VfB Stuttgart vs Everton: Pre-Season Friendly Highlights
The Neckar is shimmering in the heat and so is the spectacle. Forty-five minutes before a ball is even kicked, VfB Stuttgart turn a pre-season friendly into a full-blown production.
Inside the MHPArena, the lights dim, the music thumps and, one by one, every member of the home squad is introduced in wrestling-meets-boxing style. Fireworks crack, individual walk-on songs blare, and it all begins, naturally, with an alligator.
Fritzle, Stuttgart’s mascot, strides out first, soaking up the kind of attention usually reserved for star forwards. There is even a photo op with a robot. Of course there is. This is pre-season as theatre, and the home club lean into it.
While the Stuttgart players bask in their pyrotechnic fanfare, Everton’s arrival could hardly be more different. The visiting squad jogs out to warm up almost unnoticed, slipping onto the pitch while the stadium MC continues his interviews and introductions. The contrast is stark, almost comic: Stuttgart’s players step into the spotlight one by one; Everton’s step into the shadows and get on with it.
Selection subplots for Everton
Beneath the noise and novelty, there is a serious football story. The Everton XI offers a few clues about where this squad might be heading.
At the back, the headline is clear: Jarrad Branthwaite and Jake O’Brien start together in central defence. It is a partnership many have wanted to see, and now it gets a proper look. Branthwaite’s inclusion on consecutive weekends, alongside Hayden Hackney’s place in midfield, points to positive progress in their fitness and sharpness.
O’Brien, crucially, is finally stationed in his natural role at centre-back. That decision, though, forces another compromise. With no new right-back signed despite the ongoing search and the public frustration that has even drawn comment from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, someone has to cover the role. Today, that “square peg” is Merlin Röhl, shunted out to right-back to plug the gap.
In midfield, the shape hints at a tweak. With Iroegbunam, Armstrong and Hackney all named together, the configuration looks more like a 4-3-3 than a 4-2-3-1. It’s a subtle shift, but one that could matter as Everton try to find better balance between control and protection.
Further forward, there is quiet encouragement in the inclusion of Dibling from the start. This week feels important for him; this game, a chance to catch form and stake a claim before the competitive fixtures close in.
Up front, the job share continues. Beto and Thierno Barry are still effectively taking turns to lead the line in pre-season, a rotation that keeps both involved while the coaching staff weigh their options for the campaign ahead.
A day of split focus
The club’s attention is not entirely in Germany. While Everton test themselves against strong Bundesliga opposition in Stuttgart, Goodison Park stirs back into life.
With the new pitch at Deepdale still bedding in, Preston North End’s Carabao Cup tie with Huddersfield Town has been moved to the Grand Old Lady. Men’s senior football returns there for the first time since Everton’s 2-0 win over Southampton on May 18 last year, a reminder of how quickly the landscape can shift.
Back in the MHPArena, Joe Thomas settles into the press box, looking out over a ground that mixes old and new on the banks of the Neckar River. The heat is oppressive, the stands are filling, and the Everton players, already in the building, wait to begin their warm-up.
There is no Bilal El-Khannouss in the Stuttgart squad after his exploits with Morocco at the World Cup, though he has already enjoyed a hero’s welcome from the home crowd. The sense of celebration around the hosts only underlines the challenge facing Everton in this second German friendly, a week on from their 2-1 win in Hamburg.
The dressing room is ready, the line-up questions mostly answered. One lingers above the rest: in a stadium lit by fireworks and mascots, can this evolving Everton side quietly piece together something more important than a show — a shape, a partnership, a plan that will actually last beyond pre-season?
