Day: June 22, 2018

There were fears that Germany would become the next defending champion to exit the World Cup at the group stage when they were struggling in their warm-up games, but their 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia seems to have made everyone think they are back to form.

However, their first game against Mexico ended in the defending champions losing 1-0 to the North Americans. Germany’s defence was surprisingly vulnerable and every time their full-backs ventured forward, Mexico hit them on the break until they eventually breached the Germans.

The Germans face another stubborn team in Sweden and it would be interesting to see if they can improve their current run of one win in seven games.

Sweden beat Italy in the playoffs to reach Russia 2018, and they have started on a bright note by beating South Korea 1-0. They would be facing a tougher opponent in Germany, but the Swedes are a very strong side to break down and if Germany’s defence does not improve, the Scandinavians may kill them off on the counter in this game.

Sweden has just lost twice in their last nine games, and with Germany struggling for form, the Swedes could hold their own and get a point from this match.

South Korea were the talk of the world 16 years ago when the co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. They reached the semifinal stage of that competition as the surprise package, but their football has never reached that height again.

They lost their first game against Sweden 1-0, but to be honest the Swedes could have scored more goals if they were an attacking team because the Koreans never came to the party and had just 2 shots at goal.

Son Heung-Min who has starred for Tottenham over the past few seasons was ineffectual in that game and they have lost three of their last four games ahead of this match.

Mexico faced defending World champions Germany in their first game, while many expected that game to be a tight affair no one thought the German defence would be that terrible.

The North Americans took the game to Germany from the get-go and forced the German defence to crack. When Havier Hernandez laid on an assist for Hirving Lozano, it was time for them to take the lead and they did. Germany did try to get in the game, but they couldn’t and Mexico would be looking to build on that win here.

Belgium’s golden generation has another chance to win a trophy for their nation, and this may be the very last chance for most of the players in this squad.

The Belgians are among the favourites to lift this trophy, but very often their lack of teamwork has robbed them of a team success. In their first game against Panama that almost cost them the game as they headed into the halftime break with a goalless draw.

The second half was much better and it was Dries Mertens who opened the scoring before Romelu Lukaku scored a brace to help them to a 3-0 win. The Belgians have now lost just one game under Roberto Martinez and have won 15 of their last 20.

Tunisia were very poor in their opening game against England as they were beaten 2-1. The scoreline may suggest that the game was close, but that is not the true story. The Tunisians only escaped a heavier scoreline because England missed clear-cut chances and the referee refused to give the Three Lions any of two obvious penalties.

If Tunisia plays as poorly as they did in the England game, they would be heading home after this game, but if they step up like they did in their warm-up games, they stand a chance of upsetting the Red Devils.