Germany certainly wasn’t expecting to lose its World Cup opener to Mexico on Sunday, but that is precisely what happened, and it seems to have rattled their camp a bit.
Take Germany defender Mats Hummels, for instance. After the 1-0 defeat, he was openly critical of the team’s tactics, stating that they were too attacking and left the defense vulnerable to counterattacks.
Hummels pin-points why Germany lost: "If 7 or 8 players attack, then it's clear the offensive force is greater than the defensive stability. That's what I often talk about internally, to no affect. Our cover wasn't good, too often it was just Jerome and I at the back." #MEXGER
— Bundesliga_reporter (@rylandjames) June 17, 2018
Hummels and fellow defender Jerome Boateng were frequently left to defend against two- or three-on-one counters in the second half, with only Mexico’s inability to finish them off preventing Germany from losing by a more lopsided scoreline. Hummels hints that this has been a concern of his for a while, but it’s certainly a major statement to take these criticisms public after a World Cup game. Manager Joachim Low looks like he has a mess to clean up.
