I guess I may have spoken too soon in posting that inspirational article about Germany last night. Serbia's win snaps a German 16-match win streak, and definitely throws some doubts into group D. If Ghana beats Australia, we know that they will most likely leave the group on top. I suppose thats a "feel-good" result for this African World Cup.
Serbia, for their part, played well. They defended very well. Most importantly, they took advantages of the opportunities they got. However, the turning point in this game seemed to parallel yesterday's Greece- Nigeria game. Getting a player ejected really changes the dynamic of your team. It became apparent how valuable that player was to the team, and how their dynamic was messed up. Muller, Podolski and Ozil had been charging down the flanks, but without a 9 to pass it into, the dynamic totally changes. Plus Serbia had one less player to guard, and could concentrate on the fast flank players.
The Spanish ref, Alberto Undiano, played a massive part in the game. I don't blame the German defenders for being afraid to make a challenge. He was handing out yellow cards like lollipops in the first half.
The cup isn't over for Germany, but they must learn from this and they must find different strategies. Mario Gomez is not a replacement for Klose. Cacau is going to have to be fit in.
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