Best of Group F

A simplified look at Group F from a historical perspective and the current situation
Note: Country's best player Information taken from Wikipedia page. Match Report from several on-line articles


Germany

History
World Cup Winners: 4 times (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
European Cup Winners: 3 times (1972, 1980, 1996)

World Cup Appearances: 18 times
1930: Did not enter
1934: Third
1938: First round (Straight knockout format)
1950: Banned
1954: Winners
1958: Fourth
1962: Quarter-finals
1966: Runners-up
1970: Third
1974: Winners
1978: Quarter-finals
1982: Runners-up
1986: Runners-up
1990: Winners
1994: Quarter-finals
1998: Quarter-finals
2002: Runners-up
2006: Third
2010: Third
2014: Winners

Best World Cup Match: Germany 7-1 Brazil (2014)
'It was the night Germany removed the crown from football royalty. They did so with their own version of the beautiful game and, by the time they had finished, Brazil had suffered an ignominy that was so extreme and implausible it felt as though a black marker pen had been taken to the pages of their football history.' The Guardian

'No team in that famous shirt has ever suffered in the way Luiz Felipe Scolari’s did during a brutal first half in which Germany scored five times in 19 minutes and played as though their opponents might as well have been invited from the beach. Brazil had not lost a competitive match at home since 1975 but they were not just removed from their own World Cup. They were embarrassed in a way that will make them look back on this tournament and want to shelter their eyes. It was football’s equivalent of chewing on broken glass and they should probably just be grateful Germany did not make it even more harrowing after Andre Schürrle had added another two goals in the second half.' The Guardian

Best player: Franz Beckenbauer
'Early in his playing career he was nicknamed Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the field. He is widely regarded to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. A versatile player who started out as a midfielder, Beckenbauer made his name as a central defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper or libero. Twice named European Footballer of the Year, Beckenbauer appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three FIFA World Cups. He is one of only two men, along with Brazil's Mário Zagallo, to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager; he lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990. He was the first captain to lift the World Cup and European Championship at international level and the European Cup at club level. He was named in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was listed in the FIFA 100 of the world's greatest living players. At club level with Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1967 and three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976.'

Present
World Cup Qualification: Group winners
Performance at Continental Championship: Semi-finals
Most Notable Match in Qualification: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland (Away)
Most important player: Toni Kroos


Sweden

History
World Cup Appearances: 11 times
1930: Did not enter
1934: Quarter-finals
1938: Fourth
1950: Third
1954: Did not qualify
1958: Runners-up
1962: Did not qualify
1966: Did not qualify
1970: Group stage
1974: Quarter-finals
1978: Group stage
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Did not qualify
1990: Group stage
1994: Third
1998: Did not qualify
2002: Second round
2006: Second round
2010: Did not qualify
2014: Did not qualify

Best World Cup Match: Sweden 2-2 (a.e.t.) Romania (1994)
'This was a truly classic match, which had everything. Goals, saves, sending off’s and penalties. For Sweden they had come through a massive test against an excellent Romanian side and had sent their supporters into a frenzy.' Byfarthegreatestteam.com

'THE 1994 TOURNAMENT featured a number of teams that quickly became cult favourites. Romania were blessed with The Holy Trinity of Hagi, Dumitrescu and Raducioiu up front while Bulgaria had the mercurial talents of Stoichkov and the support of Letchkov and Kostadinov. They also had a goalkeeper, Borislav Mihailov, who was voted the tournament’s best but who is better remembered for having the most famous wig in football. But it’s the Swedish team, with the baby-faced playmaker Tomas Brolin and the attacking exploits of Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin, who lit up America. The bulk of the side had already experienced a disastrous World Cup in 1990 where they failed to pick up a point and finished bottom of their group. The nucleus stayed together and enjoyed an immensely successful European Championship campaign two years later where they were beaten by Germany in a thrilling semi-final clash. Brolin was the team’s star, scoring three times.' The42

Best player: Gunnar Nordahl
'A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at A.C. Milan from 1949 to 1956, in which he won the Scudetto twice, and also the title of pluricapocannoniere, with an unprecedented five top scorer (Capocannonieri) awards, more than any other player in the history of the Italian championship. Nordahl is Milan’s all-time record goalscorer, and he long held the record for most goals for a single club in the history of Italian league, before being surpassed by Francesco Totti in January 2012. Nordahl is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish football players of all-time, and regarded as one of the best strikers in football history. In 2017, he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of all time, at the 54th position. He won four Swedish championships with IFK Norrköping. During his time in Swedish clubs, Nordahl scored 149 goals in 172 matche. Nordahl is the third-highest Serie A goalscorer of all time, with 225 goals in 291 matches, the top goalscorer among non-Italian players, and he is also the most efficient goalscorer goals in Serie A ever with 0.77 goals/match. Nordahl played for Roma for two seasons. Nordahl's record for most goals scored in Serie A of 35 in 1949–50 in a season was broken by Gonzalo Higuaín in the 2015–16 season who scored 36. Nordahl, together with the mentioned Gre-No-Li is today legendary in Milan. He helped Sweden to win the Olympic football tournament, becoming the tournament's top scorer on the way. Nordahl's transfer to Milan forced him to retire from the national team, as the rules at the time prevented professionals from the Swedish national team, being not called to 1950 FIFA World Cup along his fellows Gren and Liedholm. In his 33 matches in the national team, he scored a total of 43 goals.'

Present
World Cup Qualification: Play-offs winners
Performance at Continental Championship: Group stage
Most Notable Match in Qualification: Sweden 1-0 Italy (Home)
Most important player: Emil Forsberg


Mexico

History
Concacaf Championships Winners: 10 times (1965, 1971, 1977, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015)

World Cup Appearances: 15 times
1930: Group stage
1934: Did not qualify
1938: Did not enter
1950: Group stage
1954: Group stage
1958: Group stage
1962: Group stage
1966: Group stage
1970: Quarter-finals
1974: Did not qualify
1978: Group stage
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Quarter-finals
1990: Banned
1994: Second round
1998: Second round
2002: Second round
2006: Second round
2010: Second round
2014: Second round

Best World Cup Match: Mexico 1-2 (a.e.t.) Argentina (2006)
'This was a minor classic of a match and the ebb and flow of the arguments afterwards mirrored the rhythm of play from 28 players utterly at ease with the ball in compressed space. Once it became clear early on that Mexico had brought a plan of action to the table and had the ability and energy to implement it, Argentina were in for a test.' The Guardian

'The Mexicans certainly were not in awe of the Argentinian reputations and seemed to come into the match with a plan to attack, hoping to force their more fancied opponents onto the back foot. This worked for a time, and Argentina could not match the Mexicans' up-tempo rhythm.' ABC

Best player: Hugo Sánchez
'A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, Sánchez is widely regarded as Mexico's greatest-ever footballer, and one of the greatest players of his generation. In 1999, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics voted Sánchez the 26th best footballer of the 20th century, and the best footballer from the CONCACAF region. In 2004 Sánchez was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. He is the fourth highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, the third highest scoring foreign player after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and is the sixth highest goalscorer in Real Madrid's history. Sánchez began his career playing for Club Universidad Nacional in 1976, he moved to Spain to play for Atlético Madrid, playing for the Colchoneros for four years before moving to cross-town rivals Real Madrid, where he would spend the best years of his career, winning numerous titles and accolades. From 1977 to 1994, Sánchez was a member of the Mexico national team, gaining 58 caps and scoring 29 goals. He participated in three FIFA World Cup tournaments and was a part of the Mexico team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup. In 1992, he won the 1992 CONCACAF Champions' Cup with Club América before playing for a variety of clubs in Spain, Austria and the USA. He helped Mexico win the 1977 CONCACAF Championship to seal qualification for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. Sánchez was a part of the Mexico team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup on home soil, losing out to eventual runners-up West Germany in a penalty shootout. He later played a key role in helping Mexico to the final of the 1993 Copa América.'

Present
World Cup Qualification: First in CONCACAF
Performance at Continental Championship: Semi-finals
Most Notable Match in Qualification: Mexico 2-0 Costa Rica (Home)
Most important player: Javier Hernández


South Korea

History
Asian Cup Winners: Twice (1956, 1960)

World Cup Appearances: 9 times
National team formed in 1948
1950: Did not enter
1954: Group stage
1958: Did not enter
1962: Did not qualify
1966: Did not enter
1970: Did not qualify
1974: Did not qualify
1978: Did not qualify
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Group stage
1990: Group stage
1994: Group stage
1998: Group stage
2002: Fourth
2006: Group stage
2010: Second round
2014: Group stage

Best World Cup Match: South Korea 1-0 Portugal (2002)
'The Koreans fully deserved to reach the last 16 for the first time in their history after tearing apart a Portuguese side who had Joao Pinto and Beto sent off.' BBC

'Portugal were clearly shellshocked by the Koreans' pace and power and on the rare occasion they managed a break Figo completely missed the ball before being easily dispossessed on the touchline.' BBC

Best player: Cha Bum-kun
'Nicknamed Tscha Bum in Germany ("Cha Boom") because of his name and his thunderous ball striking ability. The nickname was first used by the German Kicker Magazine, which also named Cha as one of the greatest footballers of the 1980s. After developing into the top player in his country, Cha wanted to play in Germany's Bundesliga. In South Korea, Cha is greatly respected for his accomplishments in the Bundesliga and the South Korean national team. During his career, Cha has played for SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and represented his national side 135 times, scoring 58 goals. He was given the title Asia's Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for the South Korean national team. He was widely considered one of the best forwards in the Bundesliga throughout his career. Frankfurt went on to win the UEFA Cup in the 1979–80 season and Cha was awarded Man of the Match in the final. He would transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in 1983, he won a second UEFA Cup with them in 1988, after a long Bundesliga career spanning 308 games in which he scored 98 goals (none from penalty kicks), then the highest for a foreign player in the league. Over his 10-year career, he received only one yellow card. He played at the 1972 Asian Cup where he scored a goal and reached the final before the team lost to Iran. His last international tournament was the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals in Mexico.'

Present
World Cup Qualification: Second-placed (Final Round of the 2 Asian Qualifying Groups)
Performance at Continental Championship: Runners-up
Most Notable Match in Qualification: South Korea 0-0 Uzbekistan (Away)
Most important player: Son Heung-min