Germany-Belgium is a friendly and will be played on Tuesday at 20:45: odds, predictions, statistics, insights
A luxury friendly, which will mainly serve as an opportunity for Germany to see whether or not last Saturday’s match against Peru – the South Americans beaten with a comfortable 2-0 victory – was a test. And the match against Belgium, who, after having unceremoniously beaten Ibrahimovic’s Sweden on the first day of qualifying for next year’s European Championship (organised by Germany), will have a rest: their group is composed of five teams.
The Mannschaft, being qualified by right as host nation, will be engaged almost exclusively in friendly matches from now until June 2024. Hansi Flick, the German selector, can therefore indulge in experiments in order to arrive at the continental event with clear ideas. Against Peru, the former Bayern Munich coach fielded an unusual 4-2-2, with Havertz and Wirtz behind the two forwards Werner and Fullkrug. It was Werder Bremen’s powerful centre-forward who scored the two goals that crushed the South American selection, a result that could have been even more rounded if Havertz had not hit the post with a penalty kick that made it 3-0. Against Belgium, according to Flick himself, there will not be many changes in the starting eleven: on the three-quarter Gnabry should take the place of Havertz, in defence instead Kehrer will replace the injured Schlotterbeck. Finally, there will be a ballot in the middle, with Emre Can being challenged by Goretzka. Germany are unbeaten in 13 friendly matches, their last defeat coming five years ago against Austria.
Belgium have started again in the sign of Lukaku
Italian by birth but German by adoption, Domenico Tedesco has made the best possible start to his tenure as head coach of Belgium, another national team which, like Germany, has suffered a poor showing at the World Cup, where they failed to even make the group stage.
Lukaku
The former Schalke 04 and Leipzig coach made his debut with a peremptory 3-0 win in Sweden, taking home the first three points of the qualifying campaign. Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, who scored a hat-trick to make up for the countless goals he missed in Qatar in the decisive match against Croatia, was the star performer. ‘Big Rom’, together with captain De Bruyne, is one of the few confirmations compared to the previous management. German, in addition to the change of module – he should prefer the 4-3-3 – is relying heavily on Lukebakio and Trossard, but also on the midfielder Onana. The impact from the bench of Bakayoko, Psv Eindhoven’s young right-back, is also good. In the friendly in Cologne there will be no goalkeeper Courtois, stopped by an adductor problem: his place will be taken by Casteels.
The Prediction
Both coaches will not prioritise the result in this prestigious friendly. That is why we could see a spectacular match, with at least three goals in total and both teams scoring. Lukaku looked very inspired against Sweden: it cannot be excluded that he will repeat himself in the match in Cologne.
Germany-Belgium line-ups
- GERMANY (4-2-2): ter Stegen; Wolf, Ginter, Kehrer, Raum; Goretzka, Kimmich; Gnabry, Wirtz; Füllkrug, Werner.
- BELGIUM (4-3-3): Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Meunier, Theate; De Bruyne, Onana, Carrasco; Lukebakio, Lukaku, Trossard.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
