Match date: 16 June 2014

Germany come into the World Cup as one of the most balanced sides, making them a favourite, with hopes that they can finally push on and win a major competition after being knocked out in the semi-finals or losing in the final in the last four major tournaments they have been involved in. Joachim Löw’s team selection consisted of just one true forward in Miroslav Klose, who turned 36 earlier this month. For this particular match, Löw selected four recognised centre backs in Boateng, Mertesacker, Hummels, and Höwedes in a 4-3-3. In front of them sat Philipp Lahm, Khedira, and Kroos in support of a very fluid trio of Götze, Müller, and Özil.

Portugal made it to the World Cup through a playoff against Sweden. While Germany is a very balanced side with a number of options going forward Portugal are reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo for goals and Moutinho for creativity. Paulo Bento, Portugal’s manager, usually sets out his side in a 4-3-3 with Ronaldo on the left and will be hoping that Portugal has a number of chances to break.

Germany’s Defensive Shape and Midfield Selection

Löw opted for a 4-3-3 despite playing a 4-2-3-1 in most of Germany’s qualifying matches. As he did at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola, Philipp Lahm played in the holding role and excelled as he had at Bayern throughout the season. The biggest question mark was where Bayern were going to get their width from in a team with four centre backs playing across the back line and Özil and Götze, the two wide forwards, having a natural inclination to drift inside. Jerome Boateng and Benedikt Höwedes were the full backs, and while Boateng offered an option going forward at times, Höwedes looked out of sync with the rest of the team as he played in an unfamiliar position.

It was surprising how far up the field Boateng would get at times considering Ronaldo started on the left side of Portugal’s attack. Within the first few minutes of the match, Boateng had gotten two balls into the Portugal penalty area, but Ronaldo was also able to get in behind him on a counter attack only for Almeida to squander the chance. Overall, however, Boateng did a fairly good job on Ronaldo when he needed to. Following the red card, Germany were in complete control of the match and Ronaldo soon became a second striker, mostly playing outside of Boateng’s zone.

In the midfield, Lahm, Khedira, and Kroos had a fairly easy game. Portugal were in a 4-3-3 as well so tactically, both Lahm and Veloso were relatively free. Veloso was able to dispossess Lahm early on in the match and Portugal did try to press during the opening stages of the match, but were forced to drop off once Pepe received his marching orders. Below, you can see Portugal pressing, but also a large disconnect between the forward pressing and the midfield’s positioning which allowed Germany to play through Portugal’s pressing with relative ease.

Overall, Lahm was able to pick up possession relatively easily and quickly distribute to one of the more forward players. Kroos, in particular, was able to pick up the ball and dictate the tempo and direction of Germany’s play well. Khedira did two things for Germany, made penetrative runs from midfield and supported Boateng when defending Ronaldo, including covering for the right back when he was high up the pitch on counter attacks.

Front Three

By far the most impressive part of Germany’s team and the most entertaining to watch thus far in the World Cup was the front three of Germany. The movement, interchanging, and understanding was fantastic. While Müller was usually the centre forward, Götze on the left, and Özil on the right, the movement made it hard for the Portuguese to defend against. The three combined incredibly well throughout the match, and despite Müller scoring three goals and great movement inside the area, his best contribution might have been giving Germany width when Götze and Özil drifted inside. Below, you can see Özil, Götze, and Müller all on the right side of the attack, with Müller the widest player. From here there was great combination play that led to the penalty on Götze.

Portugal’s Start and Red Card Reaction

As mentioned above, Portugal did not start too poorly, but were always second best. They were trying to press Germany, but weren’t able to keep up with the quick combination play of the German midfield and attacking three. When they were able to get on the ball, they looked to play quick counter attacks through Ronaldo or Nani in the wide areas, in particular through Ronaldo as Boateng took up more advanced positions than Höwedes. Germany made in hard to play through the middle of the field, especially after the red card, as they were able to overload it with the front three dropping in.

The red card did not help with Portugal’s chasing of the game. Bento did not make a sub immediately after the red card, instead waiting until half time. Eder was brought on earlier in the match for Hugo Almeida, who got hurt. Eder added more pace to the front line and theoretically could have helped Portugal’s counter attacking chances, but Germany did not let the Portuguese grow into the match. Bento changed the formation to a 4-3-1-1, with Ronaldo the furthest forward, Eder behind him, Meireles in front of the back four with Nani and Moutinho in front of him, and Ricardo Costa brought on for Veloso to slot in at centre back.

Conclusion

Realistically, the match was over at half time with Müller getting his second goal, Germany’s third, and Pepe’s red card leaving Portugal chasing the game, but Germany were entertaining to watch considering the balance throughout the side and the fluidity in their attack. This was perhaps, aside from the France v Honduras, the most dominate performance by a side so far this World Cup. Portugal may have been down a man, but they looked very comfortable despite four centre backs across their back line and no real natural width in the side.

Portugal will have to rebound quickly and look to add variety to their attack as they were too reliant on Ronaldo to spring free on counter attacks from the middle third.