Bayern Munich on the international stage: Germany sweep aside N. Ireland

Several Bayern Munich players featured for die Mannschaft on Thursday as the Germans easily overcame Northern Ireland away from home.

As we, the fans, take a good collective breather from the recent internal and external turmoil taking place at Bayern Munich, some of the clubs most talented players shift their focus to World Cup qualifications. Ideally, a brief change in scenery would provide a confidence boost for the season ahead. Going into the match, Germany had little to do and little pressure to deal with, as they were one point away from booking a spot in Russia for 2018.

Northern Ireland, coming into the game, had built an impressive home record in qualifying. But it wasn’t enough on Thursday. Overall, the Germans put in a solid display, as you would expect. In fairly routine fashion, die Mannschaft notched a convincing 3-1 away win.

Germany in the drivers seat

The Germans had to be composed and wary. It isn’t unlike the champions to be occasionally caught napping in lower-stakes matches. However, they set the tone within the opening five minutes. After applying early pressure, Sebastian Rudy broke the brief deadlock, and in special fashion.

An astray cross picked up carefully by Joshua Kimmich was followed with a careful setup for Rudy to launch an absolute thunderbolt from about 25 yards out. Viciously, the ball fired into the top-right corner giving Michael McGovern no chance. From then on, Northern Ireland was mostly subdued.

Germany had little to worry about in terms of pressing. Possession was calmly transitioned around the pitch thanks to a composed midfield. The Northern-Irish also lacked any hard pressing in the first half, giving Germany even more time on the ball. The Germans continued building momentum in the first 45, leading to doubling the advantage.

Thomas Müller picked a well-placed pass to Hoffenheim’s Sandro Wagner, creating space for himself to shoot on-goal. The 29-year-old evaded an oncoming defender and unleashed a beautiful curled shot 20 yards out. McGovern was once again caught off-guard. Wagner’s shot was well hit and placed, escaping the Irishman’s grasp. The first half was smooth sailing for the Germans.

A mostly quiet second half

Germany, in the second half, were fairly relaxed. Due to a silenced Irish team and overwhelming dominance, there was not much action left. Notably, however, Toni Kroos and Rudy maintained proper control over the midfield. As expected, Kroos was the man dictating the pace of the match. Likewise, however, Rudy is proving with every game he can prove his worth in a starting XI.

The bargain transfer for Bayern Munich provides an additional outlet for Kroos to transition the ball, and extra covering in defense. When need be, Rudy is able to track back and stifle any potential counters. Subsequently, this run of form should hopefully continue to inspire his role at Bayern.

Rudy should be a strong depth piece for the national team — or starting in Khedira’s spot even — and at Bayern Munich as well. His work-horse attitude and professionalism in central-midfield make him a reliable partner with whoever is next to him in a potential defensive-midfield pivot.

Meanwhile in defense, Mats Hummels in large part continued to be the commanding force in the back. Jérôme Boateng saw a welcome return, albeit nothing outstanding. The big German didn’t necessarily disappoint, but he’s understandably working back to form. Aside from a few scares and a collective lapse in the final goal, defending was smooth sailing.

Kimmich the golden boy again

The biggest story of the match was, yet again, Joshua Kimmich. The air of confidence the young German exudes is thoroughly impressive. Most notably, is how confident and mostly consistent he remains at both club and country. While the comparisons to Philipp Lahm can be overly dramatic at the moment, Kimmich constantly shows he’s well on his way.

First on the defensive front, Kimmich, like the rest of the team, didn’t have too much to worry about. Germany kept the Northern Ireland squad mostly at bay aside from a few glaring losses of concentration.  Nonetheless, Kimmich made sure he wasn’t caught in compromising situations to put his team in danger. And for the times that called for attention, he was there to make some important interceptions in the back.

His contributions to offense were once again the highlight of the show. Kimmich’s deft setup for Rudy’s strike gave him yet another tally for his personal stats in qualification play. The young starlet didn’t disappear after that, however. Kimmich was unlucky not to notch two assists on the night as an excellent cross to Wagner’s head slammed the post.

To add the cherry on top of another confident showing, Kimmich lashed in a stray ball in the 86th minute. After another deflected cross, he carefully timed a volley flashing into McGovern’s near-post. While a poacher’s goal to an extent, the technique and timing in the shot was something noteworthy.

Germany unanimously qualify for Russia 2018

This match adds more to Joshua Kimmich’s impressive resume on the international stage. It now goes without saying that Germany and Bayern Munich have now found a unanimous heir to the vacancy that Lahm left at both levels. Should he continue sharpening his one-on-one defending and crossing, his world-class status is imminent.

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Now with their World Cup spot booked, Germany will likely look to freshen up the teams youth against Azerbaijan. The current champions will look to build upon and fine-tune their talented depth before the summer. Should Joachim Löw and company continue form, perhaps we’ll see the Germans become serious contenders in retaining the crown.