In Group 4 of League A, the decision about the group win will be made in Seville on Tuesday evening. Spain knows it needs a win against Germany, while the Germans need a draw.
Spain:
Prior to the fifth round in this group, Spain had the best papers for the win. On Saturday evening, however, the team of national coach Luis Enrique spilled expensive points. On a visit to Switzerland, Spain was 1-0 behind. In the second half there were opportunities to come back into the game, but Spain made it very difficult for itself. Unusually for him, Sergio Ramos missed two penalties. A late hit by Gerard Moreno prevented Spain from leaving Basel completely empty-handed, but on the Spanish side, nobody was happy with the draw.
With one game to go, Spain is now no longer the leader in Group 4. Germany was seen to take that place, so it will have to be won in Seville on Tuesday to reach the last four of the Nations League. It will therefore have to perform better than two months ago, when Spain drew 1-1 against the Germans in Stuttgart. Luis Enrique again chose Unai Simon under the bar against Switzerland, but it is quite conceivable that David De Gea will return to the starting line-up for this cracker.
Germany:
After five rounds of play, Germany is in excellent shape in this Nations League pool. It took a while before Die Mannschaft got going in this tournament. But after two draws, seven runs were scored from the following three games. Partly due to Spain’s loss of points, Germany is now the leader in Group 4. Last Saturday, it was 3-1 beating a considerably weakened Ukraine. The competition will certainly not go down in the history books as one of the best in Germany. It was a nice evening for Timo Werner. In the stadium of Leipzig, which he knows so well, he contributed greatly to the victory with a Doppelpack.
Antonio Rüdiger received a yellow card against Ukraine that he could not have. The central defender has been suspended for Tuesday’s game. National coach Joachim Löw doesn’t have many options in the back, especially if he wants to start with three central defenders. Philipp Max made a fine impression on the left wing in the past two games. A new starting place for the PSV player would not be strange. Up front, Werner will likely be assisted by Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry.
