Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann was wrong to test Arsenal’s Kai Havertz as a left-back, as there is no time left for experiments with the national team.
That’s according to Lothar Matthäus, who believes time is running out for Germany ahead of them hosting the European Championships next summer.
It’s been a disappointing international break for Germany, who after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Germany were beaten 2-0 by Austria on Tuesday.
Those defeats have raised questions about the future of the side and what Nagelsmann plans to do with the players at his disposal.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is one of those he has to find a role for, with the player struggling to find his best form since a big money move from Chelsea in the summer.
Nagelsmann made the decision to try something different with him in this break, first starting him as a left-back in the loss to Turkey before then deploying him on the left in a 3-4-2-1 formation in the defeat to Austria.
That decision raised plenty of eyebrows given Havertz’s career has largely been spent playing as either a midfielder, a number ten or a centre forward.
A full-back role is certainly not one that he’s now playing with Arsenal and Matthäus has questioned why Nagelsmann made the choice in the first place, and made it clear they ‘don’t have anymore time’ for experiments.
“I don’t want to discuss Julian, but he needs to question whether he made the right decisions in the last two games,” he said.
“If I already have a vulnerable defense and want to set an example against Turkey and Austria, but then do worse than before, I have made the wrong decision. If I have a back three and two wing-backs, these two have to think more defensively.
“The coach might expect someone like Leverkusen’s Grimaldo to play on the left and right, but he was trained as a full-back. Havertz, Sane and Brandt are trained offensive players and will not play in these positions at their clubs for the next seven months.
“This also causes uncertainty among the other players. I know what Nagelsmann is planning, at FC Bayern Munich he preferred Alphonso Davies to the left and he now wants to turn Havertz into a Davies.
“I occasionally played defender for Jupp Heynckes. I never knew what to do because I had a completely different understanding of the game. If we have a DNA, a game system, why change it?”
