Agreed. Lahm was a bit slow on the ball at first, but he's the one player on the team with the intelligence and skillset to play that holding role, and ended up playing a great match. Ozil, Gotze, and Muller have the talent to give any team in the world problems; they are three of the most special attacking players in the world. I didn't mention the backline, but while playing 4 CBs reduces the width in the attacking play, it again provides more stability in defense, especially in set pieces. Just a very promising structure and organization now to go along with the supreme talent we've always had.
It will be interesting to see. We definitely won't create the as many clear cut chances, but with the creativity and sheer ability of our front three we should still have some decent chances. It is also possible Low reverts back to a 4-2-3-1 against these sides to bring more dynamism. I think that would be a mistake though, the USA and especially Ghana can be dangerous on the break. We would be better off controlling possession and tiring them out with this lineup, while also creating some chances. If that's not enough, bring on Schurrle and Klose in the last 15 to finish them off.
Wanted to discuss Ozil real quick. He had a good game yesterday, but was the first attacking player subbed and quite early as well. Any thoughts on that? Has he lost his more or less untouchable status in the team? He's clearly not as important in this setup as in the 4-2-3-1 when he was the focal point, but he's our most creative player and one that can always play the key pass. Still, playing out wide requires a lot of tracking back and most of Portugal's opportunities came with Coentrao finding space after overlapping Ronaldo/Nani on Mesut's side. I'm not sure Low will trust him against sides like Brazil and Spain with dominant full backs, and Schurrle could be the better option. Mesut would have to play as the false 9, but with Muller's form it would be difficult to put Thomas out wide. Interesting to hear what you guys think about how Mesut will evolve in this formation.
Absolutely a possibility. He's obviously off to as good a start as anyone, and the fact he seems to be the designated penalty-taker will play a role.
Ozil tends to tire by 60th minute in normal conditions. Add the unusual heat and humidity of the region and it becomes clear he should be the first one to be subbed. I don't think there was a problem with him that Low had to mitigate.
Agreed, although its worth noting that Özil has improved his stamina over the years since 2010, he's still not the strongest in that area. To be honest, I didn't really think much of it.
I agree with this. It was natural to replace him with fresh legs. Leading 3-0 to ten man Portugal means you can afford to rest some of your best players.
Yes and it's a good thing. It's a team that isn't built around Özil anymore. Best thing that could happen to this team. We saw how reliant we were on him since 2009. Everything went through him and part of that created so much unnecessary pressure but it also resulted in Löw not experimenting and improving rest of team. This was the danger having such a specialized playmaker and that was in effect Real Madrid's problem too. On the pitch at least. This helps the team AND Özil in the end.
Agree with this. In the long term, this will allow Mesut to develop into a more well rounded, and better player. But for this tournament, it's possible we could see him dropped in the biggest games, which would be a shame as he's one of the most aesthetically pleasing players to watch.
It's a possibility but I don't think he will. He fits into this 4-3-3 as much as people doubted it. If he is taken off it's probably just to introduce fresh legs and if that happens in big games it's not a problem. Rotation is important in tournaments, especially in one with such a climate.
According to the World Cup 2010 and by the amount of his assists and goals I wouldn't even say so, except against Ghana. Özil was never a kind of player that was the whole team built around like Ronaldo from Portugal. I think without Thomas Müller Germany wouldn't have been so far.
Btw, Hummels and Boateng are examined in hospital. They think Hummels injury may be more serious than they originally thought(found fluid in his knee) What?
Losing Hummels would be a serious blow, luckily we could shift Boateng into the middle, Hoewedes to the right and bring Durm in as LB.
Nothing serious according to Mats. He may miss the Ghana match, though. Jerome could be lightly hurt as he fell on his hand in 1st half against Portugal. I think both should be fine.
Is Hummels out of the tournament? NVM I wouldn't mind Hummels out vs Ghana and just have boateng slot in.. With KG as RB. He's a work horse. Would also wouldn't mind 70th min subs between khedira and bastian I also like the rotation. Between ozil and schurrle
Hummels and Boateng (who hurt his hand/thumb) are currently being examined and are questionable for the match against Ghana. For now, it doesn't seem like any games beyond that one are in danger for either of them.
WTF?! Boateng was fine the whole match and now he's questionable, why is Germany all of a sudden so injury-prone? If this continues, they'll fail to reach the final just because they don't have 11 players together.