Germany used daring, skill, and size to blow up defensive traps from Japan.
August 15, 2025 by Graham Gerhart in Analysis, Recap
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In a proxy quarterfinal game with everything on the line, two of the smartest offenses so far at the World Games locked heads and threw everything they could against each other. Despite Japan giving it their best effort, Germany dominated the matchup at almost every point in the game, and capped off a very impressive showing in the pool play rounds. How did they do it? Taking advantage of their size, and taking the risky shots that Japan simply wouldn’t, or couldn’t, defend against. So for those taking notes who are tired of sterile offense, here are just a few concepts from Germany’s playbook to add to your arsenal.
Get Comfortable Playing in the Margins
Neither team had a sizable advantage over the other when the disc was in the center of the field. Yes, Germany took more deep shots from the center — we’ll get to that later — and yes, the Europeans forced Japan into short gains with little to no continuation opportunities, but both teams were able to move the disc comfortably when they had the full breadth of the field to work with. Where Germany excelled was in their ability to stretch Japan by playing aggressively when pushed to the sidelines. Germany never looked uncomfortable when trapped on the far side of the field and frequently developed their best offense from that position. Just watch how Germany develops their breakside offense on the first point despite Japan herding them to the far third of the field.
It wasn’t just on the first point that Germany willingly allowed themselves to be brought to a sideline. Certain defensive sets from Japan prioritized a flat mark, allowing Germany to attack the breakside sideline before Japan clamped down on the handlers and orbited to take away the unders. This still didn’t faze Germany, as they used their long, bladey throws and tall receivers to crack open the defense at will.
Germany clearly trusts their throwers to split open a defense no matter where they are on the field, which doesn’t require a lot of trust when those throwers are David Metzger, Nico Muller, and Conrad Schloer. For Japan, this meant that they had nowhere on the field where they felt they could be truly aggressive, and gave Germany a lot of room throughout the entirety of the game to win individual matchups anywhere on the field because the throwers were willing to put it from anywhere.
Over the Top Throws are Your Friend
For too long, the narrative against over-the-top throws has permeated through elite ultimate. They’re less accurate, more risky, and often have a longer flight time than flat throws. Germany must not have gotten the memo on this. They frequently tore through Japan’s poaches and zones by releasing the vertical blade or hammer throw even if a safer around would have got the disc back to a reset handler. Germany didn’t want to take the safe shot, they wanted to win.
Bladey throws and over-the-top shots also provided another advantage for Germany. The team knew they had the edge over Japan with height and jumping prowess, but throughout the World Games so far, they had been very effective in limiting teams from using that against them. Germany’s hammers and blades countered Japan perfectly. The throws sailed well over the defenders sitting in the throwing lanes, and punished any poaching that Japan set up to attack deep cutters. Japan’s gameplan relied on Germany not being able to get the disc to the far breakside receiver, but the Europeans were equally set on making that throw happen, which they accomplished to great effect.
Aggressively Attack What’s Being Taken Away
In many ways, Germany overpowered Japan on offense with brute force. They were a wave crashing against the Japanese defense again and again with deep cuts or well-developed unders. More often than not, they attacked the Japanese defense in situations where one would normally expect an offense to balk. Japan would frequently set up the bait, only for Germany to take the bait and win the matchup anyway.
Germany’s strength in this game often came down to trusting players to get the disc. At this level, that’s a given. Players have to own their matchups without question. There aren’t opportunities like there can be at other levels of the sport. Defenses are going to be prepared and try to force teams into an uncomfortable position, and often it just comes down to whether or not an offense can work its way out of that predicament.
In the final point of the game, Japan’s defense had everything they wanted. They had pushed the handlers back into their own end zone, Germany’s stack was far too deep, and they had a FMP matching player as the deepest player on the field. It didn’t matter. Germany still took the deep shot, trusting Schloer, and it paid off.
In both instances cited, it did come down to Schloer making a play. So maybe the lesson here is to have a generational talent like Schloer on the team. We’ll call that the final takeaway of the German offensive playbook. Having the best players in the world on your team doesn’t hurt.
