Food for thought: Germany's attack:-

To play a false-nine is a gamble on its own; however, to play an attacking MIDFIELDER as a false-nine is an even bigger gamble! So for Germany to go with such a complex plan (check out the tactical lay-out picture from previous post!) and deploy one of their attacking midfield players as a false-nine striker, then a HUGE amount of commitment is required from every single player around that striker and also from the striker himself (starting with the DMs and up to the wide players).

Also, an important aspect of playing as a false-nine is to drop deep into one’s own half and “come for the ball” to launch an attack all the way from the back; allowing the wide players and attacking midfielders to open-up play in the final third.

When choosing a midfielder as a striker, what matters the most are the numbers! Here are some quick, unsurprising, stats regarding Germany’s attacking midfield players’ goals-per-game ratios (GPG) [approximated] concerning this last season with their respective clubs (not including CLUB friendlies) and any games they played with the national team in 2013 and 2014:-


Lucas Podolski: 0.729 (/19 games)

Thomas Müller: 0.630 (/51 games)

Marco Reus: 0.609 (/46 games)

Mario Götze: 0.553 (/38 games)

André Schürrle: 0.462 (/28 games)

Mesut Özil: 0.296 (/51 games)


Clearly the perfect choice for a false-nine would be either Müller, Reus or even Götze; Podolski being omitted here due to the meagre amount of games he played this season. Özil certainly has the qualities required to play as a false-nine; however, his reluctance to take his chances in front of goal and instead opting to pass the ball to his team-mates (just ask Wenger!) makes it rather difficult to deploy him there.

Reus and Götze offer another dimension going forward and even provide that wow-factor with their dribbling skills and technique. Müller is more of a classical forward upon whom the team can always rely once the ball is delivered to him and therefore, he would be the “safer” choice.

It doesn’t really matter who ends up playing up-front, should Germany go for a false-nine strategy; as the responsibility will be huge and whoever would play there has to have a good command of what is going on around him and look to expose every single inch of space that the opposition defenders might leave.

Germany:-

Ach ja, the Germans (three of three…)! “Die Nationalmannschaft” have been THE most consistent team at major international competitions for, almost, more than a decade so far. Yet for all the talent and experience at their disposal, they haven’t tasted glory at the WC for 24 years now!

It’s quite a paradox to say that the stronger a team might appear, the more weaknesses it actually has; but Coach Joachim Löw has a good number of issues to resolve before Germany can finally celebrate winning the WC.

Germany’s defense seems to be very “leaky” and prone to goal-shedding moments. At the heart of it all, neither Hummels nor Boateng have been given enough time to form a good understanding with Mertesacker. With Hummels just recently returning to form (and Löw not trusting Boateng at CB much) , Mertesacker will probably carry the larger burden of coordinating the defense and enforcing his abilities on his CB-partner.

Having Khedira just returning from a very lengthy injury, Löw will probably deploy Lahm at DM, seeing as how he has been performing there excellently all season long (take a bow Mr. Guardiola!). Consequently, the RB position will be vacant, therein causing further headache for Löw; as they do not have an established and true RB other than Lahm himself.

Their tactics include total control within their midfield, with their wide players going on dynamic runs either side of the flanks. They will look to smother the opposition’s defensive areas with many attack-minded midfielders and exchange smooth passes between themselves. Positional play with backs to the goal is the name of the game for them and they do have the exact type of players who can execute such a strategy to perfection.

The pivot of two DMs, a CM and an OM supporting an inverted false-nine midfielder-turned-striker is the blueprint for Germany’s approach towards the opposition’s goal. They WILL exert pressure all the way towards the opposite final-third and they will look to allow the midfield to control almost all aspects of the game.

Whether Germany start with an out-and-out striker, or not, will dictate the way their wide players compose themselves on the channels and launch high (or low) crosses towards their target man, should they choose to deploy one. Nevertheless, they all possess incredible technique and dribbling skills, as well as a good amount of pace and even a lethal vision which helps them send incisive passes into the path of running midfielders.

Main man: Mesut Özil: Versatility, wonderful insight into the game, quick feet and sharp-shooting abilities. Özil has to put his so-so season with his club behind him and focus on performing at the highest of levels in Brazil. 4 years is a long time since Özil announced himself to the entire world and now is the perfect time for him to carve his name among the very best by guiding his team to glory.

Odds (average from top 24 betting firms): 6.59333