For the second time in a row, Germany, the long-lasting success of football, made it to the first group in the men’s World Cup. A goal difference lower than Spain left the Germans third in their group.
Germany had several good scoring opportunities in Thursday night’s match against Costa Rica. In the end, the ineffectiveness seen during the games only resulted in a 4–2 victory.
– A really large number of high-quality goal chances were wasted, also in the match against Japan. That’s what Germany partly fell into, Urheilu’s football expert Jonne Kunnas says.
The first place in Group E was taken by Japan with six points, which beat Spain 2–1 in the final round. Spain was the group leader with four points, with a goal difference of 9–3, and left behind Germany, which was on the same points, with a goal difference of 6–5. Group jumbo Costa Rica got three points.
Germany’s fate was sealed by Japan’s winning goal, which might have looked questionable on TV. In the situation, the ball seemed to go completely outside the field of play.
However, the animation below shows that it is an optical illusion. By changing the camera angle, it can be shown that part of the ball was on the end line, even though there was grass between the ball and the end line: if a straight line were drawn from the end line towards the sky, it would hit the ball.
The animation is not a direct modeling of Japan’s goal position. Fifa has not released the videos or photos on the basis of which Japan’s goal was accepted.
Below you can see the entire situation that led to Japan’s winning goal and the goal summary of the Japan-Spain match.
That one bad half
In reality, the seeds of Germany’s relegation were sown already in the opening match, which they lost to Japan 1–2. Expert Kunnas states that Germany played one bad half in the World Cup and it happened in that match.
– Staying in the starting group is definitely a crisis, but if you look at Germany’s game performances behind the results, I didn’t think it would happen.
Kunnas says that during the tournament, Germany controlled the ball, produced scoring opportunities and the team’s counter-press worked well. Germany just couldn’t find a scorer.
Germany had 25 scoring attempts against Japan, 10 against Spain and 32 against Costa Rica. In total, Germany had 67 attempts, of which 24 were on goal and six were in the back of the net.
According to Kunnas, the reason for that was that the team did not have a clear number one striker. During the tournament, they played at the top Thomas Müller, Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug. Havertz scored two goals against Costa Rica, Füllkrug scored against both Spain and Costa Rica, and Müller was scoreless.
There were also challenges in defending Germany. It didn’t succeed in its own penalty area and it reacted poorly to quick changes in situations. Of them, Japan vaccinated and won.
Kunnas says Japan’s game plan was exactly the same against Spain.
– In both matches, Japan defended deep in their own half of the field in the first half. It allowed the opposition to completely control the game, but did not allow an insane amount of good scoring opportunities. At the breaks with a goal down, and then in the second half it sped up and used the goal posts really effectively.
Japan had 30 goal attempts, nine shots on goal and four goals scored in the opening group.
The best in the world are exhausted from Germany
Last time, when Germany progressed from the first group to the next, the team lifted the World Cup trophy. At the time, the lineup included the world’s best players in their respective positions: Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, Philipp LahmThomas Müller…
Now, players with a similar profile might not have been found in the team, though Antonio Rudiger and Manuel Neuer they are excellent.
– This team was full of top players and the game had elements to go far in the tournament. As for the more experienced players, we have to wonder if they will still be able to do well at the value tournament level in the future? And will there be enough high-quality players for crucial playing positions in the future?
Kunnas is also ready to buy into the speculation that the German team would be exhausted by leading players. However, it is impossible to judge team dynamics from the outside.
– There you can find leaders that you can’t even think about as a bystander. This matter is certainly still being thought about in Germany.
The municipality believes that Hansi Flick can still continue as the head coach of the national team. Flick is a person who was washed against the wishes of the German Football Association.
– Flick was the figure who was wanted to build a new Germany after the last games. I don’t think he will be traded based on these results.