Germany 3-3 Switzerland: 5 talking points as Die Mannschaft come from behind to salvage hard-fought draw | UEFA Nations League 2020-21

#3 Change in Joachim Löw's system

Germany v Switzerland - UEFA Nations League

Germany drew two of their last three games in the UEFA Nations League before coming into the home fixture against Switzerland. Although a change in formation or manager was expected by avid Germany followers, not many predicted Löw to make the switch so early.

The 60-year-old played a 4-2-3-1 which switched to a 2-3-5 in possession on Tuesday night, changing from his usual 3-4-1-2/3-4-3. Although the change cost Germany in the early minutes, the home side grew into it as the game went by, and they seem rather ready to continue a 4-man defence come next break.

Toni Kroos often dropped deep to make it a 3-man defence, to help during the build-up.

Toni Kroos' 100th appearance saw him play a different role than normal as he often dropped in the space left by Gosens to play as an auxiliary left-back, solely to help in ball progression in the first phase of the build-up play.

Kroos did the job excellently due to his vision to find passes in between the lines and his ability to use both his feet effectively while being pressed. However, when Kroos joined Kimmich in midfield once the ball bypassed Switzerland's midfield, Chelsea outcast Antonio Rüdiger was often exposed at the back due to Matthias Ginter leaving his position frequently and Germany's full-backs almost operating as the wingers for the team.

Luckily for Germany, Switzerland, despite scoring 3 goals, were misfiring on numerous occasions. The Germans looked incredibly vulnerable on the break and every time Shaqiri had the ball, it was either a 2v2 or a 3v3 against Germany's backline, eventually leading to goalscoring chances for the away side.

The 4-man defence is promising if Joachim Löw plans to keep his job as Germany's head coach. However, with the quality of players he has at his disposal, the World Cup winner should be doing much better.

#2 Individual brilliance saves the day for Germany; lack of aerial presence evident

Germany v Switzerland - UEFA Nations League

When a team is up against a deep block as efficient as Switzerland's, your full-backs and wingers wish to have an aerial presence in the team who can get his head onto crosses in the box. The lack of a strong centre-forward who can bully and drag his markers is being missed in this Germany XI.

While moments of magic from the Chelsea boys, Havertz and Werner, probably saved their manager's future at the helm, worries are evident and Löw has a few more weeks to come up with a solution before the squad returns for another international break by the end of November.

The Germans look petrified whenever they are caught on the counter-attack while they seem to lack ideas to break down a strong defence. Germany is blessed with technically world-class players all across the pitch but the manager is slowly starting to have less impact on what his players are producing on the pitch.

With the Euros 2021 coming very soon, Joachim Löw would have to show his players and his fans that he is the right man to lead the country into another international competition. By the looks of it, Germany seem to require new, exciting and effective ideas, something Löw currently doesn't provide.

#1 Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri: Wealth of experience comes handy for Switzerland

Switzerland v Germany - UEFA Nations League

Despite Switzerland seeing only 37% of the ball on Tuesday night, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri ended the game with 70 and 46 touches respectively. They were at the centre of things for Petković's men in almost every move.

A left-winger on paper, Shaqiri was given the freedom to bomb across the pitch and act as the number 10 for Switzerland, operating in and around Kimmich and exploiting the spaces left by Germany's midfielders.

#19 and #8 hunted down passes on the right flank and consistently, courtesy of Shaqiri (red)

He did the job he was asked to do with precision. The 29-year-old completed 24 passes, 4 duels, 2 dribbles and 2 key passes to finish the game. He held the ball off Kimmich and Rudiger as Gavranovic, Zuber and Freuler ran down the channels.

Shaqiri's strength and trickery did cause mayhem in the middle of the park; the number of turnovers and quality chances the away side created speaks for itself.

On the other hand, Granit Xhaka's interception for the second goal is everything you need to know about the captain's performance. A smart reader of the game, Xhaka not only initiated counter-attacks but also committed himself forward to create numerical overloads on the left flank.

The 28-year-old was equally important in his own half as he did the dirty work and helped Switzerland in playing out from the back against Germany's rather weak and ineffective press.

A 2v3 in favour of Switzerland and as a result, nearly 30% of Switzerland's attacks came from the left, including a goal.

A thrilling game eventually came to an end as both the teams took home one point. Germany would be the happier side given the amount of clear-cut chances they conceded on the other side of the pitch but considering the balance of both halves, they probably deserved something from the game.