SURPRISE!
Mexico stuns Germany, 1-0, in the World Cup
MOSCOW — Defending World Cup champions have been finding it hard to get out of the group stage lately, and Germany is proving no exception.
The 2014 champions, ranked No. 1 in the world, were exposed defensively and surprisingly beaten by Mexico 1-0 on Sunday, putting its hopes of advancement in doubt. Well, not everyone is in doubt. “We will make it,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “There’s no reason to fall apart because you lose one game.”
Hirving Lozano scored the lone goal in the 35th minute, picking up Javier Hernandez’s pass inside the penalty area and beating Mesut Ozil before shooting past Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from 10 yards.
The goal decided the match — a match Germany didn’t expect to lose.
“I don’t know if it’s the biggest victory in (Mexico’s) history, but one of the biggest for sure,” Lozano said. “My teammates and I did some great work. We all ran our hearts out. This is the result of all that hard work.”
Three of the previous four defending World Cup champions failed to reach the knockout stages, France, Italy and Spain. Two of them lost their opening matches while the Italians had to settle for a draw.
The Germans are bidding to become the first team to retain the World Cup title since Brazil in 1962, but have now won only one of their last seven games in all competitions. They hadn’t lost an opening game since the then-West Germany fell 2-1 to Algeria in 1982.
Mexico had never beaten Germany in a competitive match but was transformed from the team which lost to the Germans 4-1 in last year’s Confederations Cup, conceding twice in the opening eight minutes.
Lozano, a 22-year-old forward nicknamed “Chucky,” got Mexico going with a deflected shot over the bar in the first minute. That set the tone for Mexico to torment Germany on the counterattack, with Lozano taking full advantage of right back Joshua Kimmich’s tendency to
go forward.
Meanwhile, in Mexico City, thousands of exuberant Mexican soccer fans took to the streets to cheer their national team’s long-shot win against Germany in Mexico’s first match of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament.
The stunner has given Mexicans hope that their team might win the tournament for the first time ever. Mexico has competed in the FIFA World Cup since the sporting event kicked off in 1930. The highest it has ever advanced is to the quarterfinals, placing sixth in both 1986 and 1970.
Lozano’s goal set off such a commotion that seismic detectors in Mexico City registered a false earthquake, which the geological institute said may have been generated by “massive jumps” across the city. Spectators who had gathered to watch the match on a big TV screen in the central Zocalo square screamed with joy after the score.
After the match, throngs of fans dressed in green converged around the iconic Angel of Independence monument, bouncing with joy and waving the Mexican flag. Small groups chanted “Mexico” and “Yes we could!” Some broke into song, including the traditional Cielito Lindo tune best known for its “Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay” chorus. Car horns blared, whistles were blown and drums beat for hours after the match. BRAZIL 1, SWITZERLAND 1: Brazil joined the list of big teams struggling to win their opening matches at the World Cup in Russia.
The five-time champions were held to a draw by Switzerland.
Philippe Coutinho, who was making his World Cup debut, gave Brazil the lead in the 20th minute with a volley that bounced in off the right post. Steven Zuber then headed in the equalizer in the 50th. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos dismissed complaints that Zuber had shoved defender Miranda before getting to the corner from Xherdan Shaqiri.
“I was pushed out of the way. There is video of what happened and the referee could have seen it. But it didn’t happen,” Miranda said. “We got a draw but this is only the beginning for us. We knew this game wasn’t going to be easy.”
Ramos also ignored a penalty claim late in the second half when Gabriel Jesus was wrestled to the ground by Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji.
Swiss players ended up with three yellow cards, and 10 of the 14 fouls they committed were on Brazil forward Neymar.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic described the incident against Miranda as an “ordinary challenge.” He also dismissed charges that Neymar had been treated harshly.
“Of course, neutralizing Neymar was a key ingredient of our game,” he added.
Switzerland dominated the midfield for long spells against a Brazil team that had been keen to start with a win after its disastrous exit as host in 2014.
Coutinho had another chance to put Brazil in the lead but he sent the ball wide in the 67th minute.
Brazil has won 17 of its 22 matches since Tite took over as coach in 2016. But they couldn’t get another one in front of a very Brazil-friendly crowd at the Rostov Arena.
Besides Brazil and Germany, Argentina was held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland on Saturday, and Spain and Portugal played to a 3-3 draw on Friday.
The Brazilians remain haunted by their 7-1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semifinals that was followed by a 3-0 defeat against the Netherlands in the third-place playoff. SERBIA 1, COSTA RICA 0: With a curling free kick that decided the outcome of the match, Aleksandar Kolarov immediately drew some comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Serbia captain’s left-footed strike proved to be the difference in a victory over Costa Rica. It came two days after Ronaldo scored a similar goal to give Portugal a 3-3 draw with Spain.
“It was an amazing goal,” Costa Rica defender Bryan Oviedo said of Kolarov’s effort. “Maybe two out of 10 balls will go in like that.”
After Costa Rica midfielder David Guzman was handed a yellow card, Kolarov stepped up and curled his shot over the wall and into the net in the 56th minute.
Keylor Navas, the Costa Rica goalkeeper who plays for Real Madrid, stretched but couldn’t stop the swerving ball.
It was the third free kick goal so far at the World Cup: Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin had one in stoppage time in the 5-0 tournament opener against Saudi Arabia and Ronaldo capped his hat trick against Spain with the other.
“We knew that set pieces were our forte,” said Kolarov, who now plays for Roma after a stint with Manchester City. “We practiced them on the training ground. I practiced set pieces, and this was enough for three points.”
The victory gave the Serbians the early advantage in a tough Group E, which also includes five-time champion Brazil and Switzerland.
The final moments of the match were marked by a squabble on the sidelines as Nemanja Matic got into a tussle with a Costa Rican assistant. Players from both teams rushed toward the scrum but it was quickly diffused. Video replay was also used late in the match to determine if Aleksandar Prijovic should be given a red card. He was given a yellow.