Germany Under-21 boss Rainer Adrion has vowed to take the game to Spain when the countries clash on Sunday.
The match in the Netanya Municipal Stadium is a must-win one for the Germans, who went down to a last-gasp 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands in their opening game, and Adrion says they will adopt a more risky approach against the defending champions.
“Spain have a lot of quality in attack, some big names in defence and they have a solid squad overall. For us it is important to make our qualities count in defence and going forward.
“We have analysed Spain and have huge respect for them. We need to defend against them as a unit – there will be no man-marking for Isco or any other player,” he told UEFA’s official website.
“If we manage to stop their attacks and switch to attack immediately, then Spain are vulnerable. We need to exploit the spaces in midfield, but will also require precision with our final passes.
“We will not play with a defensive formation. You saw against the Netherlands that a more risky approach suits our playing style more.
“Perhaps the opponent gets a bit more space that way, but we don't want Spain to have too much possession. We want to have most of the possession ourselves and put Spain under pressure.”
However, Adrion does not believe the power base in European football has shifted from Spain to Germany – at least not just yet.
“Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich impressively beat Spanish sides in the Champions League. Two Spanish teams were eliminated then, but if that's part of a trend it can only be judged in a few years.
“We need at least one or two more years to say that there has been a shift in power,” he added.
