World champions Germany enter their Euro campaign off the back of a largely unimpressive run of form and amidst whispers of a squad considered weak in striking and defensive areas. They will be looking to change the narrative against an obdurate Ukranian side set up to play on the counterattack through two dangerous wingers.
This Group C encounter is pivotal for both sides. It will be important for Joachim Low’s men to start off on a winning note and avoid the fate that befell exhausted favourites Spain at the World Cup in Brazil 2014. For Ukraine, a result against Germany would be a brilliant bonus, and will make Mykhaylo Fomenko’s charges play that much more aggressively against Poland and Northern Ireland.
Joachim Low vs Mykhaylo Fomenko
Joachim Low faces the task of maintaining hunger in a German squad that seems to be coasting on the euphoric tides of 2014’s World Cup win. With glaring gaps in the striking and full-back departments, Die Mannschaft may find a slippery banana peel in the yellow jerseys of Ukraine. For Fomenko, the critical aspects will be ensuring defensive discipline and getting the ball to Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka as soon as possible.
Joachim Low’s selection headaches
The retirement of Philipp Lahm couldn’t have been more badly timed. The defensive lynchpin hanging his boots has left a worrying hole at right back that none of the available options has filled convincingly. After Antonio Rudiger was ruled out of the tournament with a ligament tear, Low has tried Shkodran Mustafi, Joshua Kimmich, and Emre Can in that position with varying degrees of success. Jerome Boateng and Jonathan Tah can also play right back, but the surfeit of bit-part options and paucity of sure-fire starters is a concern.
Moving further up field, an ageing Mario Gomez will fly the lone striking bastion for Germany. While Thomas Muller and Leroy Sané can also be considered strikers, the former prefers to flit like a butterfly and act as supplier as much as goal-scorer, and the latter is best used when the team is set up to counterattack, something Low no longer considers Plan A. Podolski will be preferred on the wing.
These two selection headaches coupled with Jonas Hector being the only traditional left back in the squad leaves Low with many questions ahead of the opener. He will hope that the well-drilled Mannschaft machine purrs into form just as the tournament starts, something the Germans are known to do.
Fomenko’s winger dependence
Fomenko is seen by many to be a conservative coach in the mould of his legendary mentor, Valeriy Lobanovskiy. He stresses the primacy of defense, with all three central midfielders responsible for shielding the back four. Their main attacking threat comes from mercurial wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka, who are just as likely to be frustrating as fantastic.
There is also a threat from set pieces, with the expert delivery of Ruslan Rotan and the aerial prowess of Yevgeny Khacheridi, Olexandr Kucher, Artem Fedetskiy, and Taras Stepanenko. But the main plan still seems to be a persistent stifling of the opposition through stubborn defense, before breaking into devastating counterattack with the twinkle toes of Yarma and Kono. This over-dependence means that a strategic man-marking of either winger may cripple Ukraine irreversibly.
Just like Germany, Ukraine too have problems up front. The only alternative to Roman Zozulya is erstwhile pariah Yevhen Seleznyov, who had sinned unforgivably in the eyes of Ukranians by moving to Russain side Kuban Krasnodar earlier this year. That contract was quickly terminated and Seleznyov is now back in the national fold after joining Shakhtar.
Key Battles
Shkodran Mustafi vs Andriy Yarmolenko
After an impressive season at Valencia, Mustafi seems most likely to start at right back for Germany. For a player whose natural position is central defence, Mustafi will have to be extra wary of Yarmolenko’s darts and dinks as the Ukrainian hot-wire tries to draw fouls and mistakes.
Mustafi will also be expecting for support from Julian Draxler (most likely to play on the right wing) and Sami Khedira in containing Ukraine’s winger threat.
Thomas Muller vs Taras Stepanenko
Although Germany will go with either Mario Gomez as a lightning rod or Mario Gotze as a false nine in the striker’s role, it will be Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller who actually pulls the defenders all over the place and creates scoring space. Muller’s proclivity to be in the right place at the right time – almost a gift pre-ordained from above – makes Stepanenko’s marking job on him a potentially game-defining one.
Even if Stepanenko does successfully block Muller’s influence, his focus on the Bayern attacker will enable Germany to wield a numerical advantage in midfield and attack through their many other sharpened spears.
Germany
Strengths
- A world class spine of Neuer, Boateng, Kroos, and Muller, with plenty of other midfield options.
- A tendency to turn the form up just as the tournament starts.
Weaknesses
- Lack of a sure-fire starter at right-back.
- Injuries to Gundogan and Reus and a borderline fit Schweinsteiger dampen the attacking edge.
Ukraine
Strengths
- Yarmalenko and Konoplyanka can create and score from nothing, especially if given space and time during counter attacks.
- An organized defense with threat from set pieces.
Weaknesses
- Slim pickings at striker.
- Olexandr Kucher’s age and propensity to collect cards.
