Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann explains controversial lineup selections vs. Denmark

Former Bayern Munich manager and current German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann has a reputation for tinkering with his lineups.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

Ahead of Germany’s 2-0 victory over Denmark, Nagelsmann explained each lineup change. The biggest one was picking Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sané over Bayer Leverkusen phenom Florian Wirtz.

“We didn’t have enough deep runs against Switzerland. Leroy is a player who embodies that very well. Flo also generally has good runs, but he’s more of a player who wants to have the ball at his feet and creates things from there by dribbling or by two-touch actions with final passes. Leroy is someone who can offer a lot of depth himself – because of his pace,” said Nagelsmann (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Denmark are of course extremely powerful in the air and physically very, very good in their back three. On the ground they do have problems against agile players. Leroy is someone who can bring what was a bit lacking against Switzerland. He trained very well from the substitute training last week up until yesterday and made a good impression. I’m choosing between two world-class players, so the decision can only be a good one.”

In addition, Nagelsmann and his staff opted for RB Leipzig star David Raum to replace VfB Stuttgart’s Maximilian Mittelstädt at left-back.

“Maxi (Mittelstädt) played three good games and generally deserved to start. David (Raum) was a good substitute and trained very well. He is a player who brings a lot of emotion, which can bring a lot in the stadium. He is also someone who leads the players at the back very well, with a very positive attitude. I just want to reward that,” Nagelsmann said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

In addition to those moves, Nico Schlotterbeck filled in for Jonathan Tah, who was suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Maybe most surprising for Nagelsmann was the change he did not make — keeping Kai Havertz in the lineup over Niclas Füllkrug.

“Fülle would also have deserved to start. But we have a clear idea behind starting with Kai, because I don’t think we will dominate in the air in the Danish penalty area from the start – maybe during the game, but not from the start. I think we will need Fülle, his emotionality, to wake up the stadium again during the game – regardless of the result. If he had started, I see a danger that he will have to wear himself out against their three centre-backs — and we need a slightly different player profile,” Nagelsmann said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s 2-0 victory over Denmark? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we cover the starting lineup selection, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and takes on how it all played out. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: