Germany were tested for the first time tonight under Hansi Flick. They completely dominated the first half, rushed the Netherlands into mistakes and were rewarded with a goal on 45 minutes. The Netherlands grew into the game in the second period and began asking questions of Germany’s defence. At times, Die Mannschaft looked lost whilst trying to defend. It was a good run out for Flick’s players with room for improvement.
Manuel Neuer, 7 – Neuer didn’t really have much to do tonight apart from picking the ball out of his net. There was nothing that could be done to stop the shot, however. As always, his distribution was solid and he did his job on corner kicks.
David Raum, 6 – Raum had a good night going forward. He had a great chance to double Die Mannschaft’s lead early in the second half but put the ball well over the ball. After Netherlands’ equaliser, Raum and his fellow defenders did struggle to contain the pacey Dutch attacks.
Nico Schlotterbeck, 6 – Schlotterbeck will be overall pleased with his performance tonight. He passed the ball well and won most of his individual battles. However, he got rolled far too easily for the Netherlands equaliser. Room for improvement but it’s been a decent start to life in the first team.
Antonio Rüdiger, 6 – By far the most experienced German defender out there tonight, Rüdiger led his side well in the first period. However, he got pulled completely out of position for the Netherlands goal. Rüdiger and Germany’s defenders did struggle to keep the Netherlands at arm’s length after that. There’s clearly a weak spot in Germany’s backline.
Thilo Kehrer, 7 – Kehrer was the best of the defenders tonight. He got forward to support Germany’s attack and proved vital at times when the Netherlands were looking threatening. Kehrer made an outstanding challenge which was first given as a penalty but was rightly turned over. If it wasn’t for Kehrer Germany could have lost this one tonight.
İlkay Gündoğan, 7 – Gündoğan kept the ball ticking well as ever and worked well with Musiala to kickstart attacks. His tracking back didn’t go unnoticed as well. When Netherlands looked dangerous Gündoğan was there to slow down potential deadly counters. Another solid game by the experienced midfielder.
Jamal Musiala, 8 – Musiala is some talent. The youngster got 70 minutes tonight and looked fantastic when going forward. His confidence when taking on players is outstanding. It’s nice to see that he didn’t shy away from the occasion. Musiala is going to be some player in years to come.
Kai Havertz, 7 – Havertz was one of Germany’s best players in the second period. He liked up well with his fellow attacks, closed down Netherlands, and looked dangerous on the ball. Havertz dropped off slightly in the second half as Netherlands gradually grew into the game.
Leroy Sané, 7 – Sané had a great game tonight. He set up some great chances thanks to his awareness on the ball. The best pass of the night was perhaps his ball into Raum who really should have made it 0-2. Based on tonight’s performance, Sané has no worries about his starting place in Die Mannschaft.
Thomas Müller, 8 – Müller huffed and puffed in the first 45 along with his fellow forwards. He eventually got his awards on the stroke of halftime when he latched onto a loose ball to give Germany the lead. That was also Müller’s 43rd for his country, making him Die Mannschaft’s 7th all-time top goalscorer.
Timo Werner, 6 – Like many Germany players tonight, Werner was at his best in the first half. He closed down the Dutch defence well and made it difficult for them to play out from the back. Werner was unlucky not to open the scoring when his header came off the inside of the bar and out. However, there are still question marks over his overall finishing.
Others: Florian Neuhaus (6), Julian Brandt (5), Lukas Nmecha (5), Benjamin Henrichs (5)
