After failing to beat Ukraine and Poland in their last two friendlies, Germany will aim to return to winning ways when they host Colombia at Veltins Arena for Tuesday’s friendly.
Four-time world champion Germany will lock horns with Colombia in Gelsenkirchen in what will be an interesting contest. Die Mannschaft, who had a poor campaign in Qatar last year, will be looking to prove why they are one of the favourites to win the 2024 European Championships, which will be held in Germany.
The hosts are motivated to give a good shot at the upcoming Euros, and they will need to make the most of these last twelve months to build some consistency in team selection and results.ย After all, they had worrying and embarrassing campaigns at the previous two World Cups and the last Euros.
The good news is that being the hosts at the next Euros, Germany only have friendly matches on their calendar in 2023, so Hansi Flick can chop and change accordingly to mould the team. Their problems continued with the team losing 1-0 against Poland in the recent friendly match, although they were a little unlucky to come away with nothing in terms of the balance of play.
Anyway, the team has now failed to win any of their last three matches, and manager Flick’s job could be in jeopardy if their form does not improve. Colombia, meanwhile, picked up a 1-0 victory over Iraq ahead of this encounter against the European giants. have gone through a splendid run of results recently. And manager Nestor Lorenzo has been receiving high praise for the work in the dugout since he arrived following the team’s failure to qualify for the recent World Cup.
Los Cafeteros are been undefeated in their last four friendlies, including games against the USA, South Korea, and Japan. So they certainly have the quality to compete against a big team, even though facing Germany will be an uphill task. With Germany currently, out of form, the visitors will be quietly confident about getting a good result against the hosts.
Team News & Tactics
Germany
๐๐ฆ pic.twitter.com/7Gw2HGScel
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 18, 2023
Germany will be without the services of Timo Werner (ankle) and Lukas Klostermann (thigh), who are both out with injuries. UEFA Champions League finalists Robin Gosens and Ilkay Gundogan returned to the fold for the trip to Poland, and both could feature prominently here.
Germany’s defensive problems have been multifold, and they are unlikely to be solved in a jiffy. Flick has vowed to opt for a three-at-the-back system to provide added protection. And while such an experiment failed to bear fruit against Ukraine and Poland, the former Bayern Munich head coach could continue to persist with that setup, albeit with some squad rotation.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen could also wrestle the gloves off of Kevin Trapp, while Bernd Leno will look to earn just his 10th cap for the senior team after his stellar season at club level for Fulham in the Premier League.
Joint Bundesliga Golden Boot winner Niclas Fullkrug may start up top instead of Kai Havertz, who has been linked with an Arsenal move in recent days, but did himself no favours with a horror show against Poland.
Fullkrug will be supported by inverted wingers Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane. Joshua Kimmich and Ilkay Gundogan may be the preferred midfielders, while Emre Can can be considered a more defensive midfield option.
Benjamin Henrichs and Jonas Hofmann may drop to the bench in favour of Robin Gosens and Marius Wolf, with Nico Schlotterbeck, Antonio Rudiger, and Matthias Ginter operating as the back-three in front of the goalkeeper.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1):ย Leno; Ginter, Rudiger, Schlotterbeck; Wolf, Gundogan, Goretzka, Gosens; Sane, Musiala; Fullkrug
Colombia
Nestor Lorenzo has been Colombia’s new manager for over a year, and the team has yet to lose since he took over. The 57-year-old provides young players with some familiarity because several members of that golden generation are still on the national squad now.
The Colombian national team have been well organised and difficult to break down defensively under his management, but lately, they have also shown an ability to consistently find the back of the net.
Lorenzo has implemented numerous different formations to begin matches, most recently going with a 4-2-3-1 system, allowing for more fluidity and flexibility. Alvaro Montero started the last game against Irap in between the sticks ahead of Camilo Vargas and could keep his spot.
๐๐๐งฬ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ๐จ!
๐ ๐ฉ๐ช
๐๏ธ Martes 20 de junio
๐ 1:45 p.m. (hora COL)
๐๏ธ Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
๐ Fecha FIFA
๐บ @GolCaracol @CanalRCN #TodosSomosColombia ๐จ๐ด pic.twitter.com/ZVzKxGtbrD— Selecciรณn Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) June 19, 2023
Deiver Machado and Daniel Munoz will be the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Davinson Sanchez will pair up with Jhon Lucumi. Former Everton star Yerry Mina is another reliable option Lorenzo could call upon if needed.
As far as the midfield goes, Mateus Uribe and Jefferson Lerma will form the double pivot. The duo will look to disrupt Germanyโs possession-oriented style of play and they will look to protect their defence. Juventus right-winger Juan Cuadrado can pick up his 115th career Colombian cap on Friday, which would put him 12 behind David Ospina for the most of all time.
Luis Diaz remains a mainstay on the left flank. Jorge Carrascal will serve as the creative No. 10.ย Zenit St. Petersburg striker Mateo Cassierra scored the winner against Iraq last time out and will be pushing to earn a start over Rafael Borre, who hasn’t had the best of campaigns at club level with Bayer Leverkusen.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1):ย Montero; Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Machado; Uribe, Lerma; Cuadrado, Carrascal, Diaz; Borre
Key Stats
- Colombia have been undefeated in their last five games.
- Germany have won two and drawn two of their previous four games against Colombia.
- The hosts have scored in 13 consecutive friendly games played on home turf.
- Germany have won just two of their last nine matches across all competitions.
- Hansi Flick’s side have conceded a total of nine goals in their last five matches.
Player to Watch
Jamal Musiala
With Germany enduring somewhat of a rut in major international tournaments lately and Thomas Muller likely to be phased out in the near future, it is high time for Musiala to step up as the nation’s talisman.
Considered to be one of the hottest talents in European football, he has already become a key figure for Germany and only needs to put in consistent clutch performances to be the game-changer for Hansi Flick’s side at the upcoming European Championships.
Technically gifted, very skilled, and a player who can score all types of goals, inside and outside the box, Musiala is also a great dribbler and likes to take players on. He has become as much of a creator as a goalscorer in recent times, which only bodes well for theย Mannschaft, who lack clinical goal-scorers.
Prediction
Germany 2-1 Colombia
Die Mannschaft obviously struggle at the back and are wasteful in attack. But they are still seen as hot favourites to beat Colombia in front of home fans. The visitors will put them to the test, and it will be an intriguing clash between two teams in contrasting recent form.
Germany’s squad still boasts an array of talent, and if they turn up for the game, the visitors could do little to stop them. With dissatisfaction towards boss Hansi Flick increasing, the hosts will also be desperate to end their three-game winless rut this Tuesday. And we back them to do so, albeit by a narrow margin.
