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KAZAN, RUSSIA (FOLHAPRESS) – The roadmap for the German elimination began to be written before a 2-0 defeat against South Korea on Wednesday. Ignoring the causes of poor football presented at previous Games and insisting on the scheme that has not worked since the start of the World Cup, world champion Joachim Loew flirted with the tragedy.
The names that have worked in recent years, like Khedira, Özil and Müller, have not even been close to the expected performances. On the insistence of the technician, however, they were kept in the end. They were considered fundamental for the team to come back to play as in the recent past.
Germany has arrived in Russia with a favorite status. Since 2006 with Löw in charge, he has reached at least in the top four in six tournaments, counting the World Cups and Eurocopas. In the European qualifiers, there were ten wins in ten matches, unprecedented for German football.
In 21 editions of the World Cup, she reached between the four 13 times, a record. But 2018 was not 2014, and the problems for the current champions started early.
The friendlies against Austria and Saudi Arabia showed a slow and uncreated team with little offensive power, unlike the men's team that won the Confederations Cup in 2017.
Löw could have changed the course of the preparation, but he preferred to stay firm with his ideas. He has been criticized, for example, for firing midfielder Leroy Sané, 22, from Manchester City (ING).
In their debut against Mexico, the Germans struggled to meet reality. Lots of ball possession (60%) and complete pbades (524), but not effective. The offensive sector finished against the Mexican goal only at the end of the game, trying to tie anyway.
Even a new problem has appeared. The line of defenders, unprotected, was easy prey for counter-attacks. The defensive midfielder, along with Khedira and Kroos, has also lost too much.
But nothing seemed to bother Löw. The likes of Özil and Khedira against Sweden have made German football more fluid. But even the victory at the last minute, with the team playing a little better, has not served to change the coach 's strategy.
"When we were at the training center, we were training very well," he said, "but the two games before the World Cup were not good, so we tried to make sure we had a good time. to adjust some things, but it did not work … the German coach.
Against South Korea, the veterans returned and the indicators deteriorated. At the stadium, the feeling was that Germany was playing a friendly match unimportant. And he seemed to think that he would win at any moment.
The end of the game contributes to the scenario of the German drama. The first goal, already in the additions, was marked after consultation to the video to eliminate the impediment in the movement.
In the second, goalkeeper Neuer was on the field of attack. The goal was clear for Son, Korea's climax, to finalize.
"We do not deserve to go to the octaves," admitted Löw. As a result, one of the biggest vexations of powerful German football is now written in the history of the world.
The defeats against South Korea and Mexico and the three points against Sweden left the Germans with the last place in Group F.
The fourth position is full of symbolism. Germany had never fallen in the group stage of a World Cup. Made similar had only occurred in 1938, when the World Cup has already started with playoff games.
With the early elimination and many unanswered questions, Löw's dream of being twice world champion of coaches has collapsed.
To date, just another European, Italy's Vittorio Pozzo, double champion with Italy in the 1934 and 1938 Cups, has achieved such a feat.
Löw can even lead Germany to another World Cup because he has a contract until 2022 – which does not prevent him from leaving in the next few days – but two titles of the same. can not be won anymore.
"I do not think it's bad for German football," he said after the elimination. "We are the most consistent team in terms of performance, we have always been among the first in the last 12 years," he said, "but the elimination is a disappointment, but we have some very talented young players and play better from now on, "he said.
Maybe the coach could have accepted the idea of putting more young players in the first phase of the World Cup, as he had done at the Confederations Cup. Last year, the Germans won the title.
But just as it looks like the last world champions have fallen into the first phase of the next World Cups, winning the Confederations Cup also seems to make coaches more grounded in their ideas.
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