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It is fair to say that Germany had a disastrous 2018 World Cup. They failed to advance to the knockout stages for the first time in World Cup history. They finished bottom of their group and scored their record fewest goals in a World Cup campaign.
The defending champions were off to a horrendous start. In their bid to win back-to-back World Cups, they were first shocked by Mexico who handed them a 1-0 defeat. In their second game against Sweden, it took a Toni Kroos miracle to scrape their way to victory while in their third and final game, a struggling Asian side sent them packing. The four-time champions conceded 2 goals in injury time to South Korea, knowing well that a 1-0 victory would have done the job.
The media will find plenty of reasons to explain how the unbelievable chain of events unfolded. Some will blame Coach Joachim Löw's decision to leave out Sane from the 23- men squad while some will accuse him of leaving out an experienced Thomas Muller for the must-win game against the Taeguk Warriors.
Despite these poor decisions, the squad had a more than able 23 players and an even better starting 11 to defend their title. Some players just didn't find their rhythm. Without much ado, we look at 5 such players who had a terrible 2018 World Cup:
#5 Timo Werner
A harsh addition to the list, agreed. However, it wouldn't be too harsh to say that the RB Leipzig striker's performance was subpar for a top-quality side like Germany.
The 22-year-old was frustrated by Mexico’s unbreakable defensive line in his first World Cup game. His involvement was very limited. In the second game, he was starved of quality service. Often drifting off to the left, Werner didn’t find enough good positions as a front-line striker. He just couldn't find the final pass or finish despite his immaculate movements.
Overall, Timo participated more in the build-up as a result of which his chances on goal were limited. In the must-win game, he had 16 touches inside the box without a single shot on target. He tried a number of shots but repeatedly found a South Korean body flung in the way and consequently he exited the tournament without a goal. He failed to gobble up the half-decent chances he got. His hold up play wasn't up to scratch either.
#4 Julian Draxler
Jogi Loew picked Julian Draxler who was left to rot on the benches at the Parc des Princes instead of a certain Marco Reus. The decision proved to be costly as the PSG winger was wasteful from the left-flank. He seemed like a one-trick pony - charging at the defender and then cutting into his preferred right foot. Although he got past his defender on a couple of occasions, he hurled his shots straight at the Mexican back-line. He didn't trouble Ochoa at all.
In the Sweden game, he was worse. He was rightfully hauled off at half-time and then dropped for the third game. He barely saw enough off the ball and struggled to make an impact. He ruined attacks more than he created. When he tried to stretch the play, his crosses seemed to go wayward. He was miserable and showed very little of the abundant talent and skill that he possesses.
#3 Mats Hummels
Hummels and Boateng formed a solid defensive partnership for Bayern this season under Jupp Heynckes. However, for Joachim's side, Hummels' communication with Jerome Boateng was uncharacteristically off the radar.
Mats began his Russian adventure with a terrible outing against Mexico. He was caught out on quick counters. He was too slow for Layun's trickery. Venturing forward, he left acres of space behind him. He even slipped in a high position for Chicharito to start the play for the sole goal of the game. Playing with such a high defensive line, communication was the key, and the former Dortmund was clearly lacking.
After missing out on the second game, Hummels started in the must-win game. Although he made a few crucial blocks and a couple of successful tackles, he was poor in the other box. Ozil whipped in cross after cross and created as many as 7 chances of which 2 were for Mats. Hummels had as many as 3 free heading opportunities in the game and failed to convert all of them.
#2 Thomas Muller
With 10 combined goals at the two World Cups and playing as the leading World Cup goalscorer, Low was relying on Muller to make an impact in the tournament. However, the Bayern Munich player was painfully poor. His 11th goal World Cup goal never came - it didn't look like coming either. He made no impact whatsoever.
Normally an enigma in the German team, Thomas offered very little lurking in and around the six-yard box. Against Mexico, he squandered Germany's best opportunity which came in the 33rd minute. Muller ran through midfield and lost the ball on the counter, completely unaware of the opposition.
He followed up this performance with an equally poor one against Sweden. Questions were asked about whether he deserved to start against South Korea, especially with Julian Brandt’s playing some delightful cameos off the bench and Mesut Özil dropped in his favour. Joachim responded by dropping Raumdeuter for their must-win game.
#1 Jerome Boateng
Boateng started the first two games for Germany and was suspended for the third. His performance was truly awful. He was dreadful against Mexico - he was caught out on quick counters and failed to track back when he ventured forward. His long balls lacked timing and proved to be wasteful.
His performance was worse in the second game against the Swedes. Former Manchester United duo Gary Neville and Roy Keane savaged the Bayern Munich star prior to his sending off against Sweden at half-time.
Keane cynical of the centre-back, said "Boateng's walking around the place like he's playing Sunday League football. He's been a disgrace. Get him off." Neville went one further saying:
"Roy is absolutely right. The [Germany] centre-backs have been a joke. I mean Boateng, for some reason, seems to think he is [Franz] Beckenbauer, thinks he's the player. He's played under Pep (Guardiola) and started to believe he is a fantastic football player.He has been a joke in this first half. He's got delusions, thinks he is a player; he's wandering forward, ambling in the game."
Funnily Keane got his wish in the second half, with Boateng seeing a red. Germany played much better without him and eventually went on to win their game.
