Nagelsmann will use friendly for experiments

It is very much a mission accomplished for Julian Nagelsmann after his debut as the head coach of the German national team. Despite going down, Germany handily beat the United States 3-1 thanks to goals by Ilkay Gündogan (39’), Niclas Füllkrug (58’) and Jamal Musiala (61’). Christian Pulisic (28’) scored the only goal for the United States.

Indeed, the feeling following the result has been that Germany should probably have won by a bigger margin. But on balance, there is relief that Germany has put down the hammer against a team that would firmly rank outside the top 10 in Europe. In fact, getting the job done against weaker teams like the US has been one of the biggest criticisms of the late Joachim Löw era and then under Hansi Flick.

So, with the job done against the US, what can we expect against Mexico? “We’re flying to Philadelphia and training there,” Nagelsmann said. “On Monday, we’ll have the final training session where we will adjust a few things for Mexico. We’ll try to take another step and win the game against Mexico.”

That next step could include some rotation. The German magazine Kicker, for example, projected this week that David Raum could come in for Robin Gosens on the left, Kai Havertz and Julian Brandt could start instead of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala and Leon Goretzka could replace Pascal Groß.

The backline, in the meantime, could see Malick Thiaw come in for Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle for Jonathan Tah. Up front, one decisive change could be Thomas Müller for Niclas Füllkrug.

All those changes, however, might change very little about the fact that what Germany fans saw against the US is more likely to be the starting XI for the Euros than not. Especially, Füllkrug, Musiala, and Wirtz have made a big statement of intent. The same can be said for Leroy Sané, who has been in phenomenal form ever since the 2023/24 season kicked off.

The most interesting question, in fact, will concern the double-six in midfield. Joshua Kimmich seems to be the favorite for the role next to new captain Gündogan, but it was noted that the midfield seemed more cohesive with Brighton star Pascal Groß.

An argument could be made that Groß’s nomination to the Germany squad has come a few years too late. The Brighton midfielder has been one of the most consistent midfielders in the Premier League over the last few years. More than one observer has noted that with the 32-year-old on the field, Germany has now played a convincing match against France (2-1) and the United States.

Groß’s emergence, in fact, might renew a debate about Kimmich’s role with the team. The Bayern midfielder missed the game against France with an injury and had to leave the camp in the US early with sickness. Although a key player, his absence was not felt on the field.

Indeed, Nagelsmann might use this opportunity to gently move Kimmich not out of the squad but to the right-back position. Kimmich won’t be happy with playing right-back, of course, but would be a better option there than either Tah or Süle.

Navigating the Kimmich situation will be Nagelsmann’s biggest test ahead of the Euros. A much bigger test than the friendly against Mexico in Philadelphia. That game will be far more a friendly match than the US game, especially after Germany started the Nagelsmann era with a flyer.

Nonetheless, it will be a fascinating matchup as the new Germany boss will launch the next stage of his experimentation that will ideally result in putting together a squad that can win Euro 2024 on home soil.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth