Disinterested, lazy and a genuinely sad player to watch, Ozil’s performances have been shocking. His performances for the national team has always been used to justify his bad club performance as he had always delivered for his team.
However, that excuse no longer works given Ozil’s poor performances at the World Cup. In the two games, he featured against Mexico and South Korea, he had just one shot on goal in the entire tournament and was dispossessed at least three times per game.
The time has come for Germany to switch to the three-man midfield that has become the hallmark of the best club and national teams in world football and with Ozil out, a combination of Toni Kroos, a defensive midfielder and a box-to-box runner like Leon Goretzka would add a different dimension to the team’s play.