As the referee drew to a close a fantastic final 45 minutes in Fortaleza, many of us were left wondering just who will win this summer’s World Cup. On a day which saw another pre-tournament favourite Argentina just about edge out Iran, all eyes were on many people’s tip to win the whole competition – Germany.
The Black Stars lined up as the German’s second opponents in the competition and gave a great account of themselves, holding the three time winner’s to a pulsating 2-2 draw. It meant Die Mannschaft had failed to win their second group game of a World Cup since back in 1994 but it shouldn’t a worry for the Germans – they sit top of Group G and will probably continue to do so following Portugal’s clash with the United States on Sunday.
Joachim Low had opted to play the same line-up that had seen of the Portuguese by four goals to nil as there had been no fresh injury concerns despite the circulating rumour that Mats Hummels would be rested and Jerome Boateng would be replaced by Shkodran Mustafi to inject some pace into the otherwise rigid fullbacks.
Low’s trademark 4-2-3-1 formation was in full swing once more with no room for Bastian Schweinsteiger who had been passed fit to start as Low decided Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira could take the reins alongside Philipp Lahm in the defensive midfield areas. A choice that brought its own repercussions, of course. During the game it was clear Khedira looked a shade of the player he was before the long term injury he sustained over a year ago and it would have been a better choice to have elected to have paired up the Bayern duo of Schweinsteiger and Lahm to sit in the anchor roles instead.
As soon as the 29 year old came on to join his club teammate and captain, Germany fell into a much more controlling phase of the game as they grabbed the leveller just a minute after his introduction. It would prove a daring move for the German manager to play Khedira over Schweinsteiger against the United States in the final group game.
Attack seems not to be a problem for Low’s men, however – the ever roaming Thomas Muller turned provider for Mario Gotze to net the first goal of the game and his freedom to roam the pitch has proved vital to giving the German’s a unique way of playing.
Witnessing Spain playing no forwards during their World Cup victory of 2010 and the European Championships in 2012 came as a surprise to all watching but Germany do have a centre forward on the pitch, yet he fails to play directly there. Not only does Muller cover the basic centre forward position, he also covers the left and right wings before falling into the ‘Totti’ role of sitting between the attacking midfielder and the striker. It allows Gotze to roam into a centre forward position and when actual strikers Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose enter the fray it allows Muller to adopt that Totti-esque role.
Muller’s fantastic performances so far in this World Cup haven’t gone unnoticed but it was a match to be remembered for his attacking compatriot Klose, who netted his fifteenth World Cup goal – joining Ronaldo as the top goal scorers across the World Cup’s they’ve participated in. Klose is expected to play some part of Germany’s final Group game to give the 36-year-old a chance of toppling the Brazilian’s record and making history by netting sixteen times.
Goals aren’t the issue for Low but defensively after Saturday’s result saw many question if the Germans are strong enough at the back. The surprise exclusion of Marcel Schmelzer meant the first choice left back is Schalke’s Benedikt Howedes – usually a centre half and the first choice right back is Boateng – also usually a centre half. With Low adopting Pep Guardiola’s vision of playing Lahm in the midfield meant this had to be the case unless he had opted to have started Mustafi in Boateng’s place and it proved a major point after he had been brought on and injected some much need pace into the fullbacks to help out the cause.
Without Holger Badstuber, Per Mertesacker partners Mats Hummels in the heart of the defence and in a sport becoming heavily reliant on footballers being athletes mean, despite for all the refined abilities both have, their lack of pace can be a massive factor in the modern game.
These day’s teams look to have one ball playing centre half and the other to be the no nonsense defender – Germany bring this completely. However, the speed of the players is now more important than ever and it’s something Hummels lacks, and Mertesacker particulary. Between going ahead and until levelling at 2-2, Germany were completely undone by the pace of Ghana’s attack.
They’re a very well organised team Germany and it is why Low puts so much emphasis on playing two deep midfielders to aid the defence. However the interesting occasions are yet to unfold. It’s possible Germany could meet Belgium in the first knockout who come with not just a lot of talent, but a lot of pace and power up front.
It will be intriguing to see how Low’s men deal with another fast paced team in the final third; it could prove to be the undoing of Germany.
