Germany Still Have Questions to Answer Despite Big Win over Italy

No, Germany's UEFA Euro 2016 campaign wasn't doomed after they blew a 2-0 lead over England at the weekend. And no, the campaign isn't back on track after they beat Italy 4-1 on Tuesday.

Truth be told, international friendlies, even against bitter rivals such as the Three Lions or the Squadra Azzurra, don't matter much for Germany head coach Joachim Low.

The emphatic win in Munich's Allianz Arena was a sample with little value, considering neither lineup is likely to feature in France in the summer.

Low opted for a fluid 5-2-3 system, presumably in anticipation of a passive Italy, with a double pivot of Toni Kroos and Mesut Ozil and wing-backs Jonas Hector and Sebastian Rudy.

In the absence of team captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who could miss the Euros with a knee injury, Sami Khedira, who picked up a knock in the England game, and Ilkay Gundogan, who nursed a bruised foot in Dortmund during the international break, Low opted for an experiment over practising for an emergency in central midfield.

It worked out well, as Germany produced some very fine combination plays through Ozil's right half-space, including the well-crafted second goal from Mario Gotze:

Gotze's performance in general was one of the main takeaways from the game. The Bayern Munich attacker hasn't had the easiest of times in recent months, having returned from a lengthy injury only to find he's not a big part of Pep Guardiola's plans anymore, and one could see his goal lifted a weight off him:

The 23-year-old's backheel flick to Julian Draxler before Hector's goal to make it 3-0 was indicative of how much confidence Gotze gained with this game:

"

Here it is if you haven't seen it.

Mario Götze showing just how good a talent he is. https://t.co/YPsgoLCJ67

— Alex Chaffer (@AlexChaffer) March 29, 2016"

After Mario Gomez scored against England—his first for Germany in four years—Low can be pretty happy with his options at the front.

The same can't be said about the defence, however. Italy didn't really test Germany, and the back three, led by a strong performance from Mats Hummels, dealt with what little the visitors produced going forward with relative ease.

Take the England match into account, though, and it looks quite different. And Saturday's loss in Berlin wasn't just a fluke. Germany have looked suspect at the back for the entirety of the Euro qualifiers as well, as football writer Lewis Ambrose pointed out at the weekend:

The central defence is sorted as long as Jerome Boateng hits his form after coming back from the groin injury he suffered against Hamburg in the Bundesliga in January. He and Hummels form an outstanding partnership. But both full-back spots are question marks at this point.

Low seems hellbent on starting Cologne defender Hector at left-back, with the 25-year-old starting nine of the last 10 games for Germany. Borussia Dortmund's Marcel Schmelzer, easily the most impressive German left-back in the Bundesliga this season, hasn't been called up since the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

CHRISTOF STACHE/Getty Images

Hector is a serviceable player with a good drive going forward but has obvious limitations in defence that were on display against England, for example. The fact that he's set to start a major tournament for Germany says more about the dearth of left-backs in general and Low's dislike of Schmelzer than about Hector's quality.

The situation is more muddy at right-back, where Low has tried six players since Philipp Lahm retired from international football after hoisting the World Cup in 2014, per Marcus Bark of Sportschau.de (link in German).

Rudy looked better against Italy than Emre Can did against England, but neither those two nor Antonio Rudiger or Matthias Ginter inspire too much confidence as the Euros loom. It wouldn't be too surprising to see Low revert to using a true centre-back out wide, like he did with Benedikt Howedes at left-back in Brazil.

The two friendlies of the March international break didn't provide any clear answers, but no one should have expected those, anyway. Germans have learned not to overreact to these games in recent years.

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