Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the first Barcelona player to exit the World Cup
World Cup holders Germany lost 2-0 to South Korea, so they failed to get out of the group stages for the first time ever in its current format.
The 2018 World Cup has been humiliating for Germany because they finished bottom of their group. Their title defence was non-existent with their only promising performance being the last-minute win over Sweden. However, that proved to be futile because South Korea frustrated them and took advantage of the openings at the end of the match as the Germans searched for a goal.
Joachim Low has been hugely successful as the manager of Die Mannschaft. This is the first time they have not reached the semi-finals of a major tournament since he has been in charge, and this is his sixth major tournament. They won the 2014 World Cup as well as last year’s Confederations Cup under him.
This won’t save Low’s pre-tournament decisions from being criticised, though. He opted to leave Leroy Sane at home and put his faith in Manuel Neuer who had just recovered from injury. This was odd considering that he had Marc-Andre ter Stegen who was one of the top goalkeepers in the world last season.
Ter Stegen was forced to watch on from the sidelines as Germany slumped to defeats against Mexico and South Korea. Although the fightback against Sweden was impressive considering they were down to 10 men near the end due to Jerome Boateng’s sending off.
Where did it go wrong for Germany?
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Some of Low’s decisions prior to the tournament were odd, but he is known for being a maverick. The team had numerous issues on the pitch and key players didn’t turn up.
Neuer can only be blamed for the second Korean goal because he was dispossessed high up the pitch. It mattered little by that point, though, because Germany needed to push everyone forward to try and grab two late goals. Therefore, Ter Stegen starting probably would have changed little, but it is indicative of a preference from Low for his experienced players which ended up being an issue.
Thomas Muller did little across all three games because he didn’t assist or score. Mesut Ozil created a lot of chances, but also failed to have a direct contribution. Toni Kroos was completely bypassed by Mexico, and wasn’t at his best against South Korea. However, he did get the winning goal against Sweden.
Joshua Kimmich left the defence exposed because of his high average position up the pitch. Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels were severely underwhelming, although they were asked to cover a lot of ground by the rest of the team. Kimmich is the only player mentioned out of the previous six that isn’t a senior player, which emphasises the problem.
Mexico highlighted the issues with their system because the full-backs were too high up the pitch with the two-man midfield unable to cover. El Tri pressed the midfielders effectively in central areas before springing counter-attacks. Javier Hernandez was used as the outlet and he quickly moved play to the flanks after drawing in defenders. Mexico only won 1-0 thanks to Hirving Lozano’s goal, but it could easily have been three or four.
Sweden played into their hands by sitting deep to defend their lead and it ultimately cost them. However, Germany were unable to break the deadlock against South Korea and it hurt them with other results going against them as well.
Next: One man, One nation, One hope, One World Cup
It was a disastrous campaign which is likely to have huge ramifications. A number of players will have to fight much harder for a starting place. Ter Stegen is one of the few players whose reputation comes out of this intact. Hopefully this disappointment won’t have an impact on his performances for Barcelona. However, it does give him longer to prepare for the season, which is a bonus for the Catalans.