Kai Havertz has come under fire at half-time of Germany vs Spain at Euro 2024, as Roy Keane thinks he should done “a touch better” with one of his chances.
The Arsenal man has led the line for Germany ahead of Niklas Fullkrug in this tournament, making for a direct comparison between the two. While Gunners legend Ian Wright called Fullkrug “my man” at half-time, suggesting the Dortmund forward might be needed for the hosts, Keane analysed Havertz' play and suggested that although he'd been good, his ITV colleague Wright would've had the ball in the back of the net.
“When you think of prolific goalscorers… it's good pocket play but… I think he could have done a touch better,” Keane said. “Wrighty would probably have scored that! It's good linkup play. [But] he just couldn't get a clean connection on it.”
The runup to this one was rather spikey, with Jens Lehmann belittling Spain for being “a team of kids”, while Joselu of Spain said he’d like to ‘retire’ Toni Kroos. Sure enough, Germany and Spain both started the match scrappily, with Pedro going down injured after just six minutes and getting replaced by Dani Olmo.
Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal had a free-kick whistle past the post within the first 15 minutes in, as the game fizzed from end to end, while on 20 minutes, Havertz had the hosts' best opportunity up until that stage when he nodded into Unai Simon's gloves when he leapt above the Spanish defenders to meet the ball.
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As the game wore on, Havertz started to get the better of the aerial battle with the Spanish defenders, jostling with Robin Le Normand at one stage to pounce upon a long ball, take it down and have an effort on Unai Simon's goal – which became the subject of Keane's analysis. A few minutes later, Olmo had a strike from around 30 yards on Manuel Neuer's goal, which was saved by the veteran stopper.
Both teams were the two favourites for the Euros before a ball was kicked.
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