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Although Havertz stands tall at 193 cm, he is not a traditional center forward, and can't even be called a center forward because Havertz originates from the attacking midfielder position. It was only later, due to Germans learning the Spanish no-striker formation, that Havertz was pushed into the center forward position. This was also the case during his time at Arsenal, where the team focused on possession play and utilized Havertz's good technical skills to lead the center forward position. Now, the German tactical approach has abandoned the old traditional German-style high center forward play of defenders crossing and center forwards seizing points, placing a greater emphasis on the center forward role to support attacking midfielders from behind, playing a connecting role. Thus, Havertz, who has excellent technical skills, continues to occupy the starting center forward position. I think this tactic is likely to continue, because currently, players like Wirtz, Musiala, behind him, Gundogan, and Kroos are all technical players, and this set of short-pass penetration tactics is quite proficient. In this tournament, we can also see midfielders and wing attackers like Musiala, Wirtz, and Gundogan performing quite well, while Havertz, as the co-pilot, has only scored one penalty. As for the traditional German-style high center forward play, it remains as a backup plan, to be used when the team fails to score for a long time, or when they want to change tactics to challenge the opponent's defense, bringing on wing talents like Sané and high center forward Phil Krüger to attack the defense with crossing from the sidelines. I think this is also very correct, allowing these strong attacking players to come on in the second half when the opponent's physical fitness is weaker, thus enhancing their attacking potential. With multiple tactical options, the Germans can go further, and the players selected by the head coach are surely all useful in their own right, making the substitute bench for the national team also very prestigious. |
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