With the World Cup one year away, the Nations League Final Four on home soil will serve as a test of Germany’s credentials. First challenge for Die Mannschaft: Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in the semi-finals.
Last year, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann failed to mastermind a fairytale at Euro 2024, crashing out of the finals against eventual winners Spain in Stuttgart. This summer, the Germans return to take centre stage on home soil in the Nations League Final Four, an occasion Nagelsmann has called a “mini-Euro”.
His team’s reality is complex, but the backdrop simple – Germany haven’t won a major trophy since 2014 under Joachim Low and since 2018 they have not impressed at final tournaments.
At the same time, this team talks in confident terms about its future and destiny. That’s even without the presence of Antonio Rüdiger, Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala, all missing from the German squad. Captain Joshua Kimmich has simply shrugged off their absence and Nagelsmann has ensured his tone remains positive, clear in his desire for Germany to win this tournament. Yet he also admitted that his team remain brittle, as illustrated by their implosion against Italy in a topsy-turvy 3-3 draw in March.
The opposition is daunting. Portugal boast a world-class squad, with no less than three players from Paris Saint-Germain.
Vitinha and Joao Neves in particular were pivotal in the club’s treble-winning season which culminated on Saturday, in Munich as well, with a record-breaking 5-0 Champions League final win against Iner Milan. The other stars are no less impressive – Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes. Up front, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the lodestar.
Leading with Ronaldo is a questionable choice from Roberto Martinez, but the Spaniard is not the type of manager to take on a big star. Besides, with the players at his disposal, he should have enough quality to overwhelm the hosts. Portugal won the maiden edition of the Nations League and in the quarter-finals of this seaason’s competition dispatched Denmark 6-2 on aggregate. To reach the final, the Portuguese will face a team they haven’t beaten in 25 years.
“It’s not just Portugal, it’s how well Germany play. They take risks. It’s not about individuals, it’s about the team – they press high, play on the inside – but if we look at the data both teams are very similar, 16 goals from open play, eight against, tactically similar teams and I think it will be a good game to show what we’re doing,” said Martinez.
“He [Nagelsmann] doesn’t favour individual players, some have specific skills but he focuses on the team. That’s the highest challenge for us. We respect our opponent but we’ll do what we can and in order to repeat the second game against Denmark [a 5-2 home win]. I didn’t like the way we played in the other game so I want to play like we did at home to Denmark.”
Insideworldfootball.com
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