Following their rout of Curaçao in the Group E opener, Germany faced their first true test of this World Cup in the form of a very talented and tough Ivory Coast team. And things did not start well, with the Elephants taking the lead and outplaying the Germans for the first hour of the contest.
It was a painful but somewhat familiar sight for German fans given their nation’s recent history of group stage exits, and it looked as though they were headed for a nervous group finale before a new cult hero
emerged: Deniz Undav came off the bench for the second game in a row, scored twice and led a furious comeback to seal Germany’s top spot in the group and a place in the knockout rounds for the first time in 12 years.
The 29-year-old had to wait a long time for a chance with the national team, but an incredible season for Stuttgart made him undeniable ahead of the World Cup. But his role according to coach Julian Nagelsmann was pretty clear: be a backup striker, come off the bench in the second half, and try to score a goal.
This was not supposed to be Undav’s team; after all this German generation has talents such as Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Joshua Kimmich and Kai Havertz. But the games never lie, and Germany’s first two games have made it pretty obvious that Undav should be the very first name on the teamsheet from now on.
He has the ability to not only score goals but make them for teammates, and use his unique frame to take on more physical defenders and relieve pressure for all the technicians around him. Undav makes the game easier for everyone, and he’s loving the responsibility of leading Germany back to the top of the game.
This was not supposed to be Deniz Undav’s World Cup, but it’s quickly becoming just that. What a story.
Welcome to the Brian Brobbey Era
The Netherlands have had a history of great strikers, from Ruud van Nistelrooy to Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Robin Van Persie and others. Memphis Depay is the all-time top scorer in the nation’s history which is an impressive feat on its own, but he’s well past his prime and the Dutch have been longing for a young striker to lead them to a new era.
Enter Brian Brobbey: the 24-year-old announced himself as the next man up with an outstanding two-goal performance in the Netherlands’ 5-1 rout of Sweden in Houston. Brobbey had an excellent season in the Premier League for Sunderland and is an extremely awkward matchup for defenders: he has remarkable strength and plays like an old-school striker, and there are very few players of his type these days.
Brobbey has likely won the starting spot over Donyell Malen and Memphis for the upcoming games, and Ronald Koeman learned from his mistakes against Japan and allowed his team to play free-flowing, high-pace attacking football. The Dutch will be dangerous in the knockout rounds, and may have finally found their number nine of the future.
Japan make a statement without their best player
The knee injury suffered by Take Kubo late in the opener against the Dutch is undoubtedly a cause for concern for Japan as they head into the knockout rounds, but the team’s performance in a 4-0 win against Tunisia in their second group game, the first without Kubo, was an outstanding display of their tactical and technical prowess as a unit.
Kubo’s injury added to a list of major absences that includes midfield leader Wataru Endo and attacking stars Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma, and it remains to be seen how much their individual talent will be missed in bigger matchups. But the quality of coaching and the discipline and organization from those who remain are undeniable, and Japan are still remarkably entertaining even without Kubo.
As for Tunisia, not even the new manager bounce of Hervé Renard’s debut as head coach was enough to give them any chance of putting up a fight, and they exit the World Cup as a truly gigantic mess.
Curaçao make history as Ecuador’s nightmare continues
Despite all of the correct criticisms and hesitations about the expanded format of this World Cup, there is no doubt that the 48-team field has allowed us to enjoy stories such as Cape Verde’s heroic draw against Spain and Curaçao’s historic night on Saturday as they became the smallest nation in history to earn a point in the World Cup.
After a 7-1 defeat to Germany in the opener it seemed as though Curaçao would be easy opponents for an Ecuador side that were picked by many as a dark horse in the tournament, given their impressive South American Qualifying campaign and the world-class talent at the back and in midfield.
But Curaçao dug deep, defended for their lives, and goalkeeper Eloy Room made the most saves by any goalkeeper in a single game in World Cup history. Ecuador also helped with some horrendous finishing, and their lack of efficiency in front of goal, which already cost them three points in the opener against the Ivory Coast, was the recipe for disaster in Kansas City.
Ecuador now have to beat a red-hot Germany to stay alive in the race for third, and a group stage exit would be a true tragedy for one of the sexiest pre-tournament picks.
