You don’t simply hold a world-beating side by the scruff of its neck, topple it over to the ground and shake up the world around. Well, you don’t do that, unless you are Mexico.
Mexico stun Germany
Depending on which side you view June 17, 2018’s proceedings from, the narrative about a stunning FIFA World Cup 2018 contest changes.
If you were a referee overseeing the sprawling contest at Moscow, you’d simply say Germany- 0 to Mexico- 1.
If you spoke German, regarding this tantalizing game of ours as Fußball, you were effectively what Thomas Muller was at the completion of the contest; head in hands cutting a figure of despair. If you were a Russian fan, sipping away your beer or chipping away at the Vodka, you couldn’t have possibly fretted, seeing a thriller, having seen the brilliance of your home team a few hours ago.
But if you were a fan of the”green shirts”, you nearly lost your voice. Such enticing and dramatic were the scenes as Germany found themselves knocked down by Mexico, even as by a dainty but decisive margin of a solitary goal.
It wasn’t that the Germans didn’t have their chances.
It wasn’t that Germany didn’t have a shy at Mexico’s goal-post, the threatening end.
In fact, Germany possessed the ball on more occasions throughout the context of the game than Mexico ever did.
And it wasn’t that Germany didn’t produce threatening strikes at Mexico’s cauldron either, Kroos, Ozil, Hummels, all going after their shots, every now and again.
It was quite simply, a fantastical exhibition of strong defensive technique that earned Mexico a much-needed albeit stunning win.
Not every day that a defending champion heads toward the dugout, 1 down at half-time
And it’s not every day that Germany has to play out of their skin, to the very last minute of a contest, only to appear winless.
But by the time this belter of a Sunday contest was in its halftime, Mexico, thanks to Hirving Lozano’s brilliant and sharp counter-attack had gone 1 up over the 2014 FIFA World Cup winners.
Leaving the stoic Mats Hummels for dead, Hernandez got in to play the hero of the day, Lozano, who’s cut inside Mesut Ozil, smashing the ball low into the corner to leave a stadium speechless and exhilarated at the same time.
Shortly afterward of having received what proved to be a decisive goal, the German defense seemed stretched to its breaking point.
There seemed a clear perplexion in the field
The Mexicans countering a savagely charging, feistily moving nervy set of talents- Ozil, Kroos, Khedira, Muller-clinching the ball from their grasp and aiming toward the German side, as if having broken an iron-gate made of steel and will.
Yet, you could sense the urgency and the drive of the Germans to make better of what could only sufficiently be described as a totally unanticipated moment.
Still, the Mexican’s created a crisp fortification of defense, biting into the German consciousness crisper than the succulent taste o of a tortilla chip.
Late in the half, Germany did come close toward leveling, when Tony Kroos all but delivered a successful free-kick, that was touched onto the bar by ace goal-keeper, Ochoa.
But the stellar moment clearly was the fantastical production of the goal, struck from about 14 yards from what could be called an unsuccessfully defended German bunker.
So where does that leave Germany?
Having already lost their opening game in what is being called a “Group of Death”, with sides like South Korea waiting in the sidelines, Germany will be driven to put this messy day behind them and produce a scorcher in their next contest.
Interestingly, it’s not the first time that a biggie has lost out on a FIFA World Cup 2018 opener. Starting from France in 2002, Italy in 2012, Spain in 2014, who all lost their opening contests, now Germany has followed suit in 2018.
There’s sizeable math now to prove that the mammoth forces too can collapse early on.
But whether Germany can bounce back is purely on how Low and his men unite again in what will be an eager huddle.