Guardiola is responsible for Germany's successes - not their failures

A former Germany international has claimed that an obsession with possession first instigated at Bayern Munich under Pep has hurt the national team

Hans-Peter Briegel is very much correct in asserting that a team does not need 75 per cent possession to win a match or a tournament.

Briegel, who tasted victory at the 1980 European Championship as part of the West Germany team, cited the example of France, who were as comfortable out of possession as they were with the ball when winning the World Cup last summer.

France had the right kind of squad to play the reactive game. Why blunt the weapons of Kylian Mbappe, to name just one, by playing passes straight to his feet when the option was there…