With both teams forming a 4-2-3-1 formation on the field, it was supposed to be a neck-to-neck battle between both the teams. However, once you noticed Korea Republican’s approach in the first half, it was visible that their primary objective was to minimize the impact of the Germans by staying compact in the back. Korea put numbers behind the ball, and maintained a tight shape, forcing Germany to resort and flip attacking moves constantly.
The Asian team was sturdy and blocked the numerous passing lanes, right from the deep midfield to the inside of the box. Their central defensive partnership of Yun-Young Sun and Kim Young-Gwon weren’t afraid to put their body in the line of the ball and cleared out the ball on numerous occasions.
The fullbacks stayed back, drifted in and put pressure on Joshua Kimmich, frustrating the young right back by not allowing him to send in mean crosses into the box. Having put Germany under extreme pressure, Die Manschafft did not panic though, as they maintained a whopping 75% possession of the ball in the first 45 minutes.
It was the age-old case of possession without penetration in the opening half of the game, as Ozil and Goretzka could not find the edge and sharpness in their game that was required to breach this resolute Korean defence. Despite their presence on the ball, Germany could manage only two shots on the target until halftime, as their immaculate movement lacked the final delivery that was needed so desperately at that point in time.
Marco Reus’ driving runs from the left and the centre ensured that Germany found some urgency at least, but there was a lot of work and improvement to be done in their game in the second half.