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Today at 19:00 Lithuanian time, the second round of Group D matches will begin. World Vice Champions Germany will meet one of the surprises of the tournament, our neighbor Latvia at the Bessa Seculo stadium.
Germany
In order to have good chances of reaching the quarterfinals, Germany only needs a victory, so it is believed that the team will be geared up for the battle. In this match, the national team coach will use a more attacking tactic. Together with Kuranyi in the attack, Fredi Bobic should be in the starting lineup, who appeared as a substitute in the first round against the Netherlands. It is possible that the young Bayern forward Bastian Schweinsteiger will start the match. Most likely, Frank Baumann will lose his place in the main lineup.
Team coach Rudi Voller would like a more attacking game this time than in the match against the Netherlands: "We will control the ball more, so we will need to take more initiative, be more dangerous near the goal. We agree that we are favorites, but talking about the goal difference would be foolish. First, we have to win the match, and that won't be easy. Latvia did not get here by chance."
Meanwhile, the situation is somewhat different in the Latvian national team. Just qualifying for the European Championship final tournament is a huge victory for Latvia, so the players are not burdened with responsibility. Although they were considered outsiders before the championship, Latvia has proved that the victories in the qualifying matches were not accidental. In the first match, the Latvians led at the end of the first half, and only at the end of the match did the Czechs manage to score two goals. In the match against Germany, Latvian coach Aleksandrs Starkovs plans only one change - Maris Pahars will likely replace Andrejs Prohorenkovs.
Latvia's strategist has analyzed the opponent's game well and will try to exploit their weaknesses: "Every team has weaknesses. We tried to exploit them against the Czech Republic, and we will do the same against Germany. They are very strong, and their playing style is different from the Czechs'. The match will be difficult. We have to neutralize Bobic and Kuranyi somehow - they are very dangerous forwards. I will change our tactics, but I won't tell you how."
Possible lineups:
Latvia (4-4-2): Kolinko; Isakovs, Stepanovs, Zemlinskis, Blagonadezdins; Bleidelis, Astafjevs, Lobanovs, Rubins; Verpakovskis, Pahars.
Germany (4-4-2): Kahn; Friedrich, Wörns, Nowotny, Lahm; Schneider, Hamann, Frings, Ballack; Bobic, Kuranyi.
