Ilkay Gündogan was the hero in Germany's 3-0 victory over Estonia. (Photo by Martin ... [+]
It was a tale of two halves for Germany against Estonia on Sunday night in Tallinn. Down a man, after 15 minutes, Germany struggled in the first half, but a clinical performance in the second interval secured three essential points on the road to Euro 2020.
The main protagonists on Sunday night were two players that caused a minor scandal ahead of the game. Midfielders Ilkay Gündogan and Emre Can have liked an Instagram post by Turkish forward Cenk Tosun showing several Turkey players saluting, in what has been interpreted as support to the Turkish military's action in Syria, during Turkey’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Albania.
“I liked Tosun’s post without intention and without paying attention to the content while scrolling through Instagram,” Can later told the German paper Bild. “I am a pacifist and against any form of war.”
“I took the like back after I noticed that it might be interpreted politically,” Gündogan said to the Sportinformationsdienst (SID). “Believe me: after last year, the last thing I want to do is make a political statement.” Gündogan, together with Mesut Özil, caused a minor political earthquake after he was photographed with Turkish President Recep Erdogan ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The German football association (DFB) declined to make a statement ahead of the game but said that they would talk to the two players.
A conversation that had the potential to become a major political issue in the 14th minute, the earliest sending off in German national team history. Emre Can, who in light of Germany’s injury crisis started as a center-back, had brought down Estonian forward Frank Liivak. Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov deemed Can the last man and sent the Juventus player off with a straight red card.
It was a sending off that had the potential to cause another political debate within the walls of the DFB, especially after Germany struggled with ten players to break down a well organized Estonia defense.
“Getting the red card hampered our game,” defender Niklas Süle said after the game. “At the break, we devised a plan on how to penetrate their defense, and it worked. We did not lack the right attitude for today's game.”
"Looking at the situation, you cannot award a yellow, it was a correct red card,” Bundestrainer Joachim Löw said after the game. “We had to regroup after the red card; the team did well after the break, we did not concede and scored three goals.”
The injury crisis also hampered the team. Heading into the international break, Germany were missing players with an overall transfer value of €405 million (£365 million). The list of players that did not travel to represent Germany includes Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea), Leon Goretzka (Bayern), Leroy Sané (Manchester City), and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).
Then ahead of the game against Estonia, Niklas Stark had to leave the team after sustaining a cut to his leg at the team hotel. Furthermore, striker Serge Gnabry, who had scored ten goals in his first 11 appearances for Germany, was also out with a small muscular problem.
A man down and with several key players missing Germany struggled to find its rhythm. Although dominant with close to 70% of possession Die Mannschaft lacked ideas in the final third and was dangerously receptive for Estonian counter-attacks.
In the second half, however, Germany finally found a way through, and it was Gündogan, who opened the scoring with a shot from 18-yards. The Manchester City midfielder would then double the lead five minutes later with a deflected shot from inside the box—the goal was later attributed to Estonia defender Karol Mets as an own goal.
Gündogan on balance was excellent throughout the second 45 minutes. In the 71st minute, he would assist Timo Werner for Germany’s third goal. Involved in all three Germany goals, the central midfielder was easily the man of the match.
It was a performance that on balance might be enough to avoid the sort of political debate on Germany’s national team players of Turkish origin as witnessed ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On balance, Bundestrainer Löw was satisfied with the result in the Estonian capital. “This week was not easy, with all the injuries and everything,” Löw said. “We are pleased."
For Germany, it was an important win in Estonia, as they now go three points clear of third-placed Northern Ireland. With 15 points, Germany shares the top spot in Group C with the Netherlands. The Dutch, however, hold the away-goal tiebreaker thanks to a 4-2 victory over Germany in September—Germany won the first leg between the two countries 3-2 in Amsterdam.
Germany will see out the 2020 European Championship qualification campaign in November with home games against Belarus (Nov. 16 in Mönchengladbach) and Northern Ireland (Nov. 19 in Frankfurt).
Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of the Futbolgrad Network, which focuses on football in the post-Soviet space, the Bundesliga, and football in the Americas. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth
