Germany vs Sweden: Five things we learned
With Argentina struggling and on the brink of an early exit, all eyes turned to Germany in their must-win clash with Sweden. Will die Mannschaft be the latest victims of the “champions curse”? Will fans see another big side looking set for a short stay in Russia? Or will the European giants awaken from their slumber and finally get up and running?
Meanwhile, Sweden, having already seen off South Korea, were desperate to book their ticket to the round of 16. They may not have overwhelmed their Asian opponents, but it was a solid, practical showing that got them the result they needed without much fuss. 1-0 is more than enough to win a game, and that’s what Sweden was hoping for as they aimed to join Mexico in the first knock-out rounds. And it seemed like they had achieved just that as the teams headed into the half-time hiatus, only for Germany to come swinging back during the second 45.
However, by the time the dust settled, the score-line read 2-1, meaning that the reigning champs are very much still alive, much to the chagrin of many other sides who were hoping to see die Mannschaft suffer an early departure.
1. VAR still needs some major sorting out
In the early part of the first half, Sweden’s Marcus Berg capitalized on a giveaway by Antonio Rudiger only for Jerome Boateng to push him down in the box. Replays showed it as a clear-cut penalty, but somehow, VAR managed to miss out on this and die Mannschaft were given a lucky break.
Janne Andersson’s side and Swedish fans were rightfully incensed, but despite their protests, the decision still stood. VAR has done a decent job, notably reversing a spot-kick given to Brazil after Neymar was judged to have dived to win a penalty, but this incident in the Germany-Sweden tie clearly shows that there are still some flaws with the new system.
2. Defensive woes, defensive woes, and more defensive woes for Germany…
Germany has looked far from solid at this summer’s tournament, and one major issue the reigning champions have had is in defense. Jerome Boateng, in particular, does not look 100 percent ready and seems to be struggling both for form and fitness. His clumsy push on Berg nearly gifted Sweden an early-spot kick, and against Mexico, he was pulled out of position repeatedly and has not appeared confident since returning to the fold after a long injury lay-off. This was exemplified with his clumsy tackle late on Berg to earn his second yellow and leave Germany to have to play the rest of the game with ten men.
3. …and up front, there are some issues to address
Thomas Muller’s woes in front of goal continue, and indeed, the Bayern Munich star has not had a great past couple of years by his lofty standards. At EURO 2016, he failed to register a goal and became the first Germany player to miss a penalty in a shoot-out since Uli Stielke missed at the 1982 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Timo Werner has yet to make his mark on this tournament despite his impressive showings for RB Leipzig, and Julian Draxler, who captained the side during the 2017 Confederations Cup, also has largely failed to ignite. Veteran striker Mario Gomez, however, has looked solid when brought on as a sub, and it will be interesting to see if he will finally get a start in Germany’s last group stage game against South Korea.
4. But write off Germany at your own peril!
For all the team’s attacking issues, Marco Reus showed why he deserved a call-up after finally shaking off his injury problems. The Borussia Dortmund man put in a good shift – albeit with a touch of understandable rustiness here and there – but was vital in Germany’s fightback with the equalizing goal. And Toni Kroos, whose giveaway sparked Sweden’s goal, made amends with a fantastic free-kick to give a ten-man side a much-needed win in stoppage time.
5. That being said, Sweden isn’t down and out
Sweden will still be reeling after seeing a 1-0 advantage turn into a 2-1 loss. However, they aren’t out of the competition just yet, and could certainly cause problems for Mexico on matchday three. Whilst Germany will be expected to beat Korea to set up an interesting three-way battle for two spots, don’t rule out Sweden from making sure they are still in contention on matchday three. After all, their plan – to score a goal and then defend – did work for 45 minutes. Even up until 90 minutes, they were happy to hold on for a draw against a 10-man Germany, only to see their efforts come to naught thanks to Kroos’s brilliant effort.
They’ll bring that same staunchly defensive approach against Mexico should they grab the go-ahead goal, and things could really get interesting on the final matchday. Just like the tournament’s organizers would want it.
