Germany did ok against Sweden but their defence is still problematic. Against the Swedes, they allowed the two strikers, Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen, to get through them too often. Every time a ball was played through the gaps or crossed into the box from open play or set pieces, Sweden were there first. In attack, they seemed to not be quite there but have evidently worked on it, because although Marco Reus’ shinned goal was a little fortunate, the fact he was there in the first place is an improvement on their performance against Mexico. Toni Kroos’ goal was brilliantly taken though – credit where it is due – but Germany still need to tighten up because against Sweden they got lucky that they didn’t concede more goals from balls into the box, but against a Ronaldo-led Portugal or another team with a predator at the head of it, they might not be so fortunate.
World Cup 2018
Published by David Astill
I am a freelance sports writer and journalist, currently publishing articles for Total Football Analysis. I am also the Site Lead for Total Rugby Analysis. I love writing and talking about sport, and can usually be found on Twitter giving my quick analysis on news, matches, players etc. My specialist areas are football (Premier League - League Two, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, international football), rugby union (Gallagher Premiership, Six Nations, other international rugby), Formula 1, Formula E and tennis. I am happy to provide comment on any of these. I'm an avid sports fan, and support both Liverpool and Leicester Tigers, as well as Roger Federer in tennis and Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1. View all posts by David Astill
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