Euro 2020: Joachim Low faces one of his greatest tactical tests as Germany meet England

This match, more than any other in his time as Germany manager, will reveal plenty about Joachim Low’s coaching abilities in a game setup to be a duel between the two managers

When Joachim Low made the calls to bring back Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels, there were a lot of murmurs at the top end of German football. Some thought it brave and necessary. Others felt it was weak and indecisive.

Such differing perspectives sum up the wider debate around Low, and whether he’s even been a ‘good’ manager for Germany. That might sound absurd for a man who has won the World Cup, but that debate doesn’t stop with the trophy. It starts with the World Cup-winning quality he had available, and whether Low made the best of it. Germany were the first country to “industrialise” football talent production, creating a wave of elite players in that first generation. Low didn’t exactly industrialise trophy returns, winning only one out of six tournaments so far.

The recall of two totems of that 2014 victory in Muller and Hummels seems symbolic. It provokes the question of whether Low’s own performance was dependent on that talent, and how much effect he actually had.

There are parallels with Gareth Southgate here, that set up Tuesday’s match. The England manager gets on well with Low, and might even seek his counsel on a few issues, depending on how this game goes. Like Southgate, Low became a career international manager, but almost set the template for the type. Like Southgate, Low was under huge pressure to make good on a golden generation, and has been regularly accused of wasting it. Like Southgate, Low has been seen as a good figurehead overseeing a wider structure, but there are questions over his effect when more direct decisions are required.

That last parallel is even more weighted since it feels like this match is going to be more dictated by tactics and pure coaching than any before in the German’s reign. It may well be the campaign where Low’s own merits as a manager can be most accurately judged.

This stands to reason since his last tournament cycle is also the first beyond that great generation of talent. The majority of the 2010-14 side have moved on.

The current German side is not of that calibre, but it does have quality, that just warrants more tangible ‘management’. More of the tactics need to be worked out, rather than tweaked. Most of the team doesn’t pick itself in the same way.

This could consequently go a long way to settling the questions that have run through Low’s time in the job. That was a time that largely overlapped with the rise and decline of one of the great generations, as 2014 proved a natural peak. Their overall performances - five successive semi-finals, at the least, and superb overall win rate - were an inevitable consequence of a critical mass of talent, and the general quality running through the team.

It also helped that, in another parallel with Southgate, they had coaches of the class of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola nurturing the players at club level. This fostered a deeper understanding of a philosophy that Low himself just fitted into. That has been crucial for him, too. A repeated comment on Low’s managerial career is that he has a superb understanding of tactical concepts, but doesn’t have a set philosophy himself, which means he can make eyebrow-raising decisions when forced into a call.

The lingering doubts came from those fine details, the moments of decisiveness where you have to go that bit further to define yourself.

While the defeats of 2008 and 2010 were forgivable due to the fact Spain were an even greater generation at a higher point, that wasn’t the case with Euro 2012. The manner of elimination to Italy and Mario Balotelli reflected some concerns from earlier loss to Croatia and Serbia in the two previous tournaments. Looking to counter the influence of Andrea Pirlo, Low kept an unfit Bastien Schweinsteiger in the team and moved Toni Kroos wide. The result was Germany’s main strengths were weakened, and Italy’s abilities amplified.

There were similar issues in the 2-0 defeat to France in 2016, when a physically reduced Schweinsteiger was again selected, and it didn’t feel like Low adjusted to an admittedly bad injury list well. The recurring theme becomes clear: Low generally doing well when he has that core fit and available, but wavering wildly when not.

Even 2014 involved a combination of good and bad decisions, and Low going between supposedly second-guessing himself and asserting his authority. The back and forth over putting Phillip Lahm back and forward summed this up, Low eventually moving his captain from defensive midfield back to right-back after previously saying his mind was made up.

For his part, the coach’s strong man-management was seen as key to keeping all this in check. There is rarely any doubting his psychological coaching.

The collapse of 2018 is also understandable in terms of giving reigning champions a chance to defend their title. Both of his predecessors in Marcello Lippi and Vicente Del Bosque did the same, and suffered the same fate, but there were fair questions of why Low didn’t bring through more of the 2017 Confederation Cup team or something different in Leroy Sane.

Changes were made too late, or forced upon him, which made the recalls of Muller and Hummels all the more conspicuous.

One perspective is that these decisions reveal a desperation to impose some kind of design.

This side has been otherwise completely lacking it. Sources complain about how this is a team “totally out of synch tactically”.

That could be seen in the unmistakable “desperation” - to use Low’s own description - of the last match against Hungary. Germany “didn’t find, didn’t open spaces” and were reduced to the most basic of long balls and “four or five people into the box”.

“This was no longer about formations or tactical niceties,” Low admitted. There was maybe no capability for them.

It was all such a far cry from the opening game of 2014, when Portugal were eviscerated 4-0 through the most effervescent tactical crafting. Raphael Honigstein’s book Das Boot reveals how they ravaged the opposition left side through a rehearsed move where all three of Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze and Muller would sprint full pelt from deep, but all within 10 metres of each other. It was too much for Portugal to take.

There were of course tactical debates around that team, but they were more about how to maximise the ample quality available. The problem this time is that Low’s chosen 3-4-3 has only exposed the weaknesses in the squad. Germany lack quality in defence, as Antonio Rudiger doesn’t look anything like the same player without N’Golo Kante in front of him. Hummels has meanwhile made more of his "occasional" errors than ever.

A caveat to all this is that Germany’s one good performance at Euro 2020 was too much for Portugal to take, too.

It was the one time the game, and the system, seemed to suit a raft of good attackers. This may be all the more relevant for England, since Southgate and Steve Holland have partly modelled the approach on Portugal. If England are again about “control”, and containment, it might play into Low’s hands.

It is why this match, more than any other in his time as Germany manager, may reveal more about his abilities. It is much more of a duel between the coaches.

This isn’t a vintage Germany but it has more than enough talent to eliminate England - with the right tactical crafting.

Whether Low can provide it, and maximise what he’s been given, has been the defining question of his time in charge.