UEFA Euro 2024 hosts Germany are all set to square up against Ukraine at the Werder Bremen’s Weserstadion in a friendly.
With the 2022/23 club season done and dusted, it is time to shift our focus towards international football. Germany will look to continue there preparation for the Euro 2024 and are all set to host Ukraine on Monday.
There is no such pressure on the German national team regarding qualifications as they are hosts. And, their sole focus will be on finding the right mix of players to get the job done in a year’s time on their home turf. Hansi Flick will look to try all possible combinations and formations until he finds the perfect fit that can help him take Germany to glory in the Euro 2024.
The German national team were humiliated at the FIFA World Cup 2022. They were shown the exit door in the group stage itself and after that, there was a lot of uncertainty around Flick’s job. However, he is still in charge and will be looking to get it right this time around. They are heading into this fixture on the back of a defeat against Belgium and will be eager to bounce back.
Meanwhile, Ukraine have the tough task of going through the grind to book their spot in the Euro 2024. And, they will be looking at this fixture against Germany as the perfect preparation to return to their best. They did not start the qualification stage in the best possible way. Ukraine squared up against Euro 2020 finalists England in their first and only fixture and ended up losing 2-0.
The visitors are already playing catch-up in the race to qualify for the Euro 2024 and with defending champions Italy also a part of Group C, they will have to get their act together as soon as possible to stay alive in the race.
The game against Germany will help them get things sorted and Serhiy Rebrov will look to identify the combination that can help him take Ukraine to their fourth consecutive continental championships.
The visitors do not really have a good record against Germany, they haven’t won any of their last eight meetings. Last time out when the two teams met in the 2020-21 Nations League, Germany won 2-1 and 3-1. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics they could use.
Team News & Tactics
Germany
Hansi Flick will be without the services of quite a few regulars for different reasons. Ilkay Gundogan and Robin Gosens, who were involved in the Champions League final, will join the squad on a later date.
🇩🇪 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗦 🇩🇪
We've had so many iconic kits over the years, but which is your favourite? 👕👇 pic.twitter.com/4pJjYsXHFS
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 10, 2023
Meanwhile, the likes of Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Niklas Sule, Karim Adeyemi and Marco Reus are all unavailable for different reasons. Even Timo Werner is a doubt after picking up an injury in his last Bundesliga outing.
Hansi Flick will go ahead with the 3-4-3 formation, he has already made it pretty clear that they will be going ahead with a back three from now on. Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Antonio Rudiger, Nico Schlotterbeck and Matthias Ginter will start in front of the Barcelona shot-stopper as the back three.
Jonas Hofmann will start as a wing-back on the right side, while David Raum will start on the left flank. Joshua Kimmich will start as the central midfielder alongside Leon Goretzka. Leroy Sane will start out wide as the right winger and on the left flank will we will have Jamal Musiala. Niclas Füllkrug will be leading the attack for the German national team.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): ter Stegen; Ginter, Rüdiger, Schlotterbeck; Hofmann, Kimmich, Goretzka, Raum; Sane, Fullkrug, Musiala
Ukraine
Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is out injured, and Roman Yaremchuk has pulled out of the squad due to some physical discomfort. Meanwhile, Vitaliy Mykolenko has returned from injury and will take part in this fixture. Serhiy Rebrov has called up two uncapped players Nazariy Rusyn and Vladyslav Vanat for this fixture.
📸📸📸 pic.twitter.com/FzIasedzAX
— Ukrainian Association of Football (@uafukraine) June 11, 2023
Rebrov is expected to go ahead with the 4-2-3-1 formations, where Anatoliy Trubin will be in goal. Illya Zabarnyi and Vitaliy Mykolenko will be the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Oleksandr Svatok will pair up with Mykola Matvienko.
As far as the midfield goes, Taras Stepanenko and Danylo Ihnatenko will form the double pivot. The duo will look to disrupt Germany’s possession-oriented style of play and they will look to protect their defence in the absence of Zinchenko.
Ruslan Malinovskyi and Mykhailo Mudryk will start out wide as the wingers. The duo will look to help out their defence and put the German wing-backs on the back foot. Meanwhile, Heorhiy Sudakov will feature as the attacking midfielder. And, Roman Yaremchuk will be leading the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Zabarnyi, Svatok, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko, Ihnatenko; Malinovskyi, Sudakov, Mudryk; Yaremchuk
Key Stats
- Germany’s defeat to Belgium last time out was their first friendly defeat in 13 matches.
- The German national team have scored in each of their last 15 friendly matches.
- Ukraine have been unbeaten in their last five friendly matches.
- The Blues and Yellow haven’t won any of their last eight matches against Germany.
- Germany’s fixture against Ukraine will be their 1,000th international match.
Player to Watch
Jamal Musiala
The 20-year-old Bayern Munich superstar was on fire throughout the 2022/23 season. He featured as an attacking midfielder for the majority of the season and registered a total of 32 goal contributions in his 47 outings.
Musiala is amongst the best youngsters in world football who will surely want to leave a mark on the international stage. He is heading into this friendly on the back of an incredible season and could do wonders for the German team. While he might feature as a left-winger in this fixture, the 20-year-old could still be the deciding factor.
Prediction
Germany 3-1 Ukraine
Germany have dominated Ukraine over the years; they have not lost to them in their last eight meetings. And, the hosts will be eager to continue their dominating run. Meanwhile, visitors to Ukraine will look at this fixture as a great opportunity to prepare themselves for the upcoming Euro 2024 Qualifiers.
They might not have a good record against the European giants but will surely look to put up a fight against them. However, the difference in the quality of both squads is quite clear. And, as a result, The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Germany.
