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[16-06-2021 | Homeground, Nurenberg | 10:30 CET]

"Alright, lads, the start to our tournament was not what we hoped for." Joachim Löw’s calm voice resounded as he paced in front of the gathered players and staff in the main training pitch of the Homeground. "We knew it was going to be hard and had some bad luck, but that’s what gentlemen’s football is. The cake doesn’t always bake the way you intended it, but it’s our job to make the best of the ingredients we have."

Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, the veteran coach surveyed his squad slowly, making eye contact with each of them. None of the players looked particularly cheerful, with most still shaking off the disappointment of the previous night. Hummels, in particular, sat slightly apart from the group, his jaw set, eyes blazing with anger.

"Now, I won’t sugarcoat anything; we made avoidable mistakes, and we were punished for them," Löw continued, his tone measured and firm. "But football is unforgiving in the moment and kind in memory. What matters is what we do next. Portugal is in five days, and we still control our fate in this group."

"Now I want you to throw yesterday’s performance out the window," he said, stopping his pacing as he looked at the players with an unsmiling expression. "One game does not define a tournament, and we are far too good to falter after one loss. So gentlemen, block out all the noise and focus only on one thing, getting ready for the next match, because that is all that matters."

He paused for a moment, making sure they internalised his words, before clapping his hands. "(Clap, clap, clap,) Ditter take them away," He announced, causing a tall, muscular blonde man dressed in the DFB tracksuit to step up.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Shall we get those engines going?" He spoke in a gruff voice as the unneeded staff made their exit.

~~~

[16-06-2021 | ZDF Sportstudio, Mainz | 12:30 CET]

The studio lights came up on a glossy circular desk set in front of a wall of screens displaying the Group F table, with France at the top and Germany at the bottom with zero points. The Sportstudio set had been reconfigured for tournament coverage, with the famous torwand goal-shooting wall visible in the background, its iconic red-and-white squares catching the studio lighting.

Behind the desk sat Jochen Breyer, the lead presenter, sharp in a slate-grey suit with a black turtleneck beneath, his tablet resting in front of him. Across from him, three guests had been arranged: Bastian Schweinsteiger, the 2014 World Cup winner now firmly settled into his pundit role; Sandro Wagner, the former Bayern and Hoffenheim striker turned analyst; and, beaming in via the secondary feed from a corresponding setup in Rome, was Alessandro Del Piero, the Juventus legend brought on as the Italian voice ahead of the Azzurri’s clash with Switzerland later that evening.

"Guten Tag und herzlich willkommen zum Sportstudio Spezial," Breyer began smoothly, as the camera pulled back and the title sequence faded. "We’re broadcasting live from Mainz, and there is, frankly, only one place to begin this afternoon. Last night in Munich, Die Mannschaft opened its tournament against France and walked away beaten four-two. We’ll be looking ahead to Italy versus Switzerland later this evening, and Alessandro Del Piero joins us for that. Welcome, Alessandro."

"Grazie, Jochen," Del Piero replied with a calm, half-smile. "Always a pleasure to be on German television. Though I am sorry, it comes after a difficult night for your team."

"Difficult is putting it kindly," Wagner cut in immediately, leaning forward with his arms folded on the desk. "Jochen, I’m sorry, but I’ve spent the morning watching that match back, and I am angry. Genuinely angry. Not because we lost to France; France right now is the best team in the world, you can lose to them and live with it. What irks me is how we lost, and I’m not the only one. Here are some of the thoughts of fans throughout Germany."

---

Ole_Meister: Is it just me, or do we always have to concede before waking up?

BenTen: FUCKK! I should have known better than to put a €1,000 Parley on Löw’s Germany. Sack that man already. How are you giving the best player in the Bundesliga and UEFA only 10 minutes?

MbappéTheGoat: My Parley came through, betting on you guys fubling under pressure is easy money.

LöwOUT! Is this still 2014? For the love of me, I don’t understand how we can have the best talent in the world and still struggle against NPCs.

MrKim: Who are you calling NPC? Never forget the goat Son and Kim in 2018.

Jesus: Calm down, my friends have some tequila before we send Lozano your way

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Max: Isn’t the goal to put the ball into the opponent’s net, not our own?

Lothar Matthäus: From coaching to execution, it’s just not good enough!

---

Schweinsteiger let out a long breath, the corner of his mouth twitching as he glanced at the screen still scrolling fan comments. He noted that the production had especially taken the time to highlight notable people’s tweets or comments as if the world hadn’t already seen them. Across from him, Wagner had clearly been waiting for his turn to speak, drumming his fingers against the tablet in front of him.

"I’ll be honest with you, Jochen, I think the fans are being generous," Wagner began, his voice flat with controlled frustration. "Because the conversation should not be about whether we lost to France. That’s just football; the conversation should be about what we are actually trying to do as a team. Because last night, for seventy minutes, I genuinely could not tell you what the plan was."

"Strong words, Sandro," Breyer noted, leaning back slightly. "Walk us through it."

"Gladly." Wagner sat up, tapping his tablet so the lineup graphic filled the wall behind him. The 3-4-2-1 Germany had started with, the familiar names slotted into their positions. "Look at this. Look at this side. We start the match with Müller and Havertz as the two attacking midfielders, Gnabry alone up top, and Hummels, Rüdiger, and Ginter at the back. Gosens and Kimmich as the wing-backs. Where, Jochen, in this formation, is the player who beats his man? Where is the one who scares the French defence? Gnabry, on his own, is not a striker. Müller drops into midfield. Havertz is a beautiful footballer, but he is not a winger, and he is not a player who takes Pavard one against one."

"He’s done that for Chelsea, though," Schweinsteiger interjected gently.

"For Chelsea, in a different role, in a different system, alongside Werner and Mount and Pulisic," Wagner shot back. "Yesterday, he was asked to be everything at once, and he was the same player as Müller, just younger and not quite as smart in those pockets. We doubled up on the same kind of profile and called it a team."

Breyer turned to Schweinsteiger. "Basti, you’ve worn that shirt a hundred and twenty-one times. You’ve played in this system. What did you make of it?"

Schweinsteiger took his time, running a hand along his jaw before answering. "Look, I don’t want to throw Jogi under the bus. He made me a World Cup, but I think Sandro has a point, and I think the bigger issue is one we’ve been talking about quietly for two years now and ignoring."

"The game has moved on, and every other country of our calibre has adapted possession-first football and slow circulation against a French side that has Mbappé, Benzema, and Griezmann on the counter? You are inviting trouble." He calmly stated, looking more defeated at the fact than criticising the situation. "You are practically saying, we will hold the ball, and we will hope they don’t catch us. That is faith, not a plan against a team like that, especially with a coach like Deschamps who emphasises strong defensive blocks, rapid transitions, and allows his star players the freedom to decide games."

"And faith," Wagner cut in, "doesn’t stop a Kylian Mbappé in a footrace or a Benzema when we see a goal in front of him."

A few quiet laughs went around the studio. Breyer let it settle before angling toward the screens, where the substitution log had been pulled up. "Let’s talk about the bench, then, because this is where most of the fan anger seems to be focused. Sandro, I’ll let you start."

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TO BE CONTINUED...