Will Germany's lack of physicality be their downfall?

The Germans were trailing 1-0 to a well-disciplined Ivorian side, and they needed to do something drastic to take control of the match. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann had watched his team get outworked and, at times, bullied by their opponents, and at the hour mark he rolled the dice with a triple substitution.

Needing to match Cote d'Ivoire's directness and athleticism, Nagelsmann made a massive decision: he took out Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Aleksandar Pavlovic, three key players for Die Mannschaft. Taking their place: Deniz Undav, Jamie Leweling and Nadiem Amiri — all tasked with matching the Ivorians' work rate and aggressiveness before the match could get away from the Germans.

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It worked like a charm, with the newly introduced trio injecting a fresh energy into a Germany team that had been second to too many balls and outmuscled on too many challenges. Now, it was Germany's turn to impose their will on the match, and just eight minutes after entering the match Undav repaid Nagelsmann's faith with the equalizing goal.

Undav would ultimately be the hero as he scored again in stoppage time to seal the victory as the Germans came away with all three points.

But as good of a result as it was, there's a lingering concern for Nagelsmann as he prepares for the knockout rounds. As I noted after their first match of this World Cup, a lopsided 7-1 victory over Curaçao, the Germans are susceptible to direct counterattacks, with the tiny Caribbean nation able to quickly bypass the German midfield and go right at the defence.

In that game, Curaçao were able to create the few chances they had by causing chaos with quick bursts downfield, and while the quality gap ultimately won out for Nagelsmann's side it was a warning shot for the rest of the tournament when the opposition would get better.

• Read next | Tactical analysis: How Germany's bench broke stout Cote d'Ivoire defence

And on Saturday against an Ivorian team full of top-class talent, the same problems arose. Led by attacks down the flanks from Yan Diomande and Amad Diallo, the Africans often had Germany scrambling, and with some better finishing Cote d'Ivoire could have claimed a draw or even a win in Toronto.

With the book seemingly out on how to create goal opportunities against this Germany side, can Nagelsmann afford to go back to the same well of Musiala, Sané et al. against Ecuador next week and beyond? Or would an injection of pragmatism and power be the cure for their very glaring flaws?

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