FIFA WC 2018: Germany vs Mexico: Player Ratings

So, well, it really seems to be a World Cup of upsets, doesn’t it?

After all, who would have expected the Mexican side to overcome Germany with such style? The game began with some good one-touch passing football from Mexico, but it seemed to be a passing endeavor before Germany would eventually take control of the game.

Surprisingly, it was not to be like that as Juan Osorio’s team were menacing on the counter-attack and exploited Germany’s somewhat feeble defensive line. A first-half strike from Hirving Lozano was enough for Mexico to seal the game, though, perpetually, they could have added at least three goals more. Here, we rate and slate both sets of players.

Mexico

G. Ochoa: 8/10

Ochoa maintained a supreme command over the box and was composed while collecting the long-range efforts from the German players. He read the through balls made into the box well and was quick to react in order to thwart any offensive move inside the box. It was a well-deserved clean sheet for the custodian.

C. Salcedo: 7/10

Carlos was defensively engaged throughout the game, as he had a tough time marking Julian Draxler and Marvin Plattenhardt. He made some crucial blocks in the wide areas and tried to thwart any attempted deliveries into the box. However, there was minimal offensive contribution from his side as the majority of the game was played through the centre or from the opposite flank.

H. Ayala: 6/10

Ayala maintained aerial superiority over Timo Werner, stationed himself deep inside the box in order to adjust, and then dominate his adversaries in the air. He was not afraid to put his body in the line of the ball and stuck to his position too.

H. Moreno: 7/10

Like Ayala, Moreno too had a decent game as he was concentrated enough to read the attacks and made some quick interceptions inside the box. He won the ball back by using his strong physical demeanor and played the ball out from the back in order to launch counter-attacks too.

J. Gallardo: 6/10

Again, Gallardo was well-positioned defensively and made some good clearances in the early part of the second half when Germany were attacking a lot through the right-wing. His last-ditch interception off Ozil’s delivery to Kimmich in the first half stood out, to be honest. He also played some good diagonal balls to facilitate the quick transitions from defensive scenarios for Mexico.

A. Guardado: 7/10

Guardado was excellent from a defensive perspective and actually put in a hugely determinable shift by disallowing Ozil any bit of space in the attacking half. He singled out and then chopped Germany’s main attacking threat by diligently following him throughout the first half. The captain also passed the ball out from cramped situations and capped off a good game for the team.

H. Herrera: 8/10

If Guardado provided the tenacity, Herrera displayed all his energy and commitment at the centre of the park. He was quick to win the ball back by pressing the German midfielders, and drove the team ahead on countless occasions. He played some delightful balls to initiate instant counter-attacks and was very detrimental with the possession of the ball too.

M. Layun: 5/10

Layun was quick on his feet and one of the main players who made Mexico’s counter-attacks so deadly. However, his horrible decision-making left a lot to be desired as twice during late in the second half, he failed to finish off easy chances that could have settled the game quite early. The Mexicans would hope that he improves on this aspect of his game; otherwise, the knack of missing on easy goal-scoring chances could hurt the team badly in the further games.

C Vela: 7/10

Vela was substituted just before the hour mark, which was surprising in my opinion. However, during his time on the pitch, he showed incredible vision, athleticism and an eye for a goal. Vela was regularly involved in counter-attacks, distributing the ball accurately to the right personnel and taking a couple of shots at the goal himself too. He was the most important creative source for Mexico in the first half or so.

H. Lozano: 8/10

Lozano’s ability was never in doubt, but he had to face Kimmich from the opposite flank and hence that raised a few questions regarding his temperament to perform against the best in the business. He put all those apprehensions to bed with that stupendous display on the left-wing this evening. Lozano got behind Kimmich and exploited space left vacant by the Bayern Munich fullback.

His dazzling runs, coupled with a good passing ability ensured that Mexico made the most out of the numerous times they broke on the counter. Eventually, he buried his goal in a thumping fashion as Manuel Neuer could only look at the ball burst past him from the near post.

J. Hernandez: 7/10

Hernandez was let down due to his uncharacteristic lethargic attempts on the goal in the first half. His speed meant that he led those counter-attacks with style, and showed good composure to set Lozano up for the only goal of the match. Javier could have notched another assist in the second half, but Layun took a bad shot on that occasion. Anyways, Chicharito showed good character and determination to lead the attack against a very experienced German defence.

Substitutes:

E. Alvarez: 6/10

Alvarez was brought in place of the impressive Vela so that the team did not drop intensity in the final half-hour of the game. However, he was not much involved in the game and spent most of the time tracking back to win the ball for his side.

R. Jimenez: 5/10

Raul came on the field to provide a better aerial threat in both ends of the box. His poor pass during a promising counter-attack meant that Mexico lost the ball, and accordingly gave away an opportunity to score a second goal.

R. Marquez: 5/10

Marquez made his fifth World Cup appearance, and subsequently became only the third player to do so in football history. On the field, he played in a much deeper position and relied on pressurizing the Germans into losing the ball before thumping the ball up on the field.

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Germany:

M. Neuer: 5/10

Neuer looked comfortable on his return from injury, as the veteran looked at his confident best while claiming some routine saves in the initial portions of the game. The custodian made one good reactive save from a long-range effort, but let a goal past through him from the near post too. Certainly, this is something unexpected from a player with his quality and experience.

J. Kimmich: 6/10

Joshua was a constant attacking outlet down the right flank, as his tendency to overlap and get into the perfect crossing positions had two effects on the game. Firstly, he provided some dire offensive threat when the midfielders were failing to create much through the centre. However, his defensive positioning was poor, to be honest, and he left too much space for Lozano who punished this by scoring the decisive goal of the match.

J. Boateng: 6/10

The central defender started off the game in a very characteristic fashion by making a stupendous last-ditch tackle on Lozano. However, he faded out of the game for sometime before again getting back into the groove to make some quick reactive defensive challenges too. He regularly moved up to make some penetrative passes and succeeded in doing so in a couple of occasions. However, Boateng might have to improve on his concentration and communication (which was quite uncharacteristically poor) with Hummels if Germany were to consistently play with such a high defensive line.

M. Hummels: 5/10

Hummels was painfully poor against the Mexicans, as he failed to match up to Chicharito or Layun’s pace when the Mexicans broke on the counter-attack. Mats was slow to react to certain offensive moves and left a lot of area behind while moving up on the pitch. His challenges weren’t the best either, but Hummels managed to churn out a successful tackle or two during the course of the game. A massive improvement is needed from this perspective of the game.

M. Plattenhardt: 6/10

Plattenhardt was rarely involved in the game as most of the offensive moves were from the opposite flank. However, whenever the fullback got an opportunity, he stretched the byline and sent in a mean cross into the box. His attacking credentials are too good to be left unused, and hence the Germans should have tried to utilize Plattenhardt’s strengths in a better way.

S. Khedira: 5/10

Khedira lacked the bite and the energy in the midfield, failed to read the game properly and eventually, Herrera and Guardalo from the opposite camp broke the midfield lines with astonishing ease. Sami did not provide any driving zeal from the deeper midfield position.

T. Kroos: 6/10

Kroos did not get his grip over the game and apparently failed to manage any kind of control over the proceedings. He was caught off-guard whenever Mexico broke on the counter-attack and was undisciplined from a defensive point of view. The Real Madrid midfielder had some good moments with the dead ball though and even took a free kick that bounced off after hitting the crossbar.

J. Draxler: 4/10

The PSG winger was wasteful from the left-flank, often cutting into his preferred right foot and eventually shooting straight at a Mexican player. He did not seem to trouble Ochoa at all, and even Draxler’s crosses were wayward. The lad needs to buckle up quickly, otherwise, he would risk losing his place to Marco Reus in the lineup.

M. Ozil: 5/10

Ozil was marked by Guardalo in the first half and that denied the Arsenal forward of any space to work out his magic on. Mesut often had to drop deeper than he should have in order to orchestrate the play and was seen more often in the half-spaces near the midfield rather than closer to the box. He drifted wide, played through the centre and even took a couple of shots himself, but nothing was enough to create a goal for his side.

T. Mueller: 5/10

Mueller showed some trademark movement in the first half when he interchanged positions with Werner and shifted to the centre quite often. However, his impact was minimal as Mueller faded off from the game in the first forty-five minutes before again getting involved more in the final half-hour. Thomas threaded in a couple of smart through-balls into the box, but the Mexican defence was quick to react to it and that negated Mueller’s influence to a huge extent.

T. Werner: 6/10

The lad got to a bright start as he showed some immaculate movement and pace to bring himself into the correct scoring positions inside the box. Werner even drifted to either flank so that Mueller and Draxler could burst inside in order to add a surprise element to their attacking moves. Eventually, it was not to be like that as Timo was starved of quality service and that reduced his involvement too.

Substitutes:

M. Reus: 5/10

Reus was involved in a mix-up with Kroos over an attacking move where the duo failed to stitch a couple of passes together. However, he was decent enough in patches, though, I feel that we would see the best of him when Reus starts from the left flank.

M. Gomez: 4/10

Gomez was brought in to add another dimension to Germany’s style of play as Mario is strong and holds the ball up quite effectively. Moreover, his introduction nearly paid off when he missed the goal by a whisker through a headed attempt. Such was the kind of day for the Germans!

J. Brandt: 6/10

Brandt should definitely be higher up in the pecking order as he provided more penetrative, attacking spark than Draxler did throughout the game. One of Brandt’s efforts ricocheted off the post, and that was highly unfortunate as the boy was extremely impressive during his short stay on the pitch.

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