(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)
Loading...The Group Stages in the World Cup are always full of mixed surprises and unexpected twists and turns at every end. This edition of World Cup is no different and we’ve already had a lot of speculation in the first round of group stages.
This time, the World Champions have fallen in the opening fixture, and at the biggest stage too. Germany suffered a defeat at the hands of a thrilling North American side, Mexico, and this is by far the most surprising results of the group stages. Germany lost 1-0 Many believe this defeat is similar to the one Spain lost in the 2014 world cup against a tactically astute Netherlands.
Germany never looked up to the mark and were fragile in the back. There was too much space for Mexico to work in. Their goal was a great illustration of their game plan – They won the ball high up the field; a few passes later, Hirving Lozano had turned Mesut Ozil inside out and given El Tri the lead.
The space between the two center-backs and midfield was occupied gladly by Carlos Vela, who had a great game. Those two delivered a warning shot right in the open stages when they combined for a chance that could have brought a goal.
Joshua Kimmich was identified by Low as Germany’s most important tactical weapon and he got forward plenty on the right. But the problems started when Mexico won the ball back. The decision of picking Draxler ahead of Reus didn’t seem to pay off well either. The Germans looked frustrated after a while and their attack looked impotent. The closest Germany got to scoring a goal was from a free-kick
Mexico often sat back and allowed Germany to attack but denied them any kind of space inside the box or near the penalty area. This gave the Mexicans a chance to counter-attack and catch Germany off guard, as it did for the first goal. Mexican striker Layun missed a couple of brilliant opportunities and saw one of his shot go just above the crossbar. It could easily have been more than 1-0, and on several occasions too. Mexican fans were loving every moment in this game and the made sure of in every minute of the game, inside the stadium.
Germany are going to have to step-up and improve tactically if they are to proceed anywhere near the knockout stages. Their next game is against Sweden on 23/06.
Mexico, on the other hand, looks comfortable with a win over the World Champions and will have a belief that they can go all the way in this tournament. Their next game is against South Korea on 23/06
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