A win is a win, that’s for sure, but it also stands that Julian Nagelsmann won’t be able to sleep peacefully in the coming days, until the premiere at the European Championship against Scotland. In Mönchengladbach, Germany somehow managed to overcome Greece after a comeback, 2-1 (0-1), making the final rehearsal somewhat bearable. The performance was barely passable, nothing more. From the perspective of the third favorite for the Euros, the first half was below any acceptable level. Especially considering that the opponent was a team that did not qualify for the final tournament because they were weaker than Georgia. In the second half, Nagelsmann’s squad performed somewhat better, with two goals as a concrete result. The first, with a lot of luck, came from Kai Havertz in the 55th minute; the second, a minute before the end of the 90, was executed masterfully by Pascal Groß.Pascal Gross winner for Germany 2-1 Greece. What a goal! pic.twitter.com/nfOmjV8F3b— Kyama (@ElijahKyama_) June 8, 2024 After these 90 minutes, the young coach will have some serious dilemmas. Among the first is whether to heed the public’s call for Marc-André ter Stegen to get a chance as the first-choice goalkeeper. It’s true that Manuel Neuer made several good saves, stopping a clear chance at 1-1, but the Greeks’ opening goal was a serious mistake on his part. Christos Tzolis’s shot wasn’t that dangerous to warrant such a poor rebound, straight to the feet of Giorgos Masouras. The Germans didn’t have the right idea in the first 45 minutes, struggling to find cracks in Greece’s compact defense, which is why Julian Nagelsmann made two changes at the start of the second half. Florian Wirtz was replaced by Leroy Sané, and Maximilian Mittelstädt by David Raum.Manuel Neuer on Greece’s goal and the game: “It always takes several people. But I’m looking at myself, I should have saved the ball better. The flow of the game in the first half was not good – especially against a team that sits deeper. Greece had a few counter-attacking… pic.twitter.com/pobPl3yjXD— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) June 7, 2024 These are likely to be two more dilemmas before the match against Scotland. The Germans looked faster and more effective with Sané. After all, he set up the equalizing goal for Havertz. On the other hand, Raum’s set pieces can be very useful, as well as his crosses from the wing when the Scots bunker down. Pascal Groß, the scorer of the winning goal, made a very good impression off the bench. Although he is a specialist in assists, this time he showed that he has a very good shot as well. Besides the goals, the most spectacular moment came in the 84th minute when Benjamin Henrichs struck with all his might with his left foot, hitting the crossbar hard. Let’s recall that three days ago, the Mannschaft only managed a 0-0 draw against Ukraine.##NAJAVA_MECA_8150531##
