If there’s one thing Germany have achieved at the Confederations Cup, it’s proving that they no longer need Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski.
The trio from the Golden generation have of course recently retired, whilst this new look Germany could perhaps eclipse that of their predecessors having won the Confederations Cup with a weakened squad.
There was no Manuel Neuer. There was no Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller. Yet Germany have once again shown that they are a team that is extremely capable of achieving greatness with a depleted squad.
At the time of announcing his squad, Joachim Low named six players in his squad that had yet to earn their first cap for Germany. Fast-forward a month, and they look like seasoned Germany national players whilst several them will no doubt go on to become vital players for Low.
All in all, it was a typical Germany performance as they beat Chile 1-0 in St. Petersburg.
Are Julian Draxler and Timo Werner the future?
Heading into the Confederations Cup, Julian Draxler was the most experienced player with 30 caps – and at just 23 years of age, the Paris Saint-Germain and former Wolfsburg player was named as Germany captain.
It’s fair to say he’s succeeded and led by example, too. Draxler has matured dramatically over the past six months after, perhaps, forcing a move away from Wolfsburg. The German penned an open letter to Russia, the host tournament ahead of the World Cup next year.
"Dear Russian football fans, We had a chance to spend three weeks in this wonderful country and now, at the end of the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to you. We thank you for the great organisation, for the great help with everything, and for an ever-present sense of security.
We would like to thank the Russian Organizing Committee, the staff at the stadiums, hotels and the airports, the volunteers, and directly you, Russian football fans.
The Confed Cup is considered to be a test-run for the World Cup. After three weeks, we can say that Russia has perfectly passed the test.
We have met many people, on the Sochi beach, during the visit to the Kazan Kremlin. The moments with the Russian fans have always been fun for us.”
Also read: Twitter reacts after Germany beat Chile to win the Confederations Cup
For RB Leizpig’s Timo Werner, the young forward was booed during his debut for the national team against England, due to the fact he plays for Germany’s most hated club. However, the 21-year-old hasn’t let those affect him on the international scene. Scoring THREE goals in Russia, Werner could potentially go on to be one of Germany’s best forwards.
As Deutsche Welle’s Jonathan Harding put it, Werner is the striker Joachim Low has always wanted. It’s certainly fair to agree with that statement.
In the recent past, Germany have had strikers such as Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez, Oliver Neuville et al. and whilst they’re known for putting the ball in the net, Werner is far more modern than his predecessors.
The RB Leipzig forward can do it all. Link up play. Score with his head and finish with both feet, all whilst being quick off the mark. There’s no doubting the 21-year-old has a big future ahead of him – whilst he could become the starting striker for Germany at the World Cup in Russia next year, should he keep up this form.
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Germany U21 – The next generation
Although clinching the U21 European Championship in Poland, Germany by no means had an easy run to the final. Had England have been more prolific in front of goal and not lacklustre at the back, they could well have beaten the Germans.
However, as history shows – Germany once again beat England in a major tournament, even if it was at youth level before defeating Spain, quite comfortably.
The Spanish perhaps came into the tournament as favourites, certainly after putting four past Italy in the semi-finals. However, Germany subdued their opponents on Friday, remaining tight at the back whilst creating chances going forward.
Serge Gnabry once again showed why he merited a move to Bayern Munich, whilst Hoffenheim’s Jeremy Toljan won’t be too far off the full international team.
What’s frightening, is that Germany’s U21 team are maturing quickly whilst other nations seem to be stagnating, whilst the full NT reached/won the Confederations Cup with relative ease. All without Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Co.
