[ad_1]
Key events
44 min Germany didn’t want the half-time signal because they found their rhythm in the last five minutes.
42 min Germany is getting excited. Musiala collects a loose ball 40 yards from goal, runs to the edge of the area and pokes the ball out to Havertz. It bounces awkwardly and Havertz sends his shot over the bar.
41 min Kroos took a short corner then crossed the outside of the far post where Rudiger headed home. A difficult chance.
40 min “Switzerland have been one of the most impressive sides so far in this tournament,” writes Kari Thulinius. “I hesitate to suggest that they are dark horses because experience shows that they will be in the round of 16, but if their levels don’t drop, they will give any team a game.”
I agree with every word. WELL HOW THEY LOST 6-1 TO PORTUGAL. I was MBM in this match and was sure it would go to penalties after a tough 1-1 draw.
38 min Tah has been booked for an absurdly high challenge on Embolo, meaning he will miss Germany’s last 16 game.
Germany did not respond well to falling behind; now Switzerland you seem more likely to score the next goal.
37 min “I’m almost certainly missing something, but Musiala’s challenge wasn’t all that different to Ryan Porteous the other day and Porteous was sent off,” says Mack Millings. “Are the rules for defenders and attackers that different? And if so, should they be?’
Why are you sending me adult emails Millings? Give me shopping lists, puns, nostalgia, Watford.
(Uh, I’d like to see a few more replays, but I suspect the two main differences are the level of strength and the location of the leg he caught it with.)
35 min “At the risk of stating the obvious,” says Peter O, “the last few minutes have been extremely attractive to watch!”
34 min Andric’s long-range shot deflects off club team-mate Xhaka behind him. Angle comes to nothing.
33 min As it stands Switzerland are top of the group and Germany could be heading for a humdinger against Italy in the Round of 16.
31 min Ndoye almost gets his second strike, firing just wide from the edge of the area! It was a brilliant effort, flicked across goal with his left foot and rolled agonizingly wide.
Having a bad night, Musiala lost the ball in his own half and Switzerland broken. Ridder played a pass-and-go on the edge of the penalty area, then pushed the ball into Froehler on the left. He shaped a wonderful cross to the near post where Ndoye stretched to expertly volley into the roof of the net. This is his first goal for Switzerland.
There is VAR check for offside but the goal remains.
GOAL! Switzerland 1-0 Germany (Ndoye 28)
Switzerland take the lead with a great goal by Dan Ndoye!
25 min Ndoye is booked for Rüdigering Rüdiger.
23 min I’m not going to tell you the result of the Scotland game because you’re already watching it. You probably won’t even read this. But if you do and want to know what’s going on in Stuttgart, here’s the link.
23 min Switzerland have been defending quite well so far, limiting Germany to exactly no clear cut chances. They are an awkward, streetwise opponent; I still can’t believe they were thumped 6-1 by Portugal at the last World Cup.
21 min “Well,” says Norrie Hernon, “at least that way you can see if you really are could start an argument in an empty room. You’re Aldous Huxley to JFK, uh, JFK.’
I thought I was Dennis Wise.
NO PURPOSE! Switzerland 0-0 Germany
Yes, a foul was given against Musiala. It didn’t affect the game because Ebischer had already cleared the ball, but I guess that’s beside the point.
VAR check The referee goes to the monitor to see Musiala’s challenge on Ebischer.
Mittelstadt’s cross was cleared by Aebischer, who was caught by Musiala in the process. Andrich collected the loose ball 25 yards out and fired an early shot that ricocheted through Sommer’s hands at the near post. The rebound was awkward, but he still had to save it.
GOAL! Switzerland 0-1 Germany (Andrich 17)
Robert Andric scores his first goal for Germany after a mistake by Jan Sommer!
15 min Very controlled, rhythmic possession for Germany. They are really patient when they have the ball.
13 min That was a really clumsy challenge from Schar, you know. I’d like to see it again, but I’m surprised there weren’t stronger penalty appeals.
12 min Mittelstadt’s early low cross was met at the near post by Havertz, whose shot was blocked at the source by the sliding Rodriguez. Havertz falls, gets up and then falls again after a slightly overzealous challenge from Schar. He probably wasn’t strong enough for a penalty, but he took a chance.
11 min Andric’s chipped pass is deflected by Musiala to Gundogan, 25 yards from goal. His first shot is blocked on the edge of the area.
10 min Havertz looks tripped up but the referee lets play continue. Ndoye collects the loose ball, gets inside Rüdiger and tries a pass which is cut out on the edge of the area by Kroos.
9 min “They are a little rough on beekeeping duty tonight Rob,” says Niall Mullen.
Even I would have started if they hadn’t given the Scotland game to Scott.
8 min Musiala and Wirtz wander wherever the mood takes them. Musiala, in particular, looks really sharp.
4 min It was a great start to the game with both teams going for it. Rocking atmosphere too.
3 min Kroos’ clipped corner is headed straight at Sommer by Havertz. It was a decent effort as there was no speed on the ball.
3 min Musiala turns Freueler beautifully, skips the halfway line and cracks an angled pass. His first touch is a little heavy – the ball wasn’t easy to control – and Schar gets back to concede a corner.
1 minute Peep Peep! Germany run from right to left as we watch.
“It’s good to see the value placed on square shoulders to Xherdan Shaqiri, giving him a break,” explains Ian Copestake. “We shall soon see his short tumult again.”
As the players take the field, here’s a quick reminder about the teams.
Switzerland (3-4-1-2) Sommer; Shar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Froyler, Xhaka, Ebischer; Reader; Embolo, Ndoye.
Reserves: Stergiu, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Mwogo, Zuber, Zesiger, Ciero, Vargas, Dua, Kobel, Shaqiri, Yashari, Amduni.
Germany (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tach, Mittelstadt; Andric, Kroos; Musiala, Gundogan, Wirtz; Havertz.
Subs: Raum, Gross, Fulkrug, Fürich, Baumann, Müller, Bayer, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Sane, Henrichs, ter Stegen, Koch, Kahn, Undav.
Referee Daniele Orsato (Italy)
“Germany’s Brilliant Young Strikers” starts Matt Doney. “And Thomas Muller. He is still out there floating around exploring spaces. What a man. What a curious player. What a servant. How long ago did Jogi Lowe try to turn him down? It didn’t quite work…”
The really big game tonight at least for this paper it is in Stuttgart. There is no better person to document Scotland’s attempt to make history than Scott Murray.
Schrödinger’s Rubber Band is the subject of Grant Tennille’s email. “Based on this evidence, it’s probably best for me to keep the realms of quantum mechanics and tournament permutations clearly delineated, however tempting it may be to mix them up.”
Tonight’s game is in Frankfurt, where England lost 1-1 to Denmark on Thursday. The pitch was in a bit of a state for this match; we’ll see how it goes tonight.
Seven of the starters have yellow cards and will miss the next game if booked tonight.
Switzerland Sylvan Widmer, Remo Froyler, Ricardo Rodriguez.
Germany Antonio Rudiger, Jonathan Tach, Maximilian Mittelstadt, Robert Andrich.
“I assume you are aware of how big this game is for Switzerland, especially the Swiss German-speaking majority,” Jeff wrote. “Think Stockport County v Manchester City but on an international scale.”
Philip Lammy friend and colleague, pays tribute to Germany’s brilliant young strikers.
Read Jonathan Liu’s match review
Team news
Germany remains unchanged for the third time in a row. Switzerland bring on Breel Embolo and Fabian Rieder for Xherdan Shaqiri and Ruben Vargas.
Switzerland (3-4-2-1) Sommer; Shar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Froyler, Xhaka, Ebischer; Ndoye, Reader; Embolo.
Reserves: Stergiu, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Mwogo, Zuber, Zesiger, Ciero, Vargas, Dua, Kobel, Shaqiri, Yashari, Amduni.
Germany (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tach, Mittelstadt; Andric, Kroos; Wirtz, Gundogan, Musiala; Havertz.
Subs: Raum, Gross, Fulkrug, Fürich, Baumann, Müller, Bayer, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Sane, Henrichs, ter Stegen, Koch, Kahn, Undav.
Referee Daniele Orsato (Italy)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Switzerland against Germany in Frankfurt. This particular tire is both dead and alive. Dead because both teams have qualified for the last 16*, alive because of what happens next. Germany must avoid defeat to win the group and secure a theoretically easier match in the round of 16.
Here’s where it gets tricky. The winners of that group will play group runners-up Denmark in the round of 16 – but then they’ll be on their way to face exciting Spain in the quarter-finals.
The runners-up, by contrast, would be set to face Italy, Croatia or Albania in the round of 16 – tough but winnable – and then potentially group winner Denmark in the quarter-finals.
We do this at every damn tournament, don’t we: plan the whole thing to within an inch of its life, even though we know damn well it never works out that way. Let’s just enjoy some football and let the chips fall where they may.
Start 8 in the evening.
* Switzerland haven’t officially qualified, but the turn of events needed to drop them is so unlikely that if the Guardian were promoting gambling, I’d invite you to take your own chances.
[ad_2]
