MOSCOW – Defending World Cup champions have been finding it hard to get out of the group stage lately, and Germany is proving no exception.
The 2014 champions, ranked No. 1 in the world, were exposed defensively and surprisingly beaten by Mexico 1-0 on Sunday, putting its hopes of advancement in doubt.
Well, not everyone is in doubt.
“We will make it,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “There’s no reason to fall apart because you lose one game.”
Hirving Lozano scored the lone goal in the 35th minute, picking up Javier Hernandez’s pass inside the penalty area and beating Mesut Ozil before shooting past Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from 10 yards.
The goal decided the match – a match Germany didn’t expect to lose.
“I don’t know if it’s the biggest victory in (Mexico’s) history, but one of the biggest for sure,” Lozano said. “My teammates and I did some great work. We all ran our hearts out. This is the result of all that hard work.”
Three of the previous four defending World Cup champions failed to reach the knockout stages, France, Italy and Spain. Two of them lost their opening matches while the Italians had to settle for a draw.
The Germans are bidding to become the first team to retain the World Cup title since Brazil in 1962, but have now won only one of their last seven games in all competitions. They hadn’t lost an opening game since the then-West Germany fell 2-1 to Algeria in 1982.
Mexico had never beaten Germany in a competitive match but was transformed from the team which lost to the Germans 4-1 in last year’s Confederations Cup, conceding twice in the opening eight minutes.
Lozano, a 22-year-old forward nicknamed “Chucky,” got Mexico going with a deflected shot over the bar in the first minute. That set the tone for Mexico to torment Germany on the counterattack, with Lozano taking full advantage of right back Joshua Kimmich’s tendency to go forward.
“We were nervous and we weren’t playing the game we wanted to play,” Loew said. “We need to see what caused this.”
After Lozano’s goal, Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa pulled off a spectacular save to keep the score even, palming Toni Kroos’ shot onto the crossbar.
With key players tiring in the second half, Mexico pulled back and substituted both Lozano and Carlos Vela. Germany then dominated but when it broke through the Mexican defense, the shooting was poor.
Seeking defensive reinforcement, Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio brought on 39-year-old veteran Rafael Marquez to play in his fifth World Cup.
“You had the feeling that the ball just wouldn’t go in anyhow,” Loew said. “Everyone’s very disappointed.”
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia – Brazil joined the list of big teams struggling to win their opening matches at the World Cup in Russia.
The five-time champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland on Sunday, a few hours after four-time champion Germany was beaten by Mexico 1-0.
Philippe Coutinho, who was making his World Cup debut, gave Brazil the lead in the 20th minute with a volley that bounced in off the right post. Steven Zuber then headed in the equalizer in the 50th. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos dismissed complaints that Zuber had shoved defender Miranda before getting to the corner from Xherdan Shaqiri.
“I was pushed out of the way. There is video of what happened and the referee could have seen it. But it didn’t happen,” Miranda said. “We got a draw but this is only the beginning for us. We knew this game wasn’t going to be easy.”
Ramos also ignored a penalty claim late in the second half when Gabriel Jesus was wrestled to the ground by Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji.
Swiss players ended up with three yellow cards, and 10 of the 14 fouls they committed were on Brazil forward Neymar.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic described the incident against Miranda as an “ordinary challenge.” He also dismissed charges that Neymar had been treated harshly.
“Of course, neutralizing Neymar was a key ingredient of our game,” he added.
Switzerland dominated the midfield for long spells against a Brazil team that had been keen to start with a win after its disastrous exit as host in 2014.
“I am proud of their determination,” Petkovic said of his team. “The first 40 minutes were tough for us, and at halftime I told the players to stay cool and press forward. They did, and it worked.”
Coutinho had another chance to put Brazil in the lead but he sent the ball wide in the 67th minute.
“I’m very glad to score but what was important was our effort to win and what we did as a team is what counts,” Coutinho said. “We had some great moments and positive moments. Now we need to think about the next match.”
Brazil has won 17 of its 22 matches since Tite took over as coach in 2016. But they couldn’t get another one in front of a very Brazil-friendly crowd at the Rostov Arena.
Besides Brazil and Germany, Argentina was held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland on Saturday, and Spain and Portugal played to a 3-3 draw on Friday.
SAMARA, Russia – With a curling free kick that decided the outcome of the match, Aleksandar Kolarov immediately drew some comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Serbia captain’s left-footed strike proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday at the World Cup. It came two days after Ronaldo scored a similar goal to give Portugal a 3-3 draw with Spain.
“It was an amazing goal,” Costa Rica defender Bryan Oviedo said of Kolarov’s effort. “Maybe two out 10 balls will go in like that.”
It was the third free kick goal so far at the World Cup: Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin had one in stoppage time in the 5-0 tournament opener against Saudi Arabia and Ronaldo capped his hat trick against Spain with the other.
“We knew that set pieces were our forte,” said Kolarov, who now plays for Roma after a stint with Manchester City. “We practiced them on the training ground. I practiced set pieces, and this was enough for three points.”
The victory gave the Serbians the early advantage in a tough Group E, which also includes five-time champion Brazil and Switzerland.
“It’s especially important that we have three points in the bag,” Kolarov said. “The match against Switzerland is going to be the most difficult one. Of course we want to win. Let’s see what the game brings. There’s not much time to celebrate. We will celebrate, but up to a point. Not excessively.”
The final moments of the match were marked by a squabble on the sidelines as Nemanja Matic got into a tussle with a Costa Rican assistant. Players from both teams rushed toward the scrum but it was quickly diffused. Video replay was also used late in the match to determine if Aleksandar Prijovic should be given a red card. He was given a yellow.
The Ticos were the surprise of the last World Cup, reaching the quarterfinals in Brazil before being ousted by the Netherlands on penalties. It was the furthest the small Central American nation had advanced in soccer’s premier tournament.
