Calls for a major overhaul of the national game after humiliating World Cup exit go too far. What is more important is to give a chance to talented young players such as Leroy SanéGermans are used to seeing our national team lose – it has happened before and will happen again – but what we are not used to is seeing them leave a World Cup at the group stages, and especially in the manner that has taken place at this tournament. It is a big surprise, a huge disappointment, and it has left me and many of my compatriots feeling completely empty.After the dramatic victory over Sweden on Saturday I expected to see a different Germany against South Korea,...
Germany may have escaped with a last-gasp winner from Toni Kroos against Sweden, but the air of inevitability which preceded it was all too familiarAnd that’s why they’re the champions. More than that, that is why they are Germany. Of all the countries, of all the situations to find themselves in: 30 seconds from leaving the World Cup just 10 days in, only 10 men on the pitch. Then Toni Kroos, a cunning free-kick and a ball curled inside the far post. This time, it really didn’t look like it was coming, but then it did.OK, mathematically, Germany would still have had a chance had Kroos not taken control. But the reality was that, with one game in Group F left,...
In his first Guardian World Cup column, the former Germany international says recent displays suggest Joachim Löw’s team may have taken their eyes off the ballI’m often asked who my Germany heroes were growing up. I could pick anyone – if not all – of the side that won the World Cup in 1990. That is the first tournament I remember and, for obvious reasons, it is a great memory. Lothar Matthäus’s goal against Yugoslavia in the opening game set the tone for a great run of results by a truly great team.Going into this World Cup Germany are champions again and I expect them to defend their title in Russia. They have a really strong squad and, having won...
Saudia Arabia are 2,000-1, but the chances are one of the top six in the bookies’ odds will lift the World Cup on 15 JulyHow do you build a team around a player without being reliant on him? The tightrope that Jorge Sampaoli has to tread with Lionel Messi is made of a spider’s silk but if he manages to strike the right balance this could be Argentina’s time. It is 32 years since they won the World Cup, 25 since they won a major tournament, an implausibly barren run for a generation that has included some of football’s great talents. Ángel Di María and Paulo Dybala could do with stepping up to help Messi, as they can, but have...
England’s goalkeeper was laid low by food poisoning before their quarter-final – during a World Cup that saw little go rightIt was Friday 12 June. The previous day England, without playing at all well, had beaten Czechoslovakia 1-0 to secure second place in Group C and qualification for the quarter-finals. All four ties were to be played on the Sunday, giving the team a couple of days off. Alf Ramsey decided that there was enough slack in his schedule to allow a little downtime.Not far from the Hilton, where England’s team was based, was the Guadalajara Country Club, a swanky golf course with tennis courts, swimming pools and swanky bar attached that apparently charged £1,500 a year – the equivalent...