Deniz Undav has taken everyone by surprise with the scale of his impact at the FIFA World Cup. Despite being benched over and over again, Undav turned out to be Germany’s hero in the 2-1 victory against Ivory Coast. His cameos in both games have yielded 3 goals and 2 assists at an average of a goal contribution every 11.2 minutes.
The patience and agility of an apex predator separates a playmaker from a true number 9. Where Kai Havertz struggled to fill the centre forward role for Germany against
a disciplined and structured Ivory Coast side, Undav sliced them apart with instinct, power and some good old striker’s guile.
Havertz’s feeble contribution in disrupting the backline offered the opposition all the time needed to cut out the rest of the German attackers. Undav on other hand moved at a gingerly pace but was better positioned to score from breaks. The first goal came from a sneaky run catching the defenders off-guard from behind to score the equalizer.
The second goal on the other hand was pure instinct as he took a perfect first touch off Nmecha’s wonderful through ball. Undav’s clever turn to put himself between the defender and the ball, gave the Ivorians no chance despite a massive difference in body size. The finish was far from perfect, but it was good enough to deliver victory to the Germans. Julian Nagelsmann has to reconsider and give Undav more opportunity. Late goals don’t always come when needed.
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