After lining up with an unchanged starting XI for the first three games of the 2024 European Championship, Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup in the Round of 16 vs. Denmark came as a big surprise. Of the three changes made, the most controversial one was Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané replacing Florian Wirtz. All of a sudden, one of Germany’s two golden boys and last season’s Bundesliga Player of the Season was sat on the bench for such a crucial fixture.
Winning makes explanations easier, but Germany’s win over Denmark did not save Nagelsmann from queries on the future of this arrangement. Will the oft criticized Leroy Sané remain in the starting XI over Wirtz? Nagelsmann’s answer was noncommittal: “It also depends on the training performance. We have not only identified 10 outfield players who will get a lot of playing time, but 13 or 14. Leroy is one of them. It’s always possible that we will rotate someone from the three attacking midfielders. We will watch the training and analyse the opponent when we know who the opponent is. And then we’ll see what works best in the combination and hopefully decide on the right eleven.”
If one thing is clear, it is that both players have the opportunity to start and will directly compete with one another. Perhaps the competition will help them both stay on their toes? Or perhaps they will lost their rhythm and crash and burn? It is all possible in this frenetic and unpredictable tournament.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s 2-0 victory over Denmark? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we cover the starting lineup selection, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and takes on how it all played out. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: