Mexico stun defending champions Germany
Defending champs fail to breach opposition defence after Lozano’s firsthalf goal puts central Americans ahead
MOSCOW: When the mighty fall, they do with a thud. Germany went into this World Cup with the odds low on them being the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the title. They can still do that but Sunday’s 0-1 loss to Mexico will make it a lot tougher.
It didn’t take Mexico longer than a minute to make their intentions clear at the AP Luzhniki Stadium. Hirving Lozano, named by Germany coach Joachim Loew as the biggest threat to his side prior to the game, flew down the left flank, received the ball and cut in towards the goal before dispatching his shot.
Nothing came out of it but the move was a precursor to what was going to come as Mexico pulled off the biggest upset in the four days of the World Cup so far.
Mexico fans formed a majority of the 78,011 crowd at the 2018 World Cup’s biggest stadium and by the time the game kicked off, they had already drowned out the German chants.
The decisive moment of the match came in the 35th minute. Javier Hernandez led a Mexican counter-attack through the middle and slotted the ball to Lozano on his left.
The winger drifted in and slipped the ball below goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s right hand to give Mexico the lead.
The second half saw Germany push forward but Mexican defenders threw their bodies on the line. When it ended, Lozano’s name reverberated around the stands and the defending champions slumped to the ground.
MOSCOW: Juan Carlos Osorio had made the most rigorous preparations for his Mexico team going into the World Cup. They played 68 games since 2015, the most by any of the 32 teams at the tournament.
On Sunday evening, it showed how well-prepared his side was as Mexico’s frenetic counter-attacking football saw them stun defending champions Germany 1-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium here.
BRISK START
Mexico began with a counter-attack in the very first minute of the game. Hirving Lozano’s shot was deflected for a corner-kick but the move got the Mexican fans going early on.
Germany responded almost immediately. Timo Werner found himself open in space towards the right side of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa but his shot across the goal missed the target by a couple of feet.
Mexico remained persistent for the next few minutes as they kept having a go at Manuel Neuer’s goal. In the 10th minute, Hector Herrera’s shot was comfortably grabbed by the German goalkeeper. Four minutes later, a free-kick from Miguel Layun found its way into a melee of heads in the box. It flew straight to Neuer’s hands.
Lozano continued to be a livewire down the left and in the 26th minute, set up a long-range shot for Layun whose effort went over. It would continue to be the order of the day as Mexico regularly used their pace to hit on the break against a German backline that struggled to track the pace and movement of Lozano and Javier Hernandez.
In the 34th minute, Layun almost found himself through on goal but couldn’t reach the ball. The Mexican chants grew louder. A minute later, the chants turned to those on Lozano as the winger scored from another of Mexico’s breaks.
Taking advantage of their clever positioning – Osorio stationed a player, usually Hernandez or Lozano at the edge of the last line of the German defence for different periods of the game --- Hernandez passed the ball to Lozano who was open on the left and made no mistake with just Neuer to beat.
Germany almost equalised a minute later as a Toni Kroos free-kick almost rippled the insides of the goal but for an Ochoa fingertip save that diverted the ball to the bar and back to the field of play from where it was cleared to safety.
Mexico didn’t budge. With their ability to break away with pace, they continued to hassle Germany’s backline.
It was the same story in the second half as Germany were exposed for their dogmatic approach. It could, and perhaps should, have been more to Mexico but their lack of finishing meant that the scoreline remained unchanged.
Hernandez and Vela were both guilty of wasting promising counter-attacks while Layun’s efforts from two more Mexico breaks were wide of the mark.
Mexico narrowed down their backline and allowed Germany to play from the flanks. The world champions were often forced into crossing the ball into the box.
Osorio threw in 39-year-old veteran Rafael Marquez who added more steel to the backline and helped them comfortably steer Germany’s crosses away to safety.
“We all dream of playing in the World Cup. It’s definitely the best goal I have ever scored in my entire life,” Lozano told reporters after the game.