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Zing missing from Germany’s armoury
PARIS: Germany and their normally prolific striker Thomas Mueller bemoaned missed chances at Euro 2016 as the world champions scored just one goal against battling
PARIS: Germany and their normally prolific striker Thomas Mueller bemoaned missed chances at Euro 2016 as the world champions scored just one goal against battling Northern Ireland.
The Germans had 26 attempts on goal at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday to just two for their opponents but only Mario Gomez was able to beat inspired Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael McGovern or the woodwork.
Germany won Group C and head to a last-16 match in Lille on Sunday against Albania, Slovakia or the third- placed team in Portugal’s Group F.
“The goals were lacking. I alone could have drawn level in the scorers’ list. We were greedy,” Mueller said.
“There were improvements in our play, but of course we aren’t 100 per cent happy. We had more chances t han in the last eight games.”
The Bayern Munich star combined with Gomez to create the goal on 29 minutes and he himself hit the post and the crossbar in the first half as Michael O’Neill’s Northern Irish team looked in danger of being swamped. But Germany could not get past McGovern nor get their shots on target, despite a lively performance from Gomez and Mario Goetze, the diminutive scorer of the goal which won Germany’s fourth World Cup two years ago.
STAYING POSITIVE
Mueller and other German players were upset at the criticism they faced after labouring to a 2-0 win over Ukraine in their first game and then a 0-0 draw with Poland. Mueller though took positives from a game played out against a wall of noise from joyous Northern Ireland supporters. And he accepted that merely being Germany heaps expectation on his team.
“There was more togetherness as a team,” he told reporters. “It was a step forward and a very committed performance. We showed a lot of the right qualities. We are ‘die Mannschaft’ and so that comes with big expectations, that is only natural.”
Coach Joachim Loew also bemoaned the missed opportunities. “We created some very good chances, but also squandered a few. They had no chances, but we needed to have had more purpose and consistency in front of goal,” Loew said.
GOMEZ STAKES CLAIM
Two years on from perhaps his biggest disappointment in football, Gomez staked a claim to lead Germany’s misfiring attack.
Gomez, who wasn’t picked for Germany’s triumphant World Cup campaign in Brazil through poor form, scored his side’s sole goal. “I always said to myself, that wasn’t it. That doesn’t work. My time with the national team can’t be ended like that,” Gomez said. “I followed the guys on TV in 2014 and was a huge fan. But I always had the urge to return, to be there again. It’s simply something special, a special team packed with world class players.”