In central midfield, Bayern Munich stars Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlović settled in.
In the 25th minute, Bischof fired just wide.
That was the kind of performance that will get Bayern Munich fans excited about the future: both players were dangerous, composed, and completely in control.
In the 36th minute, Gnabry let loose a left-footed shot that sputtered toward the net; the Bayern Munich attacker appeared to just mishit the attempt.
What an incredible moment for the Bayern Munich youngster!
Aside from Lennart Karl, the next biggest omission was probably Said El Mala, who was projected by many to get the nod on the wing. Instead, SC Freiburg’s 23-year-old Derry Scherhant got the call. In central midfield, Bayern Munich stars Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlović settled in. Bischof, of course, was fresh off duty with the U-21 squad. Otherwise, Philipp Treu started at right-back and Maximilian Mittelstädt was at left-back, which are the positions with the most hotly contested battles.
Germany was pressing Serbia hard and playing with a ton of energy early on. Pavlović nearly capitalized on the sustained pressure, but his shot went just wide in the 8th minute.
Waldemar Anton found himself all alone in the 16th minute as he lined up a volley, but his attempt went far wide of the net.
It was refreshing to see such effort and passion on the pitch.
In the 18th minute, Serge Gnabry made a brilliant run, but sent his attempt off-target. It is tough to say if it was a cross or a shot—had someone been running to the back post, it would have been an easy goal.
Germany was aggressive and dangerous, but the final third was still proving to be a tough nut to crack for Die Mannschaft.
Treu is a weapon at right-back. It is still amazing to think that he was not deemed worthy of a roster spot at the World Cup. Treu seems like the exact kind of right-back Kompany would love to have in his squad, for what it’s worth.
You can knock Germany for not putting the ball into the net, but this lineup did everything else you would want in terms of style of play.
In the 25th minute, Bischof fired just wide.
Speaking of Bischof, he and Pavlović were awesome together. That was the kind of performance that will get Bayern Munich fans excited about the future: both players were dangerous, composed, and completely in control. What a showing from the two young midfielders!
Nick Woltemade needs to be more physical and act more like a bully. He just does not have a killer instinct, which might explain some of his issues with finishing. Can you make someone more…mean?
Gnabry had a close-range attempt turned away in the 30th minute after a decent look from Woltemade.
Serbia had a golden opportunity in the 32nd minute when Anton was all the way up the pitch pressing and no one dropped in for him, leaving a massive amount of space in the back. Luckily for Germany, Filip Kostić’s cross barely evaded the foot of a sliding Serbian player.
In the 35th minute, Florian Wirtz had a strong header that caught too much of the middle of the net and was saved for a corner.
The first half was legit fun—but produced no goals. There was a lot of creativity with runs and a true attacking mentality.
In the 36th minute, Gnabry let loose a left-footed shot that sputtered toward the net; the Bayern Munich attacker appeared to just mishit the attempt.
Finally, the 39th minute allowed Germany to break through. After some sustained pressure, Wirtz’s shot clanged off the post, but Bischof was waiting to smash it home for a 1-0 lead. What an incredible moment for the Bayern Munich youngster!
This was as confident and loose as Wirtz has played in a long time.
Woltemade blew a great chance in the 59th minute when he skied a close-range shot. Admittedly, he fits in with the overall style of play, but his scoring touch needs some major work.
In the 61st minute, Mittelstädt drove forward and slid a terrific pass to Wirtz, who used some footwork to free himself before scoring easily. It was the perfect end product for Wirtz, who was playing like Germany’s best player once again.
This writer lamented Mittelstädt’s exclusion from the World Cup squad all summer, and maybe there was a point to it. Taking an injured David Raum and no right-backs was as asinine as it gets.
The German crowd was having way too much fun doing “The Wave.”
Said El Mala is talented, but he had trouble fitting into the flow of the game.
