Arsenal star Kai Havertz has been the subject of criticism for the German national Team in recent days, but he kept his place in the side.
There were suggestions that the Arsenal attacker would lose his starting spot, or be forced into a midfield role to accommodate Borussia Dortmund striker Nicklas Fullkrug, but Havertz was selected to start upfront for Germany in their Euro 2024 last-16 tie with Denmark.
Havertz had some promising moments in the first half, firing a volley at Kasper Schmeichel before testing the Denmark goalkeeper again with a fierce header.
The Arsenal star then opened the scoring with a penalty in the second half, firing into the bottom right corner, but missed a glorious chance to add a second when he fired wide, having produced an outstanding piece of skill to find himself in a 1v1 situation.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou praises Kai Havertz movement in Germany vs Denmark Euro 2024 clash
With the game temporarily suspended in the 34th minute as a result of adverse weather conditions, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, on pundit duty for ITV, praised Havertz’s movement, and highlighted how he adds another dimension to Mikel Arteta’s team.
“I think with Havertz, he is one of those players where a lot of people because they can’t pigeon-hole him into one position, they struggle to find ways to kind of judge his contribution,” Postecoglou stated of recent criticism towards Havertz.
“One thing he does have is he is really smart with his movement. He always finds little areas to play it forward. Once he gets into the box, he is a decent finisher at times and then he brings other players into it.
“A lot of his work is about creating space for others. When you play Arsenal in particular, they don’t have this focal point where you can say we will shut down this area. They have got so much movement, and he is their catalyst to that.
“He has got the height, he has got the physical presence, and he is always present for the ball. He is one of those because you can’t sort of pin him down to one position, is he a midfielder, is he is a 10, is he a 9, when you are setting up against him, he can cause you a lot of problems.”
Kai Havertz answers critics but shows limitations in Germany win over Denmark
Havertz’s movement was excellent throughout the game, and he helped fashion chances for his teammates whilst also creating more space for the likes of Jamal Musiala to thrive.
The 25-year-old played at centre-forward until Fullkrug came on, and he dropped into a slightly deeper role as a second striker.
His overall performance was strong, and was enough to keep him in the starting XI for the quarter-finals. However, his finishing may be later highlighted as a cause for concern.
Havertz could have also added a second in the dying minutes as Florian Wirtz found him in space, but his shot was tipped wide.
Havertz’s four big chances – the early volley, first-half header, 1v1 miss and final shot, may have been taken by a more clinical striker. He is a forward who can elevate the level of an attacking side, but questions still remain over whether he can be the main goalscorer for Arsenal or Germany when leading the line.
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