WC-MOTD10
Day 10:-
Germany vs. Ghana:-
Africa’s biggest genuine hope were extremely close to a first triumph at this WC amidst the Germans’ usual “second game syndrome”!
The game began with Germany controlling the pace and flow of things with their ball possession as Ghana took a step back and defended fairly deep.
The Ghanaians ensured spectators of an open-end game with their courage of grabbing their chances every time they went on the counter!
The Germans were more in control of the game as time passed; as the slick passing between the trio of Özil, Müller and Götze allowed them to freely interchange positions and roam around Ghana’s defense looking to exploit spaces.
Ghana, on the other hand, were not offering too much in Germany’s box and were too passive in their offensive approach.
It was an increasingly interesting first half from both sides; with Germany’s dynamism and good passing rhythm causing Ghana’s back-line all sorts of problems as their “false” strikers kept getting into dangerous positions.
The Germans might have been undone by some lack of precision in front of goal and a more imposing element of clinical finishing was needed. Meanwhile, Ghana were pretty courageous in their approach but a tad slow in their build-up play leading to numerous counter-attacks.
The second half did not go for long before Germany exploited acres of space in Ghana’s defense; as Özil passed play to Müller, who whipped in a brilliant cross for Götze to give Germany the lead with a somewhat fortunate header.
Ghana responded swiftly with a headed goal of their own after the timid figure of André Ayew jumped over early-second-half-sub Mostafi for the equalizer.
From that point on, Ghana were much faster in constructing their attacks; but Gyan was acting too static when given the ball, while Germany were suffering a mini-shock after the 1-1 score.
Philip Lahm’s misplaced pass (a rarity!) in midfield followed by Khedira’s slow response time (NOT a rarity!) saw Ghana launch a quick counter-attack which ended with Gyan blasting the ball past a helpless Neuer for a 2-1 lead!
Coach James Appiah’s reluctance to immediately shore up his defense and protect his backline with another DM came back to haunt Ghana as Germany soon scored from a corner-kick amidst some poor marking and defending in the box.
Ghana came very close to sealing a win in the final stages but the lack of chemistry between some of their players, coupled with their inconsistency in front of goal and their passing imprecision meant it all ended with a draw.
At the end of it all, Germany might feel undone by their rather timid offensive approach due to the ineffectiveness of their “false nine” system, and it would be perplexing if Coach Joachim Löw does NOT opt for a formation with a classic striker, i.e. Klose, in their upcoming game(s).
Ghana will be kicking themselves for not converting the numerous chances they had to effectively finish the game (both BEFORE and after Germany’s equalizer) in a truly exciting end-to-end game!
Man of the match: Mesut Özil: He was on top of his game today; constantly buzzing around Ghana’s defense and creating wonderful opportunities for his teammates (including that corner which lead to their 2nd goal).
Germany vs. Ghana:-
Africa’s biggest genuine hope were extremely close to a first triumph at this WC amidst the Germans’ usual “second game syndrome”!
The game began with Germany controlling the pace and flow of things with their ball possession as Ghana took a step back and defended fairly deep.
The Ghanaians ensured spectators of an open-end game with their courage of grabbing their chances every time they went on the counter!
The Germans were more in control of the game as time passed; as the slick passing between the trio of Özil, Müller and Götze allowed them to freely interchange positions and roam around Ghana’s defense looking to exploit spaces.
Ghana, on the other hand, were not offering too much in Germany’s box and were too passive in their offensive approach.
It was an increasingly interesting first half from both sides; with Germany’s dynamism and good passing rhythm causing Ghana’s back-line all sorts of problems as their “false” strikers kept getting into dangerous positions.
The Germans might have been undone by some lack of precision in front of goal and a more imposing element of clinical finishing was needed. Meanwhile, Ghana were pretty courageous in their approach but a tad slow in their build-up play leading to numerous counter-attacks.
The second half did not go for long before Germany exploited acres of space in Ghana’s defense; as Özil passed play to Müller, who whipped in a brilliant cross for Götze to give Germany the lead with a somewhat fortunate header.
Ghana responded swiftly with a headed goal of their own after the timid figure of André Ayew jumped over early-second-half-sub Mostafi for the equalizer.
From that point on, Ghana were much faster in constructing their attacks; but Gyan was acting too static when given the ball, while Germany were suffering a mini-shock after the 1-1 score.
Philip Lahm’s misplaced pass (a rarity!) in midfield followed by Khedira’s slow response time (NOT a rarity!) saw Ghana launch a quick counter-attack which ended with Gyan blasting the ball past a helpless Neuer for a 2-1 lead!
Coach James Appiah’s reluctance to immediately shore up his defense and protect his backline with another DM came back to haunt Ghana as Germany soon scored from a corner-kick amidst some poor marking and defending in the box.
Ghana came very close to sealing a win in the final stages but the lack of chemistry between some of their players, coupled with their inconsistency in front of goal and their passing imprecision meant it all ended with a draw.
At the end of it all, Germany might feel undone by their rather timid offensive approach due to the ineffectiveness of their “false nine” system, and it would be perplexing if Coach Joachim Löw does NOT opt for a formation with a classic striker, i.e. Klose, in their upcoming game(s).
Ghana will be kicking themselves for not converting the numerous chances they had to effectively finish the game (both BEFORE and after Germany’s equalizer) in a truly exciting end-to-end game!
Man of the match: Mesut Özil: He was on top of his game today; constantly buzzing around Ghana’s defense and creating wonderful opportunities for his teammates (including that corner which lead to their 2nd goal).
Ahmad Al-Omar - 22. Jun, 01:47
