2018 FIFA WORLD CUP

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP – Germany vs Sweden PREVIEW



It’s the game that could decide the fate of the world champions. A loss here and Germany are out. Sweden have already dealt with big boys in Netherlands and Italy in the qualifiers to the world cup. Can they add another big nation to the list? We’ll have to wait and see.

GERMANY

Germany are coming into this game needing a result, preferably a win because a draw could probably cost them anyway. Germany have lost their opening match 0-1 to Mexico and it seems like they’ve been hit with the champions curse which France, Italy and Spain have had recently not being able to backup a winning campaign with another good one. Germany’s biggest weakness the lack of pace was exposed and Mexico’s quick players like Lozano destroyed them. Kimmich was a massive liability at the back although his passing going forward was immensely good his side was destroyed whenever Mexico hit Germany on the counter as Kimmich couldn’t get back quick enough. It just looked like Germany lacked that leader that they used to have in Lahm, Schwensteiger, Klose. They didn’t look like the Germany we know. They had chances of their own, but just couldn’t get past Ochoa. A performance they have to improve on, otherwise they will be facing a trip back home before the knockouts even start.

To get a result against Sweden, Germany will clearly have to improve. They might not get exposed for pace because Sweden aren’t a quick team, but going forward Germany have to do something difference. Kimmich needs to make sure to close the gaps on the right side when defending. Ozil, Kroos have to get their creativity on point as it lacked in the opener. Ozil was a complete no show, Kroos did some things but can improve. Timo Werner must put in an improved performance too, as a striker he was really quiet against Mexico and we shouldn’t even be surprised if Gomez got to see some action again and Muller can’t be ghosting either, their most trusted goal scorer over the recent world cups. We shouldn’t be surprised if Low decided to rotate the squad a little by bringing in something new and fresh into the lineup because Germany do look like they lack something going forward although they have all the talent in the world. If the Germans can get back to their top all around play, then we should see them win, but if they continue to look sluggish, Sweden will be more than capable of punishing them.

SWEDEN

Sweden started off their campaign with a win in a typical solid Swedish performance. They beat South Korea 1-0. It was a good performance by Sweden, they showed great organisation at the back and going forward created quite a few chances. Although Sweden failed to take a lot of their chances, they did eventually win a penalty and surprisingly their Centre Back, Captain Granqvist took it and scored. Granqvist had a solid performance at the back, just like the rest of that Swedish back line as mentioned already. Now looking at their MID/ATT play. Forsberg, Ekdal and Larsson put in some really good passes all game long, dominating the midfield and just playing well overall. A little problem that Sweden had though was wasting chances. Marcus Berg especially wasted some really good chances which was a little surprising given his goal scoring record and that nearly got punished in the end when a Korean player had a free header which he missed luckily for Sweden. Overall, it was a good win for Sweden, they put in a good shift and got a deserved win which now puts them in position to knock out Germany. Italy and Netherlands already been taken care off, surely they can’t knock another big team can they?

For Sweden to pull a magical result, a lot of things have to go their way. Let’s start off with their backline. Sweden have shown fantastic organisation at the back over the recent years by having a very solid back 4 who play together very well. Sweden have held off nations like Italy with their top defending. Their leader Granqvist will have to show his real captaincy qualities as he’s the one who leads the backline and gets everyone organised while performing on a very high level, he a rock at the back and could make German strikers uncomfortable. I’m not that worried about Sweden’s creativity because players like Forsberg, Larsson will put in good passes in the box, the only worry however is will they take their chances? Berg missed some easy ones in the opener and it will be interesting to see if he bounces back. Sweden need to try and exploit the left side since Germany’s left back Kimmich does love to leave spaces there by going forward. If Sweden defend like they are capable of and create enough chances we shouldn’t be surprised if they got something out of this. It’s a dangerous team to play against and given the form that Germany are in, it is very well possible that Sweden can do something here.

Prediction

This really depends on which Germany shows up. If we see a Germany that we saw in friendlies before the tournament and the Germany that lost to Mexico, then Sweden will get something out of this. However if Germany show up and actually play their game then it could be a different story. I feel like this year Germany do lack a leader like a Lahm or a Klose who would settle the team down when things don’t go right. Sweden have beaten some good teams on their way already so they’ve been here before. We shouldn’t expect a goal scoring fest here, can’t trust Germany’s midfield with the way they’re performing meanwhile Sweden themselves aren’t a high scoring team and are solid at the back. This will either end 1-0 to Germany or a 1-1 draw. Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Sweden got a draw.

Group Standings

1 Mexico 3 pts +1 GD

2 Sweden 3 pts +1 GD

3 Germany 0 pts -1 GD

4 South Korea 0 pts -1 GD

ODDS – Decimal (WilliamHill)

Germany Win – 1.44

Draw – 4.33

Sweden Win – 7.50

KICK OFF – 23rd June 2018 – 7pm UK Time