Germany to further prove football dominance
Germany host Spain to kick off their UEFA Nations League campaign on Thursday evening, both sides are in Group 4 of League A with Ukraine and Switzerland the other two nations. Spoilt with 2020 Champions League winners in their side the Germans are narrow favourites for this encounter, however Luis Enrique and the Spain team will see this as an opportunity to reprove themselves as a footballing nation taking attention away from Barcelona’s 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinal. With the nature of the Nations League it is likely that both managers will experiment and rotate a bit, given there are some fresh faces in each country’s squad.
Key men
Former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry has set the world alight this season, with by far his best return for a single campaign. He scored 25 goals and assisted 12 from 48 appearances for the Bavarians and will be a thorn in the side of the Spaniard’s backline on Thursday evening. Coming in off the right wing with devastating pace and power, the 25-year-old bagged a hattrick in his last international cap, a 6-1 win over Northern Ireland.
The Spanish player I would like to highlight is someone who is improving at a rapid rate and could be the main man if Spain are to go deep into Euro 2021 and begin to restore their reputation as a powerhouse in international football. 24-year-old dynamic midfielder Fabian Ruiz has performed admirably in an underperforming Napoli side this season, scoring five and assisting eight from central midfield. Potentially alongside Thiago Alcantara in a double pivot Enrique has a mobile and reliable pair, that will test the defensive capabilities of Joshua Kimmich and Toni Kroos lining up opposite them.
Fresh faces
Germany have called up Atalanta’ Robin Gosens, new Leeds United signing Robin Koch and Borussia Monchengladbach’s young midfield maestro Florian Neuhaus for these matches with Spain and Switzerland. They will all certainly get a runout at some stage.
Gosens is an athletic wideman who has been crucial in the Bergamo based side’s 3-4-1-2 formation, without the consistent quality of himself and Hans Hateboer, Gian Piero Gasperini’s system would not work to anywhere near the heights it has hit this term. Koch is an interesting watch having signed a four-year-deal with Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road yesterday and Neuhaus looks to be one of the heirs to thrown in central midfield with Toni Kroos aging.
Spain have sourced eye-catching young talent in the form of Adama Traore, Oscar Rodriguez and Ansu Fati. Giving them depth and creativity in wide areas. After the season of his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers Traore will be desperate to answer his doubters with a strong display on the international stage and repay his manager’s trust. The former Barcelona man does stick out like a saw thumb in terms of his style of play compared to the rest of the squad.
Leon Goretzka is the man to set the tone and provide a platform for chance creation to Germany’s fierce attacking talent, with the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they should win handsomely.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
A man of the match performance from David De Gea and 96th minute equaliser from Jose Gaya ruled this one out as a loss frustratingly.