From Spain 2.0 to backward progress: How many tactical lies are there in the German World Cup?

National team coach Nagelsmann is eager to become the world champion - and the German team's performance in the first World Cup in the World Cup precisely reveals their distance from this goal. This has almost become a World Cup "first debut" that everyone hopes has never happened.

Germany lost 0:2 to Slovakia in its World Cup opening game, and in addition to the impressive loss itself, it may also be related to the end of a record: this is the first loss of the German national team in the away game away game in the World Cup. But this may be just a marginal factor, and it means much more than that for coach Nagelsmann's coaching.

A few days before the Slovakia game, 38-year-old Naglsmann mentioned that his goal was to lead the team to the World Cup. He revealed that he and his coaching staff rented a cottage in Algo for a closed meeting this summer. When asked about the results of the meeting, Nagelsman said: "We cannot make the mistake of trying to be 'Spain 2.0'. Adjustments must be made. Different systems will be adopted on both ends of the offense and defense."

World Cup qualifiers unveiled: Nagelsman and Germany's "regressive progress"

national team coach Julian Nagelsman has the dream of winning the World Cup and announced that he will carry out tactical innovations. And a player who is selected for the national team for the first time may benefit from it.

["Wanjin Oil" Kimmich: Failed to build a system for the team]

To this end, Nagelsmann adjusted the position of captain Joshua Kimmich (30 years old). Previously, the coach moved Kimmich from the No. 6 midfield to the right back, and now he hopes to return to his core role in the middle. Against Slovakia, Kimmich played a “mixed role” in a variable system that was approximately 4-2-3-1, swinging back and forth between new and old positions.

When the German team takes the ball, he will retreat to the center back, while the full-back pushes forward significantly, trying to organize the offense with the "three central defenders" system; when the opponent takes the ball, Kimmich stays in the middle of the midfield and tries to maintain defensive stability.

But the plan failed. Kimmich spoke frequently, but often stood in the wrong position, lacked creativity, and made frequent pass mistakes. He is not the worst player in this weak-performing team, and the mistakes that lead to the goal conceded were made by others, but he also failed to build a system for the team.

[German team's personal criticism: Rudiger and Tower made the whole team uneasy]

The German team suffered a crushing defeat in Slovakia - the central defender combination that coach Nagelsmann had high expectations became a clear shortcoming.

And when Namdi Collins brought the ball out of the sideline, Nagelsman shook his head helplessly.

Kimmich's position adjustment gives debut 21-year-old Namdi Collins the chance. Before the race, Nagelsmann commented on him as “a 36-yard sports car” and regarded speed as the newcomer’s advantage, saying “he can fully show himself.” But Collins didn't do it.

He also assumes a "mixed role": when Slovakia takes the ball, he plays the right back and focuses on defense, but most of the ball is won by the opponent's player Leo Sauer; when Germany takes the ball, Collins presses forward and plays the right winger, often at the same level as center Nick Voltame, but at this time he lacks space to play the speed advantage.

Once, after he got the ball in a threatening position, he brought the ball out of the sideline. The TV footage captured the scene of coach Nagelsman shaking his head. At the end of the half, Nagelsman replaced Namdi Collins and explained: "I sent him on the court, but he did not perform well. It was my responsibility, not his."

[Nagelsman's list of problems is very long]

For Nagelsman, now may be the time to start thinking. He had to decide whether to adjust the full-back position against Northern Ireland and whether to trust Namdi Collins again. He has few alternatives – maybe it can get Kimmich back, but the coach obviously cannot directly change the captain's position again.

Right-back position is a problem for Nagelsmann, but he still needs to solve other problems: Waltermad is not Phil Kruger, and he will perform better if he can receive more balls under his feet instead of headers; Florian Werz sometimes plays on the left and sometimes in the middle, but rarely plays a "Werz-like" performance; central defenders Jonatan Ta and Antonio Rudiger lose in the key half of the ball and make multiple pass mistakes.

For Nagelsmann, this perception is quite embarrassing. Before the game, he mentioned "resistance to stress" and "the qualities of the Germans" and regarded it as the basis for the team to play wonderful football, but when they were against Slovakia, these were gone, leaving only operational mistakes.

Once, Nagelsmann firmly believed that the 11 most capable players in the country should be sent, which is why Havertz, who had been injured, was arranged to play as a left-back. Now he said that in the future, he may no longer focus on player abilities, but choose players who "do their best". Captain Kimmich seemed to hold the same view: "This has been a problem with our past few games." He refers to attitude - or mentality.

What will happen to the German team when Germany's continuous discussion of its own mentality finally makes everyone feel irritated?

A few days later, Nagelsmann will be the head coach of the national team for two years. He led the team to the quarter-finals of the European Cup held in the local area last year and built a team recognized by the country. But his coaching results will eventually be judged by his performance in the World Cup next summer - the play-off road to the World Cup is not planned, and such a performance against Slovakia is obviously useless.