Mexico has what it takes to slap Germany in the face and set Joachim Low’s locomotive back into motion.
Kick off
Sunday, 17:00, Luzhniki Stadium (Moscow)
Head-to-head matches
Germany and Mexico have met a total of 11 times, with the former winning on six occasions. The lone Mexico win occurred back in 1985 against West Germany. Their last clash was during the 2017 Confederations Cup when Germany won 4-1.
Preview
Germany certainly didn’t take it easy when it comes to friendlies before the 2018 World Cup. It played against England, France, Spain and Brazil before finishing off with Austria and Saudi Arabia. The only win out of those six encounters came in the last one versus Saudi Arabia (2-1). Considering what we saw from the Saudi team in the opener, I think Germany fans have a reason to be concerned. The controversy surrounding Mesut Ozil’s and Ilkay Gundogan’s pictures with the Turkish president doesn’t seem to go away. The fans aren’t happy and as a result, the players feel like outcasts. The World Cup is all about team spirit and that’s something that appears to be lacking in the German squad at the moment.
The good news is that Manuel Neuer is back, but it’s questionable whether his foot injury has fully healed. If it hasn’t, it will undoubtedly limit his movement. Personally, I’m not convinced it was the right decision to take the No.1 starting goalkeeper role away from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who had an excellent season for Barcelona and did everything possible to earn it. Jerome Boateng’s fitness is also an issue, as he’s still recovering from a late-season injury with Bayern.
The situation with Mexico is no better. The scandal involving several national team members partying with escorts after the friendly against Scotland has disturbed the harmony in the squad. El Tri lost the game after that 2-0 to Denmark. Just like in West Ham, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez finds himself sitting on the bench far too often for Juan Carlos Osorio’s side. The attack is led by Benfica’s Raul Jimenez, who are supported by Carlos Vela and Hirving Lozano. Osorio usually employs a formation with two wing backs and three central defenders and that’s how he’ll likely set up against Germany.
Prediction
With or without Rafa Marquez in the starting lineup, this Mexico team is ready to do battle with the best. If they’re aware enough to sense Germany’s vulnerability, they might bite. Joachim Low insists on playing without a typical centre-forward. Instead, he likes to use Thomas Muller and Timo Werner as shadow strikers, with Marco Reus, Julian Draxler, Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira providing the support from behind. At least that’s how he set up his team in recent friendlies. For me, right back Joshua Kimmich and left back Jonas Hector could be the X-factors. Their forward runs will disturb Mexico’s formation. The question is whether there will be someone to take advantage of their crosses. One thing I know for sure is: Never doubt Germany.
