Estonia v Germany Euro 2020 Qualifiers: 4 Talking Points

Persisting with 10 men for most of the game, Germany eked three goals past Estonia without reply to register an important win in their Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign.

The results in Group C really matter at the moment and neither Germany nor the Netherlands can afford to drop points. So when Die Mannschaft went a man down only 15 minutes into the game, things weren't looking so rosy for Joachim Low. However, a few minutes after the red card, Germany were starting to find their rhythm once again and pushed Estonia back.

It wasn't until the second half, though, that the Germans found a breakthrough as Gundogan would score two in the span of 6 minutes (the second goal may be changed to an own goal) to give themselves some breathing space. Substitute Timo Werner pitched in with a goal 15 minutes later to really put the away team in control of the tie despite being a man down.

The result now puts both the Germans and the Dutch on 15 points and they will both play Northern Ireland in one of their two remaining fixtures, which could be a tricky fixture.

We take a look at some of the major talking points from the game.

#1 Germany reckless in possession

Emre Can's early sending off put Germany under pressure

Jogi Low's side created plenty of their own problems as they played risky football close to their own goal and on more than one occasion were nearly punished by the Estonians. Emre Can's sending off came from a risky passage of play that saw him slide to reach the ball but taking out Liivak in the process.

Only a few minutes later some poor passing at the back would let in Kams followed by Mets on another occasion, but the Germans were lucky that Estonia's shooting was awry. Die Mannschaft persisted with their style regardless and continued to make mistakes but since they mostly dominated play, it didn't affect them as poorly as it might have.

#2 Estonia keen but wasteful

Kimmich's reading of the game prevented plenty of counter attacks

The home side started off sensing Germany's desire to play out of the back and pressed high right from the first minute. They were further encouraged by the sending off to commit men in attack and take on a sometimes over-elaborate build-up from Germany's backline.

Despite having recovered posession in dangerous areas and breaking fairly quickly Estonia weren't able to tangibly hurt this Germany team. Their shooting was either off-target or too tame and often found Manuel Neuer in goal easily.

Vassiljev, the team captain with 25 goals for his national team, had a couple of opportunities that he should have tested Neuer with more sternly but failed to do so. Had they been able to make the best of these opportunities, the Germans might have had a very different night. They continued to press forward to the end to their credit but could've done with better finishing.

#3 Germany's attempts to thread the needle

Brandt and Havertz tried on plenty of occasions to combine

Germany had plenty of men in advanced positions as they strung together one attack after another to try and break down the Estonian defence. Niklas Sule and initially Emre Can were the only two who realistically remained behind to deal with any danger. Joshua Kimmich would lag behind once Can had been sent off and did really well to anticipate attacks and cut them out.

This network of forward players tried to weave a web of passes time and again, failing more often than not but consistently trying to play one-twos around the Estonian defence. While an admirable attempt, it was one that saw them struggle to create chances.

The intent was there from Germany to play some quick passes in the final third with plenty of runners but the execution was lacking because of a real lack of chemistry. It's something that the Germans have done in the past and are trying to recover again, although it's not quite the finished product yet.

#4 Timo Werner's impact

Timo Werner's introduction came at the perfect time for Germany

Germany had plenty of runners through the game as Luca Waldschmidt, Marco Reus, Lukas Klostermann, and Julian Brandt all made plenty of attempts to run beyond the Estonian backline but were held up in their attempts. However, Timo Werner's introduction when Germany were two goals up really put the Germans in control as they sat deeper and the RB Leipzig forward was able to exploit the space that the Estonian backline was leaving behind them.

It was a perfect storm of the right timing to introduce Werner and his ability to find just the right runs and then punish defences with his pace that earned Germany the third goal. It also led to plenty of chances for Werner who looked dangerous every time he got on the ball.

Werner's introduction at a time when Estonia might've just gone for broke having been two goals down was a tactic not many managers might have employed, but Low's change was spot on.