Germany went into their final World Cup Group F game against South Korea in the knowledge that victory would almost certainly seal their place in the second round. After defeat to Mexico, their late win over Sweden gave hope that Joachim Low’s side were on their way back to something approaching top form. However, this was not to be the case.
South Korea, who were once again well organised by head coach Shin Tae-yong, competed with the (former) reigning world champions and, securing an upset 2-0 win, denied them progress to the knockout stages. Here we analyse the game, including what went wrong for Germany on the day.
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Low went for his preferred 4-2-3-1 system with Timo Werner leading the line up front. Behind him, Mesut Ozil was joined by Marco Reus and Leon Goretzka, with Thomas Muller dropped to the bench. There were no surprise selections in the midfield or back-line, though Niklas Sule did come in for the suspended Jerome Boateng at centre-back.
South Korea continued with the 4-4-1-1 system that served them well against Mexico, this time with Son Heung-min up front and Koo Ja-cheol providing support. Moon Seon-min added pace on the left-hand side of midfield, while team captain Ki Sung-yueng, missing out through injury, was replaced by Jung Woo-young.
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