Germany’s transition game and fast counter-attacks

Germany have scored 16 goals enroute to the final, averaging an impressive 2.7 goals per game and conceding seven goals in their six matches to date. In their opponents, France, Germany meet a team with the meanest defence of the competition, having conceded just one goal on their way to the championship match.

FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) has attended and observed every game in the competition and, according to TSG member Pape Thiaw, the final will be a fascinating encounter between two teams with similar styles.

“I expect a very tactical game and am interested to see how both coaches approach this match. A strong component of Germany’s style is their fast transitions to attack and strong counter-attacks while their collective defending has also been very impressive. France are similar and have the best defence in the tournament so this will be a very interesting clash of similar styles to see where the winning margins emerge,” he explained.

A strong feature of Germany’s success in this tournament has been their efficiency in transition and counter-attack. Germany’s strength in these areas is highlighted by their performance in several of FIFA’s “per 30 minutes in possession” metrics. These measurements refer to player or team statistics that are normalised to reflect their performance when their team is in/out of possession. Germany rank fourth for attempts at goal on target from inside the penalty area, averaging 7.1 attempts per 30 minutes in possession. The European champions also registered second-highest of all tournament participants for goals scored per 30 minutes in possession, averaging 3.6 conversions per half hour. Germany’s ranking in these two metrics demonstrate the team’s strength in both creating and finishing chances. The fact that Germany has spent the second-most amount of time counter-attacking, with 3.9% of their time in possession in this phase of play, indicates a playing style designed to inflict damage on the break.

When in transition and counter-attack phases, they aim to isolate opposition defenders and exploit the space in behind them and have been very efficient in this tactic. With 107 offers in behind the opposition defence per 30 minutes in possession (more than any other team in the competition), they are the second-highest ranked team for receiving the ball from an offer in behind, with 23.8 offers.   

According to Julio González, who is part of the TSG team in Indonesia, Germany will stick to their current game strategy. “I do not expect Germany to change their approach for this game. They have won big games by very tight margins and have great resilience and belief in their style of play. They have some very impressive forward players like Paris Brunner (7), who is often the outlet for his team when transitioning to attack and he is very powerful when running with the ball. 

“We can see this in the clips below, how hard they work as a team to win the ball back and then how fast they transition and counter-attack. In the first clip against the USA, they score the match-winning goal in the 87^thminute, within 8.9 seconds of winning the ball back. When they regain possession, players commit to the forward runs and to early forward passes, making it very difficult for their opponents to stop the counter-attacks,” he explained.

“In the second clip, we see another match-winning moment that originates with a counter-attack. In the quarter-final against Spain, Germany exploit the space in behind, where Brunner offers and receives, before driving into the penalty area and being fouled. He then scores the resulting penalty that leads to their narrow 1-0 victory. Germany have demonstrated their ability to produce significant game-changing moments from their transitions to attack and subsequent counter-attacks.”     

When Germany do not have the ball, their collective defensive work as a team has impressed our TSG, particularly when defending their penalty area. The working relationship between Germany’s two centre-backs and defensive midfielder is a key pillar of their team’s defensive structure and is the fulcrum upon which the team operates when defending.

The connectivity and communication between the back four and their centre midfielders is cohesive, meaning defenders can step out of their positions to intercept, block and tackle, safe in the knowledge that defenders around them will narrow up and cover the spaces. 

According to Pascal Zuberbühler, “they defend as a team and everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, especially if a defender has to step out of the defensive line to perform a defensive action. We see a great example of this in the third clip below. When the right centre-back Finn Jeltsch (4) steps out to make a challenge in the defensive midfield area, the remaining three defenders narrow up to close the space he has vacated and ensure no opposition attackers are left unaccounted for.”

“Their defenders take responsibility in dangerous situations and trust their team-mates to cover behind them. They are happy to defend on the inside and on the outside of their team shape and all defenders are comfortable and proactive in defensive 1v1 situations.  Also, we see in both clips how Germany’s defence and midfielders work very hard to defend collectively while their forwards stay connected to the defenders to be potential outlets when they win the ball back,” he explained.

Germany have used two goalkeepers in this tournament so far. Max Schmitt (1) started all matches until he was ruled out of their semi-final clash against Argentina due to illness. In his place, Konstantin Heide (12) put his stamp on the tournament with a hugely impressive Player of the Match performance, which included two saves in the penalty shootout.

It leaves Germany head coach Wück with a big and difficult selection decision ahead of the final against France. Zuberbühler has observed both goalkeepers and believes they both have distinctive styles and key strengths.

Max Schmitt

“Schmitt was Germany’s goalkeeper during their successful European Championship this summer and stepped up for his team when Heide was on the bench after picking up an injury in the lead up to that tournament. Here in Indonesia, he has maintained his place and we have seen how important he is for his team especially in his distribution. He makes a lot of offers to receive the ball and is comfortable when in possession. As we see in the clip below, he has variety in his distributions, recognises where the space is and can break lines with his passes, even when under direct pressure,” explained Zuberbühler. 

Konstantin Heide

“This goalkeeper had to wait for his opportunity to get back into the team and in the semi-final, he stepped up with an outstanding performance. He made some big saves during the game and in the penalty shootout. I really like his positioning and we see in the clips below how he gets set early and stands up in the situations. In clip1, he adjusts his feet quickly and is set when the attempt at goal is made from a central position. In clip2, he is clever. His position at the front post is excellent and of his right centre-back (4) Jeltsch, who covers the far post. He keeps his legs in a position that closes the space in between them and makes an important save.

The final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023 between Germany and France takes place in the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, on Saturday 2^nd December with a 19:00 kick-off (local time).