Yes they do ! Marcell Jansen has been a train wreck at left back. The two center halfs are still getting introduced to each other even after two years together. Jens Lehmann has been unconvincing, to say the least. Suffice to say, the German defence looks horrid. Add to that an overwhelmed midfield, an underwhelming attack and an idiotic Schweinsteiger (a red card in a lost game when it was the next game which was going to be crucial !) and the net result is a 1-2 loss to Crotia. Not to say that Croatia is a weak team. Croatia is a strong team but Germany were terrible.
The Germans may not have the best individual players but it's still the same team that got 3rd in the last world cup. It was obvious that the game against Croatia was being played at the Croatians' pace. Now, if the Germans want to progress far, they can't allow that happen. They have to impose their pace on the opposition. That's the reason they went so far in the last World Cup.
And they can start by putting Lahm at left back. He's one of the best left backs in the world and the direction of the Croatia game changed when he was switched from right back to left back. Coach Joachim Loew also needs an alternate plan when Ballack and Frings are outnumbered in central midfield. He needs to seriously consider pushing Podolski upfront to partner Klose. Podolski has been red hot so far (3 goals in 2 games) and the man he would be replacing, Mario Gomez, looks like he'll need a little time to adjust to international football. Of course, the man who would be taking over the left flank if Podolski is pushed up is Schweinsteiger but the darn fool got himself sent off. And I would also have a serious look at dropping Jens Lehmann.
I'm still hoping that the Germans win Euro 2008 but, judging on the game against Croatia, there's a lot of work to be done for the team to make a strong challenge.
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