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Germany opened their account at Euro 2020 with a brilliant 4-2 victory over Portugal. It was a game they had to win to stay in contention for the tournament's knockout stage.
After their disappointing matchday-1 defeat to France, Die Mannschaft bubbled with zest and energy against Portugal. Germany unsettled the Portuguese backline of Nelson Semedo, Pepe, Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro with ease.
The clever and incisive movement offered by Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry in particular often left the reigning champions chasing shadows in Munich. This is what Germany’s much-maligned 3-4-3 system was supposed to look and feel like. Indeed, boasting a frontline comprising of Gnabry, Havertz and Thomas Muller, Germany are expected to produce fluid, frenetic football at the Euros.
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With 27 touches in the opposition box, though, one man delivered a performance worthy of single-handedly winning the game, and it wasn’t one from Germany's attacking trio. It was Robin Gosens, the flying Atalanta full-back, playing only his ninth game for Germany.
There were massive question marks about Germany and their departing coach Joachim Low after world champions France barely broke a sweat en route a 1-0 win in Munich. Germany only exhibited flashes of their potential in that game, but they came in worryingly brief spurts.
At the root of Germany’s troubles, many opined was Lowe’s insistence on playing a back three in a 3-4-3 formation.
The idea was simple: a fluid front three without the burden of a focal point unleashing mayhem with their incessant movement in front of and behind the opposition defence. Two solid passers at the base of the midfield were intended to play balls into the feet of or the space ahead of the front three to work with, while there was an additional ball-playing centre back.
The most critical aspect of this formation, of course, is the movement of the wing-backs. They are responsible for offering width and stretching defences and also work with the midfield two: collect passes and create passing triangles with the forwards. At least that was the plan.
But that has so far produced mixed results. Germany were hammered 6-0 by Spain and fell to a shock defeat against North Macedonia in the last year. This formation is different from the 4-3-3 Germany are generally associated with, which saw them become world champions in 2014.
That explains the plethora of objections to this system from German fans, who would rather see Kimmich in central midfield, where his prowess is incredible. He tallied 1790 passes in 2020-21, with an accuracy rate of 84%, 1581 ball carries and 4.8 shot creating actions per game.
Kimmich’s deployment as right wing-back to accommodate Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan in midfield has generated a mixed reception. That is because while there is no doubting Kimmich’s versatility, it was felt he would be less effective on the wing.
Along with Kimmich, Gosens is critical to this setup. Together, if the wing-backs do their roles diligently enough, they could open up the half spaces on either flank between full-backs and centre backs. There the likes of Havertz, Gnabry and raumdeuter (interpreter of space) Muller - as he calls it - could wreak havoc.
Against Portugal, Gosens showed why he is so important to his team, and what the remarkable upsides of Germany’s 3-4-3 are. He assisted twice from the left and scored a goal himself, dovetailing with Kimmich perfectly on the opposite flank.
The latter sent in a cross from the right, and Gosens, unmarked thanks to his late, typically wing-back run to the far post, nodded home Germany’s fourth goal. It must be mentioned that the wing-back duo tried this in the first ten minutes of the game.
Kimmich’s ball was acrobatically finished by Gosens at the far post, only for the strike to be disallowed by VAR because of offside. More notably, Kimmich had a great game in the defeat against France as well, unsettling Raphael Varane for a moment with one of two delicious crosses in the second half. The other was a difficult shot, but at the same time, one of the better opportunities for the home side, falling to none other than Gosens.
Robin Gosens is growing in stature in Germany colours
Robin Gosens may still be relatively new to international football. But he is a seasoned wing-back for Gian Piero Gasperini’s exciting Atalanta side, who have firmly ensconced themselves in the upper echelons of the Serie A.
In the 3-4-3 system, there are currently few players better than Gosens in European football. Germany have an asset in Gosens, and he’s growing into the national team, which is an ominous sign for all opponents.
The 26-year-old has scored 19 goals in the last two seasons for Atalanta in the Serie A, considerably exceeding his combined xG (expected goals) of 12.7. With 13 assists to his name in the same period, his goal contributions since 2019 for his club add up to 32, which is an impressive number for a wing-back. One can see why Joachim Low wants to have Gosens in the Germany XI and tailor his lineup to bring out the best in players like his premier left wing-back.
Gosens is not goal-shy either, striking the ball goalwards 50 times last season, of which 20 were on target, which comprised 40% of his total shots. Indeed, Gosens is such an attacking asset, he’s had more shots on target alone than Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson and Manchester United’s Luke Shaw together (19 and 11, respectively).
Granted, both Robertson and Shaw play in back fours, but both have also, in the same period, been indispensable attacking outlets for their teams. That Gosens has been a bigger presence than the duo in the final third, and by quite some distance, is laud worthy.
The Germany international has also created 136 shot creating actions since 2019. That is a marked improvement from his tally of 75 registered between 2017-2019, his first two seasons in the Serie A with Atalanta. Evidently, Gosens is a player very much on the up, playing in systems that tend to bring out the best in him. Portugal - and particularly the hapless Nelson Semedo - found out the same the hard way.
Gosens is no slouch when it comes to the defensive side of his game, either. Since 2019, he has attempted 116 tackles in the Serie A, winning the ball back 60 times, which is a success rate of more than 50%.
What is of particular interest over and above that is his average defensive positioning. While he was a high number of pressures exerted - 368 this season - the pressure is far higher in the middle third of the pitch, where he has 170 pressures to his name. That is the same as registered by Achraf Hakimi, who plays in Serie A as well, as a wing-back on the right side for Inter Milan.
Hakimi’s pressures in the defensive third amounted to 183, while Gosens had just 88 in his defensive third. That is largely down to the contrasting styles of the teams the duo plays in. While Hakimi plays for an Inter Milan side that is relatively ready to concede possession and spring forward through counterattacks, Atalanta play with more purpose with the ball.
Gosens’ lack of pressures in the defensive third of the pitch is a reflection of how high his average defending position is. Germany can afford that, with Antonio Rudiger patrolling the right-hand side of Die Mannschaft’s defence and currently in the form of his life. That leaves Gosens with plenty of scope to play with the midfield and attempt higher turnovers in the middle of the park to release Germany’s front three.
Indeed, much of Germany’s waves of pressure against Portugal from the very first minute was down to the high starting positions of Kimmich and Gosens on the flanks. The latter has carved out a habit of doing just that, and he is deadly in the final third with his late far-post runs.
None of that, of course, suggests that Gosens doesn’t put in a shift at the back. He tallied 99 successful tackles and interceptions for Atalanta this season, which is, for context, higher than Hakimi’s tally of 77.
Germany’s 3-4-3 system may have misfired royally on occasion. But the formation is not without its merits, with one of its biggest beneficiaries being Robin Gosens. Having announced himself on the big stage with his scintillating display against Portugal, he would do well to now kick on for the national team too. Gosens would look to play the critical role his coach expects of him as Germany have roared back to contention at Euro 2020.
