Nations League in Hungary: Germany rotates out of rhythm

National coach Julian Nagelsmann’s nine-way rotation in Hungary threw Germany out of rhythm – and the equalizer came deep in stoppage time with a controversial penalty.

The German team was able to save almost nothing from the football fireworks in the brilliant 7-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday evening in Budapest’s Puskás Aréna. The 1:1 (0:0) in the last preliminary round game of the Nations League was a very tough number, it was only thanks to goalkeeper Alexander Nübel that Germany was able to stay on until shortly before the goal after Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha scored in the 76th minute had a chance of winning at the final whistle.

In the 98th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai equalized with a hand penalty after VAR intervention. The DFB team was already confirmed as group winner before the game.

“It’s crazy that the VAR sends the schedsifter out”

Nagelsmann analyzed the Sportschau after the game: “We did some things right, others we could have done better. But if you look at the big picture this year, then you can get over a draw like that quite well. With a penalty, the VAR simply hurts the referee. It was definitely not a clear wrong decision, so it’s crazy that he was sent out at all, especially since the referee had the best possible view of the scene.”

Nübel was also annoyed: “He’s never shot a penalty like that before. It’s extremely bitter that we still drew here; a win would have been the crowning glory of a great year.” Regarding the goalkeeper duel with Oliver Baumann, he said: “The chances are 50:50, I think. But when Marc-André ter Stegen comes back, he will play, he deserves that beforehand. But I hope that I can continue to be there, I’m very happy here. “

Goalscorer Nmecha was torn: “Of course it’s a bit bitter in the end, but it was also a nice day for me – being in the starting line-up and scoring the goal. You get the feeling that we’re all together and we all want to achieve something together.”

Lots of ball losses, only the counter-pressing was right

From the start it became clear that the German team lacked rhythm, coordination and automatism. There were also many blatant ball losses, especially by Julian Brandt and Robert Andrich.

The topic of ball recovery alone went very well in the first half hour: after the many mistakes, it usually didn’t take long until the German counter-pressing was successful. Due to his great hard work, especially in this segment of the game, which is not one of his greatest strengths, Leroy Sané in particular stood out: it was immediately obvious that he wanted to do everything he could to return to the regular lineup – but he seemed largely alone in the field.

Brandt opens up the first big chance – for Hungary

Brandt and Serge Gnabry, who like Sané recently had a difficult time with the national coach, had a much more difficult time in the first round. Brandt even came close to giving Hungary the lead in the 24th minute: his bad pass in midfield led to a quick counterattack by the hosts, at the end of which Alexander Nübel had to make a good save to defuse András Schäfer’s low shot.

Nübel was also there in the 40th minute when Joshua Kimmich misjudged a long ball from Nikitscher to Nagy. Nagy appeared completely free in front of the Stuttgart goalkeeper, but finished so centrally that the keeper only had to raise his fists in the air to prevent the impact.

Hardly any danger of scoring from the DFB team

There was nothing that threatened to score from the German team in the first few minutes, especially nothing that was played out: just a free kick from Benjamin Henrichs just over the goal after half an hour caused a bit of excitement. The trajectory of the ball was reminiscent of Florian Wirtz’s goal against Bosnia, but in this case Hungary’s keeper Dénes Dibusz would have been there.

For the second half, Nagelsmann also brought in the tenth new player, Robin Gosens, for Kimmich, but he could almost have been celebrated shortly afterwards: Gnabry set up perfectly for the Florentine, but Dibusz parried his right-foot shot safely. In the 63rd minute he would have been powerless, but Kai Havertz, who had just been substituted alongside Florian Wirtz (saw his second yellow card and is now suspended) and Jamal Musiala, failed at the right post.

Nübel saves after Andrich-Patzer

The only remaining starting player from the party night against Bosnia was Andrich, but he also recommended a substitution with another bad pass in the 69th minute. Andrich’s luck: With an outstanding reflex against Barnabás Varga, Nübel prevented the Leverkusen player from falling behind.

Thanks to Nübel alone, we had the chance to crown this outstanding international year with our eleventh win. A quarter of an hour before the end, Nico Schlotterbeck headed so sharply at the Hungarian goal from a corner that Dibusz could only high-five it forward. The ball bounced at the feet of starting eleven debutant Nmecha, who quickly shot in. But that wasn’t enough.

In the 5th minute of stoppage time, the Hungarians were given a penalty as a result of a VAR intervention. Robin Koch had positioned himself in the path of the shot, but turned away and wanted to pull his arms close to his body. Nevertheless, he clearly touched the ball, so every team had arguments on their side. In any case, letting it continue would not have been a clear wrong decision. Szoboszlai didn’t care – he equalized with a cheeky Panenka lob into the middle of the goal. And in the end it was definitely deserved.

Quarterfinals will be drawn on Friday

Germany continues in the Nations League on March 20th and 23rd – the quarter-finals will be drawn next Friday in Nyon.