What to do with another World Cup group stage game when you’ve already won the group? The answer is to score two minutes into the game and not look back. Germany played well in the first half, but then the momentum faded and was replaced by a poor defeat that exposed this team’s limitations.
There’s a way to present this as a defeat that can sharpen the mind, that can remove any complacency before the knockout. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich was certainly confident of defeat.
“We keep inviting the opponent to attack by turning the ball over, which makes them stronger,” Kimmich said on Magenta TV. “Fortunately, it doesn’t change much. But we can’t afford any more losses. That’s clear. We can’t score one or two goals in every game. We have to reduce the number of turnovers and then we can beat anyone,” he said.
But that wasn’t the feeling in East Rutherford when the final whistle blew. It felt as if Germany had become an in-form team, exceeding their fans’ expectations, riding the wave of joy that comes with big wins and last-minute triumphs, but there was one thing missing. The song that has accompanied this team so far in the tournament is “There’s No Break on the Train”. Today, not only were there brakes, but the team appeared to be derailing.
Another game endured instead of enjoyed
David Raum started in place of the injured Nathaniel Brown (who is expected to return for Germany’s knockout games) and had a forgettable game. Antonio Rüdiger replaced the injured Nico Schlotterbach and had a slow start, before improving. But he was not alone. Felix Nmecha, who has been Germany’s standout so far in the tournament, struggled. Aleksandar Pavlovich played himself out of the second half, he was also booked.
It was also tough on Leroy Sane, who scored the opener for Germany and after several weeks of intense media criticism it would have been the story of the day. In the end, even their performance paled in comparison to Germany’s collective disappointment.
The result was made worse by the fact that Germany’s opening goal should not have stood – American referee Tory Penso made the bizarre decision not to penalize Alexander Pavlovic in the build-up after the Bayern player’s boot ended in the face of an opponent. Add to that the penalty Germany never got because of a foul by Sane in the build-up, and it was a day when pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz work hard on the ball, but are struggling to impose themselves on it. Rudiger’s comments last week calling out Germany’s attacking players seem even more pointed after this defeat: “No pressure, but we will need you.”
Depending on which German leader you listened to, willingness was also an issue. Or not.
Kimmich later said, “The difference today was that the opponent wanted to win more than us.”
“Ecuador wanted it more than us? That’s nonsense,” Nagelsmann said in contrast.
disjointed and fragmented
Germany’s need is greater now than ever. Perhaps Deniz Undav will be freed from the beginning. Here at the New York New Jersey Stadium, the crowd again called for the striker, and once again Nagelsmann answered. But this time, despite his best efforts, there were no heroics from the Stuttgart player, who had three goals and two assists in two substitute appearances before this.
Several changes were made, perhaps most notably the substitution of Malik Thiaw for Kimmich at right back, as Germany switched to a back three. As one Germany fan commented afterwards, it felt like a friendly game.
“Of course, we made substitutions differently than otherwise – perhaps in moments when we absolutely needed another goal. But I can no longer say to any player that he did not give his all. It is very simple for me,” Nagelsmann later told Magenta TV.
Gonzalo Plata’s puck to put the ball into the goal just before it fell into the hands of Manuel Neuer felt as if it was a natural consequence of everything that had happened before. It’s been a strange comeback so far for Neuer. He had no chance to stop Nilsson Angulo’s thunderbolt and for Plata’s winner, he didn’t see the winger coming. Ecuador finished the game with two goals from only three shots on target.
It’s impossible to stop the yellow wave
The scenes throughout were not for Germany. They were for Ecuador. The sea of joy turned yellow as they booked their place in the knockout rounds with a historic win against the four-time World Cup winners. Tears, children on shoulders, songs that pumped up the crowd – the Ecuadorian fans knew what they had done and made sure everyone knew about it.
Germany quickly walked off the field, briefly waving to their fans, but New York was eager to disappear into the cement vat of New Jersey Stadium, exposing their own heaviness. Was recalling Manuel Neuer the right decision? Is this group not as good as he thought two weeks ago? Will Paraguay or Australia become a hindrance? Questions will revolve. Meanwhile, Nagelsmann wants time.
Nagelsmann later said, “The most important lesson we can take away is patience.” “When you get off to such a good start, we have to focus more on patience. If we get the lead, we have to be more calm in certain situations.”
It won’t take us long to find out just how cool Germany and Nagelsmann really are. More importantly, we’ll find out if more than just one game was lost here in East Rutherford.
Edited by: Matt Pearson