World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Germany crashed out
Before the commencement of FIFA World Cup 2018, not even a single football fan could have predicted the way World Cup turned out for Germany.
The defending champions were one of the favourites (if not THE favourite) to clinch the all-important title before the tournament kicked off. However, they did not begin their campaign in a very characteristic (promising) fashion as they suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Mexico in their opening encounter.
Things were expected to patch up for Die Mannschaft in the following matches as virtually all the potential World Cup contenders started off in a similar fashion, including the likes of Brazil and Argentina.
Nevertheless, Germany never got into the groove and this was even evinced in their second match against Sweden. Although they won it by a marginal scoreline of 2-1, Janne Andersson's side gave them a good run for their money and the victory would have not even resulted if it had not been for a last-minute aesthetic goal from Toni Kroos.
As such, the team's performances were in stark contrast to their majestic stature. South Korea struck the final nail in the coffin as they produced a 2-0 giant-killing at Kazan Arena sending Joachim Low's side crashing out of the World Cup.
Also Read: Twitter explodes as Germany crash out of the World Cup
Here are the 3 reasons why Germany were not even able to qualify for the Round of 16:
#1 Underwhelming players
It's true that Germany were not facilitated with the presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Philipp Lahm like World Cup 2014 but they still had a side alive with world-beaters.
All the same, the so-called 'world-beaters' never really stepped up to the plate. On the back, Mats Hummels was expected to lead the pack but he was easily outclassed by the strikers of the opposing teams. Consequently, Germany conceded a total of 4 goals and failed to maintain a clean sheet in any of the matches.
In the midfield, Toni Kroos was expected to maintain the composure but he failed to bring his A-game in the competition. In the face of his late winner against Sweden, he was below-par in the very match and the first goal of the match was a result of one of his blunders to boot.
Even Thomas Müller, who was predicted to lead the line, did not live up to the expectations.
In consequence, an ignominious elimination was always in the offing for 2014 World Cup champions.