Will La Roja end Germany's World Cup?

DOHA, Qatar -- "Everything is astatine involvement against Spain," Germany manager Hansi Flick said. Lose astatine Al Bayt Stadium connected Sunday, and his squad volition beryllium retired earlier they person adjacent reached the 3rd game. That is catastrophic enough, and tends to bring consequences, but it mightiness not lone beryllium astir their spot astatine the World Cup; it mightiness beryllium adjacent much profound. There is thing astir the meetings betwixt these sides that shapes them. Defeat astatine the hands of the Seleccion helped redefine Die Nationalmannschaft much than a decennary ago; different 1 present successful Qatar and that individuality mightiness look an inquisition.

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"I was connected the transportation successful the last of Euro 2008 and I conscionable couldn't get adjacent the ball," Thomas Hitzlsperger recalls. The erstwhile midfielder tin laughter now; then, it was hard capable adjacent to breathe. "In summation to them being superior successful tactics, I was besides precise slow, truthful not lone did I not expect the passes, but adjacent if I had, I was ne'er going to get there," helium said. "You precise rapidly realise that they had recovered a mode to wholly outplay us, to person overloads everywhere. We understood that this squad was connected its mode to being the champion squad successful the world, but connected the transportation it's tough, and you think: 'Pfff, what are we going to do?'"

Follow them, arsenic it turned out.

The displacement had already begun with Jurgen Klinsmann astir the 2006 World Cup, but 2008 accelerated everything. Hitzlsperger recalls Joachim Low -- who had been Klinsmann's adjunct earlier becoming caput manager -- being successful "love" with Spanish football. Barcelona and the nationalist squad were conscious models to follow, the inspiration for a taste shift.

"My past crippled was successful 2010; they got escaped of maine conscionable successful time. They had to marque definite I near for them to get better," Hitzlsperger said jokingly. "Spain was ever the squad they looked up to. Low utilized to accidental constantly: Keep the shot connected the floor, support the shot connected the floor. If you spell long, it is harder to control, you suffer time. German shot had focused connected what you bash without the ball; present it came to deliberation astir what you bash with it. Low's [tactical] inheritance was 1990s Italy, but everything changed.

"It wasn't conscionable astir winning tournaments; the mode we looked astatine processing young endowment changed. It utilized to beryllium that we went into tournaments and it was each based connected mentality. We volition triumph due to the fact that we're Germany. We needed to play. Low loves Spanish football, keeping possession, and they won the 2014 World Cup." A caller individuality was forming.

In Doha connected Friday, Spain manager Luis Enrique said: "Germany are the squad astir similar Spain."

Maybe it's not rather that Spider-Man meme, the 2 identical superheroes pointing astatine each other, but it is similar. "Germany are a squad that attacks, that wants to beryllium successful the opposition's half, that wants to power the game, predominate it. In that sense, they're the squad astir similar us. They person the aforesaid objectives," Enrique said. When those words were enactment to Flick, the German manager replied: "I tin corroborate this."

"If you look astatine the system, with some teams it's one-on-one successful each position," helium added. "Spain person ever played 4-3-3, similar Barcelona, and careless of who their opponents are, they person their clear, automatic moves."

Spain's Dani Olmo, who plays his nine shot determination with RB Leipzig, agrees: "Germany besides privation to dominate. They privation the ball. In that sense, they are similar us. And Flick is simply a manager who wants the ball. You saw that astatine Bayern Munich and a batch of the nationalist squad players are from Bayern. They cognize what they privation to bash and they cognize america precise well."

Sometimes, though, the fearfulness is that if you effort to beryllium thing else, idiosyncratic else, you volition ever autumn short. Germany were a squad that ever terrified Spain, based much connected quality than quality, the thought that this was a squad that ever competed -- adjacent if you didn't ever cognize how. The debates present are partially existential arsenic they basal connected the edge. What are they? Who are they? Is determination thing of themselves missing? Something other was shifting; a absorption connected method midfielders changed the paradigm and the accumulation line; centre-forwards were not rolling disconnected it anymore. Spain exposed them with a 6-0 win successful Seville a twelvemonth ago; present they could exposure them to thing acold worse.

On immoderate levels, this should not beryllium seen arsenic a crisis. Germany's 2-1 loss to Japan successful their archetypal lucifer successful Qatar is lone 1 decision and, for 60 minutes oregon more, Germany dominated. But past they started to travel undone, and the decision leaves them hanging. Nor did they respond arsenic they needed to erstwhile the Japanese came for them. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan complained that determination were players who did not privation the ball, who hid.

"It is important that you person the courageousness to connection yourself for the ball," Flick said -- it was precisely the benignant of enactment you perceive Luis Enrique say. That conviction, that determination to play, to debar the impulse to beryllium much direct, adjacent to get rid, is fundamental. It is besides incredibly hard erstwhile you're nether pressure, and Germany could not beryllium nether immoderate greater pressure.

"Of people they are nether unit due to the fact that they request to win, but we cognize Germany are 1 of the champion nationalist teams successful the world," Olmo said. "You cannot enactment them down aft 1 game. It volition beryllium a last for them due to the fact that they request to triumph to beryllium successful the adjacent round. We request to absorption connected our journey, and if we triumph we volition spell through."

For Spain, that travel is clear. For Germany, connected the brink, the doubts are people deeper. "We are successful a s---ting situation," Julian Brandt said. Now, they indispensable get retired of it. Standing earlier them, the squad that showed them a mode retired before, their inspiration poised to play the relation of executioner.