Chapter 797 German Swagger
Chapter 797: Chapter 797 German Swagger
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[11’]
(FWEEET!)
The referee blew his whistle, stopping play as Kārkliņš held down Ilkay Gündogan near the edge of the restricted area. The Latvian midfielder raised his hands in protest, but Nikola Dabanović ignored him and pointed to where the German midfielder was on the ground.
"A cynical foul there from Karklins," Bartels noted as the German medical staff briefly checked on Gündogan, who waved them off. "Latvia is clearly looking to break up Germany’s rhythm any way they can."
"Sitting back and watching is not a game plan, and letting a team like Germany settle can be dangerous," Réthy observed. "They have to force their opponents to play their game to live with Germany for over ninety minutes."
Kimmich stood over the free kick, about twenty-five yards from the goal and a bit off-centre. He looked at the wall, then sent a gentle ball into the box. Hummels jumped above his marker, but his header was weak, falling right into Ozols’ arms without a fuss.
"Speaking of awards," Bartels continued as Latvia restarted play. "Have you seen the Ballon d’Or shortlist speculation?"
"I have, and I’d say Rakim Rex is firmly in the conversation, wouldn’t you?"
"Without question," Bartels agreed. "Sixty-seven goals across all competitions, the treble, two goals in the Champions League final—I don’t see how he isn’t at least top three."
"The question is whether voters will lean toward established players who also had incredible seasons, or toward Rakim for the trophy haul," Réthy mused. "And of course, Messi is always Messi, especially with Argentina at the Copa America right now."
Below, Latvia attempted their first foray forward in the match. Uldrikis collected a long ball and held off Ginter before passing to Ciganiks. The Latvian winger tried to take on Gosens, but the Atalanta wing-back stood firm, guiding him wide before going in for the strike, cleanly nudging the ball loose before playing it back to Rüdiger.
"Latvia’s first real moment in Germany’s half," Bartels noted. "But Gosens snuffs it out quickly."
[16’]
Germany pushed forward again, with Müller dropping back to connect the play. The Bayern veteran sent a smart pass to Havertz on the right, but Jagodinskis stepped in to intercept. The Latvian defender cleared the ball quickly, sending it out for a throw-in deep in their half.
"You can see Germany probing for the right pocket of space," Réthy observed as Kimmich collected the throw-in and recycled it back toward Hummels. "Latvia’s two banks of four are sitting deep, almost on the edge of their own box. It’s compact, disciplined, but the danger of defending that deep is the set piece."
"And how often we’ve seen tournaments decided by them," Bartels added. "Speaking of which, whose your pick for the European Championship?"
"That’s a question that’s kept me up at night," Réthy chuckled, leaning into it as Hummels stroked the ball sideways to Ginter. "France, on paper, has to be the favourite. Mbappé, Benzema back in the fold, Griezmann, Kanté shielding that back line—it’s frightening. But the holders are dangerous too. Italy under Mancini haven’t lost in, what, twenty-seven matches now?"
"Unbeaten since 2018," Bartels confirmed. "And they’re scoring for fun, which is new for an Italian side. The old stereotype of catenaccio is gone."
"Belgium’s golden generation gets one more crack at it, and you’d argue this is their last chance with De Bruyne and Hazard. England has the youth and home advantage for the latter stages. It’s wide open, Tom. I genuinely couldn’t tell you."
On the pitch, Germany were turning the screw. Kroos and Gündogan had begun rotating positions, one dropping while the other pushed into the half-spaces, and Latvia’s midfield band was struggling to track the movement. Kimmich drifted infield from the right, almost operating as a third central midfielder.
Around the 19th minute, the Germans earned a free kick on the left flank after Gossense overlapped with Gnabry. The Wing-back tried to nudge the ball beyond Fjodorov’s, but was clipped trying to sneak past. Havertz stepped up to take it after discussing with Kross, sending a lofted curler into the penalty box.
"Antonio Rüdiger!!" The towering centre-back came charging from the back of the cluster, rising above Cernomordijs. He met Havertz’s delivery with a thunderous header, snapping his neck through the ball, powering it downward toward the bottom right corner. Ozols flung himself across his line, but the effort had too much venom, skidding off the turf and nestling into the side netting before he could get close.
"What a header!" Bartels exclaimed as Rüdiger wheeled away, arms spread wide, roaring toward the German bench. "Antonio Rüdiger gives Germany the lead, and it’s no less than they deserve for this early pressure!"
"Brilliant delivery from Havertz, but look at the power Rüdiger generates," Réthy said admiringly. "That’s a defender who’s just come off a fine season with Chelsea; he’s been one of the more underrated performers in this squad."
[Germany 1-0 Latvia - Rüdiger 19’]
The goal seemed to puncture whatever resistance Latvia had built in the opening quarter hour. Before the visitors could properly regroup, Germany was charging at them again, sensing blood in the water. The minnows’ defensive shape, so disciplined moments earlier, suddenly looked rattled, players pointing fingers and shouting at one another as they scrambled back into position.
Barely two minutes later, the lead doubled as Müller collected a loose ball near the edge of the area and laid it off cleverly. It rolled into the path of Gündogan, who had drifted into space at the top of the box. The Manchester City man took a single touch to undge it away from his marker, opening up his body, and curled a gorgeous left-footed effort that arced beyond Ozols’ despairing dive and kissed the underside of the bar on its way in.
"Oh, that is sublime!" Réthy cried. "Ilkay Gündogan, top corner! No goalkeeper in the world saves that!"
"This is the version of Germany everyone wanted to see against Denmark," Bartels added as Gündogan jogged toward the corner flag, calmly pointing to the sky before being mobbed by teammates. "A reminder of the season he’s had, Premier League champion, the highest-scoring midfielder in England this year, and he carries that form straight into Düsseldorf. Two-nil, and Germany are purring now."
[Germany 2-0 Latvia - Gündogan 21’]
The two quick goals settled any lingering nerves in the German ranks, and the home side began toying with their opponents. Latvia retreated even deeper, if that was possible, parking everything but Uldrikis behind the ball. Kazakevičs prowled his technical area, gesturing furiously for his men to hold their shape, but the dam was already cracking.
"You wonder how Latvia respond from here," Réthy said. "Down two, an hour still to play, against a side finally hitting its stride."
A rare moment of respite came when Zjuzins won a free kick off Gündogan near the halfway line, the midfielder catching the German late as he turned. It earned a stern word from the referee but little else; the resulting delivery was overhit and gathered easily by Neuer, who was enjoying a quiet evening between the posts. Germany resumed their patient strangulation as Kroos and Kimmich pulled the strings, switching the angle of attack whenever Latvia overloaded one side.
Gosens and Kimmich stretched the pitch from the flanks, and the visitors simply couldn’t cover the width. Around the half-hour mark, Gosens surged down the left once more, this time reaching the byline before cutting it back low and hard across the six-yard box. Müller, with the predatory instinct, ghosted between two defenders to meet it first time, sweeping it into the heart of the goal before Ozols could set himself.
"Thomas Müller! The Raumdeuter does what he does best!" Bartels declared. "Finds the space no one else sees, and Germany scores again!"
"Gosens, the provider again—what a tournament this young man could have," Réthy added.
[Germany 3-0 Latvia - Müller 27’]
Latvia mustered a brief flicker, Oss rose to meet Karklins’ corner only to glance his header wide of the near post. But Germany kept hammering as Kroos drew a sharp block from Cernomordijs after Gündogan teed him up outside the box. A second later, Kimmich stung Ozols’ palms from close range after the keeper had scrambled across his line.
In stoppage time, as if agreed, the Latvian net rattled for a fourth time. Hummels surged into midfield and clipped a glorious diagonal pass over the top, dinking into Gnabry’s run. He took it down on the right of the box, and lashed a rising effort into the top left corner that left Ozols rooted.
"Serge Gnabry! With a world beater!" Bartels roared as the German fans frenziedly jubilated. "Four-nil, and Germany have rediscovered their swagger at exactly the right time."
"This is what they needed before the tournament opens," Réthy said. "A confidence-restoring rout. Löw will be far happier walking down that tunnel than he was in Vienna."
[Germany 4-0 Latvia - Gnabry 45+2’]
(FWEEET! FWEEET!)
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TO BE CONTINUED...