers Andriy Yarmalenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka. Germany stacking the central midfield may force the Ukrainians to resort to wider play, thereby creating opportunities for their striker Yevhen Seleznyov.
Coach Mykhaylo Fomenko will likely rely on a deep 4-5-1 formation, with captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in front of the back four – Artem Fedetskyi, Vyacheslav Shevchuk and the Shakhtar Donetsk centre backs Oleksandr Kucher and Yaroslav Rakitskiy.
Ukraine’s emphasis will be on retaining possession around midfield, and expose Germany on counterattacks via the pace of their wingers Yarmalenko and Konoplyanka.
Prediction
Expect a resistant Ukraine, but Germany are vying for European supremacy in addition to their world title, so will likely win.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.