This, then, is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.
There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just
happen. They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch
falcons and horses turn and eat themselves. At the very least there
should be a sense of fury, of thwarted effort, of energies exhausted.
And yet Germany went out of the World Cup in the first round for the first time in 80 years with barely a flicker of resistance. There was no Sturm. There was no Drang.
They had come to this World Cup not merely as defending champions but as winners of last summer’s Confederations Cup with what was effectively a second string. The overhaul of their academy system was the envy of the world, talent production on an industrial scale. And yet, called upon to score a goal against a disappointing South Korea side that had already lost to Sweden and Mexico, that had lost in qualifying to Qatar and China, they struggled to create a chance.
In the end it was VAR that undid them. Kim Young-gwon’s strike that had initially been ruled out for offside was given as a goal when it was realised the ball had been played to him by Toni Kroos. And then, even after that, there was a beautiful farce of a goal. Manuel Neuer was caught in possession miles upfield as Son Heung-min chased Ju Se-jong’s long ball and rolled it into an empty net.
Germany are the fourth of the last five reigning champions to go out in the group phase but this was as limp a defence as any side had managed. There was no defining defeat, as Spain had suffered to the Netherlands, just a whole load of baffling mundanity. There was a chance, three minutes from time, to steal a goal as they had stolen a late winner against Sweden in the second game, but presented with a free header eight yards out Mats Hummels somehow misjudged his effort and the ball looped wide off his shoulder.
Jogi Löw, the Germany coach, had acknowledged that while the Sweden game was an improvement his side had still had problems in defensive transition, too often leaving the two central defenders exposed. His solution was to bring Leon Goretzka on to the right of the 4-2-3-1 while restoring Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira, who had been left out of the win over Sweden. It gives some indication of the difficulties Germany have had at the start of this tournament that only three outfielders have started all three games. Thomas Müller, who has been struggling for form for a couple of years, was one of the latest sacrifices, the first time he had been left out of a tournament game by Germany since the semi-final of Euro 2012.
Neuer has also started all three games despite not having played for Bayern since September when he fractured a bone in his foot. He has not been his usual assured self at the World Cup and, 19 minutes in, he fumbled a free-kick from Jung Woo-young before recovering to fist the ball away as Son closed in.
His uncertainty is part of a far greater whole. A year ago, when Germany won the Confederations Cup, all the talk was of their strength in depth and the extraordinary conveyor belt of talent. The machine has gummed up, though; there was no fluency and little cohesion going forward.
Perhaps the aim here was simply to deny South Korea the
counterattacking chances Germany granted Mexico and Sweden and, in that
sense, the game could be regarded as a success. The gegenpressing was more efficient, but then the opponent was weaker and there was significant cost in terms of attacking threat.They had come to this World Cup not merely as defending champions but as winners of last summer’s Confederations Cup with what was effectively a second string. The overhaul of their academy system was the envy of the world, talent production on an industrial scale. And yet, called upon to score a goal against a disappointing South Korea side that had already lost to Sweden and Mexico, that had lost in qualifying to Qatar and China, they struggled to create a chance.
In the end it was VAR that undid them. Kim Young-gwon’s strike that had initially been ruled out for offside was given as a goal when it was realised the ball had been played to him by Toni Kroos. And then, even after that, there was a beautiful farce of a goal. Manuel Neuer was caught in possession miles upfield as Son Heung-min chased Ju Se-jong’s long ball and rolled it into an empty net.
Germany are the fourth of the last five reigning champions to go out in the group phase but this was as limp a defence as any side had managed. There was no defining defeat, as Spain had suffered to the Netherlands, just a whole load of baffling mundanity. There was a chance, three minutes from time, to steal a goal as they had stolen a late winner against Sweden in the second game, but presented with a free header eight yards out Mats Hummels somehow misjudged his effort and the ball looped wide off his shoulder.
Jogi Löw, the Germany coach, had acknowledged that while the Sweden game was an improvement his side had still had problems in defensive transition, too often leaving the two central defenders exposed. His solution was to bring Leon Goretzka on to the right of the 4-2-3-1 while restoring Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira, who had been left out of the win over Sweden. It gives some indication of the difficulties Germany have had at the start of this tournament that only three outfielders have started all three games. Thomas Müller, who has been struggling for form for a couple of years, was one of the latest sacrifices, the first time he had been left out of a tournament game by Germany since the semi-final of Euro 2012.
Neuer has also started all three games despite not having played for Bayern since September when he fractured a bone in his foot. He has not been his usual assured self at the World Cup and, 19 minutes in, he fumbled a free-kick from Jung Woo-young before recovering to fist the ball away as Son closed in.
His uncertainty is part of a far greater whole. A year ago, when Germany won the Confederations Cup, all the talk was of their strength in depth and the extraordinary conveyor belt of talent. The machine has gummed up, though; there was no fluency and little cohesion going forward.
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