Hansi Flick, the national coach of the German football team, is planning a tactical innovation for the first European Championship preparatory game. The game will be held on Saturday in Mainz against Peru. Flick will use a 4-2-2-2 system with two leaders, Timo Werner and Niclas Füllkrug.
Flick has always stuck to the system with only one leader in his 19 international matches. But for the home EM 2024, he is willing to neglect his own principles to test new options. The decision for double leadership also fell because Werner and Füllkrug harmonized well in the units on the new DFB campus in Frankfurt.
Füllkrug leads the Bundesliga top scorer list with 15 goals, making him a great hope for the DFB. He and partner Marvin Ducksch form the most prolific attacking duo in the league, scoring 23 goals in 25 games.
Füllkrug explained the advantages of the new system, The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. As the only tip you play a lot with smack passes. You can be extremely variable with a second striker. We have a lot of players in the national team who embody that extremely well and know how to put opponents in dangerous situations.
Flick emphasized the importance of defensive rehearsals in the training week. The back four must be well-rehearsed, have automatisms, and do their defensive tasks. The new system will be tested against Peru on Saturday, and goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will be in goal for both games, including the next one against Belgium in Cologne.
