On the pitch (which is all I have a clue about), the problems to me seemed to be two in number.
First, the lack of pace left them very vulnerable on the counter attack. Mexico were nippy and should have taken fuller advantage, while Sweden were also pacy enough to give them some problems, but it was really underlined earlier, I thought, by South Korea. South Korea's players looked quite a lot of the time like they were running through treacle. They really didn't seem to be a particularly fast team. And yet if they'd had a clue how to shoot straight, they might have handed out a hiding for the ages.
The other issue is that while Germany have quality throughout the squad, they don't really have a centre forward now Klose has gone (erm ... Klose has gone, right?). It's often simplistic to say that's what teams are lacking when they can't score, but based on their group games I do think it's the case for them.
And the other thing that went wrong, of course, is that they won the last World Cup, and are European.
First, the lack of pace left them very vulnerable on the counter attack. Mexico were nippy and should have taken fuller advantage, while Sweden were also pacy enough to give them some problems, but it was really underlined earlier, I thought, by South Korea. South Korea's players looked quite a lot of the time like they were running through treacle. They really didn't seem to be a particularly fast team. And yet if they'd had a clue how to shoot straight, they might have handed out a hiding for the ages.
The other issue is that while Germany have quality throughout the squad, they don't really have a centre forward now Klose has gone (erm ... Klose has gone, right?). It's often simplistic to say that's what teams are lacking when they can't score, but based on their group games I do think it's the case for them.
And the other thing that went wrong, of course, is that they won the last World Cup, and are European.
Comment