WC 2018 Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea

The media and some of the fans don't help either. When the going gets tough the media and a certain sector of fans start putting pressure on the team like they are better than they actually are. It becomes a real soap opera and crises situation.

Ian Wright the former English footballer noticed this when he was a studio commentator for FOX during the Confederations. He was dumbfounded and could not believe the expectations the media and fans had for them when their roster was just not as good as the elite teams in the tournament in his opinion.

 

CL finalists have little correlation to the WC. There were no German or Argentine managers in the CL final for 2014. Completely different dynamics and tradition.

I think Germany may reach the final but they historically underperform as holders. France is iffy to me, I think quarterfinals is more realistic.

 

Can't believe I forgot about him...maybe @Noahgghhujjjnbb has a point then?

 

Sweden do I though me in this group in bottom swamp.

.

 

???

Is this one of those sentences where you have to rearrange the words for it to make sense?

 

Doubtful:
Neuer
Özil
Boateng

Not available for certain:
Stindl
Gnabry

 

Hummels is the latest to have a little nagging injury. A foot problem from what I hear.

May not be that serious but it is something to keep an eye on.

 

Korea Republic coach Shin Tae-yong has named a 28 player provisional squad.



GOALKEEPERS
Kim Seung-gyu ....................... Vissel Kobe (JPN)
Kim Jin-hyeon ......................... Cerezo Osaka (JPN)
Cho Hyun-woo ........................ Daegu FC

DEFENDERS
Kim Young-gwon ..................... Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN)
Jang Hyun-soo ........................ FC Tokyo (JPN)
Park Joo-ho ............................. Ulsan Hyundai
Kim Jin-su ............................... Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Lee Yong ................................. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Go Yo-han ................................ FC Seoul
Kim Min-woo ........................... Sangju Sangmu
Hong Chul ................................ Sangju Sangmu
Yun Young-sun ........................ Seongnam FC
Kwon Kyung-won ..................... Tianjin Quanjian (CHN)
Jung Seung-hyun ..................... Sagan Tosu (JPN)
Oh Ban-suk .............................. Jeju United

MIDFIELDERS
Ki Sung-yueng ......................... Swansea City (WAL)
Lee Chung-yong ...................... Crystal Palace (ENG)
Koo Ja-cheol ........................... FC Augsburg (GER)
Lee Jae-sung .......................... Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Jung Woo-young ..................... Vissel Kobe (JPN)
Kwon Chang-hoon ................... Dijon (FRA)
Ju Se-jong ................................ Asan Mugunghwa
Lee Seung-woo ........................ Hellas Verona (ITA)
Moon Seon-min ....................... Incheon United

FORWARDS
Lee Keun-ho ............................. Gangwon FC
Son Heung-min ........................ Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Kim Shin-wook ........................ Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Hwang Hee-chan ..................... Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

 

Interesting. I watched the Poland game too and I'm very sceptical for South Korea.
As of now I can't see them doing anything to be honest. They are a serious candidate to go home with zero points imo.

 

Maybe this will happen
Germany 9 points
Mexico 3 points
Sweden 3 points
S.Korea 3 points

 

Not going to comment too much on them because they are a rival out of respect but I think their main issue is defense.

Their Defense is mostly K-League/CSL players when they used to have players in Europe playing for them. That and Kwak Tae Hwi was a monster as a CB. Their defenders now are error prone which isn't good if you consider Germany's clinical-ness or Mexico's pacey attackers.

 

From a Korean standpoint, we aren't too confident, but the Korean inside me hopes for the best obviously. Our defense took a big hit when Kim Min-Jae who is our best DF went down with an injury. DF has always been a big issue for us ever since Lee Young-Pyo retired in 2011.

Also Shin Tae Yong omits players that many think should have been called up and included players that should not be going, but in the end it's his call. Everyone just hopes that after this WC there is change with both KFA and Shin taking responsibility and there being much needed change.

At best we can probably get a maximum of 4 points, but more realistically 1 or 0. but either way I'll be in Russia shouting "Dae~ Han Min Guk!" and cheering for my team.

 

The last time Germany achieved 9 points in the group stage was 2006 which was an out-lier considering the WC history. No way this team will win all three games. Im ready to take bets on this. In 2006 it almost happened too despite 11-0 shots on target:

 

Here it is! 📋 The provisional #DieMannschaft squad for the 2018 #WorldCup! 🇩🇪🏆 #ZSMMN pic.twitter.com/7HxNQaeU8s

— germanfootball_dfb (@DFB_Team_EN) May 15, 2018

 

Replace Ken Sema with Oscar Hiljemark + add Kristoffer Nordfeldt to the goalkeepers, and there you have the entire 23-man squad that was announced today. I made this back in January, which shows how predictable the selection is, not a single surprise here.

 

That's what happens when you have a team as talented and deep as Germany.

 

For us, Lee Seung Woo being included was a big surprise. But it is definitely an exciting call up.