The meeting between them in the UEFA Nations League was pulsating as Netherlands played out a scintillating 2-2 draw with Germany
Well, true to expectation, the UEFA Nations League game between the Netherlands and Germany finally lived up to expectations as the two touted European giants had an exciting 2-2 draw. Both teams forged attacking football with goals by Teun Reijnders for the hosts, Denzel Dumfries, Denis Undav, and Joshua Kimmich in the fan-friendly game. Given the lion’s share of possession and attacking play, Germany was unable to break down a Netherlands side that was robustly resilient with tactical discipline for a hard-fought point.
Netherlands Took an Early Lead
The match started bright, with the Netherlands striking early. Just inside two minutes, Teun Reijnders found the back of the net after an intricate move involving Ryan Gravenberch. Gravenberch’s through-ball unlocked the German back four as Reijnders finished clinically to hand Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Such a goal surely sent the Germans reeling and set the stage for an end-to-end encounter.
The Dutch continued to push forward, the wide players using the flanks pretty well. First, Denzel Dumfries, then in quick succession, Xavi Simons created openings within minutes. In this manner, Germany took on a rhythm in order to respond to the early pressure of the Netherlands.
Germany’s Response and Undav’s Equalizer
As the first half wore on, Germany got firm control over possession; their passing game and transitions started coming to light. The bossing midfielder in Joshua Kimmich was involved, bossing the flow of play and distributing the ball at will. The reward finally came in the 38th minute, with Denis Undav restoring parity for Germany with the finishing touches of a flowing team move.
Undav, one of in-form attackers for Germany capitalized on the defensive lapse from the Dutch backline as he controlled the cross that came and let go of a low shot past the Dutch goalkeeper to level the scores at 1-1. That turned the match in favor of the Germans, who began pressing for more openings.
Kimmich’s Late First-Half Strike
It had the feeling of teams that would go into the half-time all square, but Joshua Kimmich made his telling contribution at injury time. The Germans were quickest to react during added time after a corner kick, shooting hard and low into the bottom corner at the end of the third minute of stoppage time to send Germany ahead 2-1. A harsh blow for the Netherlands, who started the half strong.
Dumfries Levels Again for the Netherlands
The second half got underway with the need to stage an early response for the Netherlands. They did just that. Five minutes into the half, Denzel Dumfries brought the score level with a well-timed header to Brian Brobbey’s cross at the end of an excellent counter-attack that saw Germany’s defense caught off guard to make it 2-2 in the 50th minute.
It was back to square teams, and both sides started putting in hard work to get the lead. Germany dominated the possession with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala creating some chances in the final third, but nothing really pierced through the Dutch defense. As time wore on, the Netherlands’ counterattacking game started to develop a host of issues for the German defense, with Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons always on.
Tactical substitutions and midfield battle
Substitutions were made to bring fresh legs into the squads by both managers, quite a number of them. Wout Weghorst replaced Brian Brobbey in the 82nd minute, while Lutsharel Geertruida came on for Xavi Simons as the Netherlands’s substitutions. It gave them more physicality in midfield and presence in the attack.
Chris Führich came in place of Jamal Musiala on the 89th minute, with the German side then bringing on Emre Can in place of Robert Andrich as his side were looking to shore up their backline. Yet neither was able to fashion any decisive breakthrough, with the final minutes already upon them.
The midfield battle was a hotly contested one, where Joshua Kimmich and Ryan Gravenberch were important for their sides. Kimmich’s vision and passing allowed Germany to build from the back. At the same time, the energy of Gravenberch and his forward runs helped the Netherlands in transition.
Defensive Stalwarts and Key Moments
The German backline was fragile on several occasions, particularly when having to deal with the Netherlands wing-backs. Yellow cards for Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum indicated how extended they were in their efforts to keep the Dutch attacks at bay. Sometimes less comfortable in his game was Jonathan Tah, who saw an early yellow card.
In the back, Dutch rear guard was solid, as often enough, Germany breached their citadel. Up front, it was solid from Jurrien Timber and Nathan Aké, with German forwards kept at bay despite the sustained periods of pressure. Even Micky van de Ven, replacing Matthijs de Ligt, had a solid game where he made several key interceptions.
There were chances at either end of the pitch wherein one could steal the winner. The closest for Germany was when Florian Wirtz received the ball inside the box, but his shot was blocked by the Netherlands defenders. At the other end, Wout Weghorst headed slightly wide of the target.
Stats: Germany Dominates in Possession, Netherlands Efficient in Attack
Possession for Germany dominated the game with 57% whereas the Netherlands had 43%. They completed 510 passes to the Netherlands 332, that shows how superior they were to keep it in their feet. However, the Netherlands was efficient while in possession; thus, out of a few chances they got, they created 40 dangerous attacks to Germany’s 94. A total of 11 shots were managed by the Dutch, four on target, while their hosts had 19 shots, five of them on target.
This was a game in which set-pieces played a big role, yet Germany got 10 corners to the Netherlands’ seven, although both teams failed in making most of those count since most of the decisive moments came in open play.
Conclusion: A Thrilling Contest Ends in a Draw
Eventually, a thoroughly entertaining game between Netherlands and Germany finished with a pulsating 2-2 draw, with both sides illustrating their strength-for-strength situation: Teun Reijnders and Denzel Dumfries were prominent figures for the hosts, while Denis Undav and Joshua Kimmich shone for the visitors. Against the run of play-by which Germans had dominated much possession in large spells in this match-the tenacious and tactically aware Netherlands earned themselves a precious point.
Both teams will take the positives out of it, and they also are fully aware that there are things to work on as they go deeper into the UEFA Nations League. For Germany, it’s converting their possession into goals, while for the Netherlands, shoring up at the back to stop conceding from set pieces now assumes center stage.
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