At only 24, this German winger already has 8 goals in two World Cups
Germany coach Joachim loew poured praise on make-shift striker Thomas Mueller after his hat-trick in the 4-0 rout of Portugal at the World Cup, then hinted at making changes.
Germany became the first country to reach the milestone of 100 World Cup matches and marked the occasion by thumping Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal.
Mueller bagged the Germans’ seventh World Cup hat-trick in total more than any other nation — with Argentina second on four.
“Thomas did really well up front and he constantly tore holes in the defence,” an enthused loew said after the Group G clash.
“He is a very unorthodox player and you can’t really predict his lines of running, but he has one aim and that is ‘how can I score a goalIJ’
“That makes him so dangerous, especially in the box.”
A decisive first-half saw Germany race into a 3-0 lead in Salvador as Mueller converted a penalty, then fired home their third on the stroke of half-time after Mats Hummels scored with a header.
Mueller, who normally plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich, wrapped up his hat-trick with a scrappy effort in the dying stages as Ronaldo endured an afternoon to forget.
“The whole team played incredibly compactly and hardly gave anyway any chances to counter-attack,” added loew.
“When we went 3-0 up, it was important to hold the ball and play more economically.
“Jerome Boateng did really well against Ronaldo.”
Ghana await the Germans next in Recife on June 21 and with high temperatures expected for the 1600 kick-off local time (1900 GMT), loew says changes may come. Hummels is an injury concern after being helped off with a thigh problem and loew has said he will weigh up his options over the next few days. “We will now look at the team set up,” said loew.
“Ghana has an incredible physique, they are very robust, with very fast players. The heat conditions will demand a lot of us.
“Mats Hummels had a knock to the thigh, but I assume that it wasn’t too serious.”
loew said it was a particularly good day for Germany after news broke on the morning of the match that ex-Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has come out of a lengthy coma.
“It’s very good news, we are all elated of course,” said loew.
“led by (Schumacher fan) lukas Podolski, we all really crossed our fingers for him and the fact he has taken the next step is great.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the team dressing room after the match, as she has done on previous occasions, which also boosted loew’s squad. “She gave a little speech to say how nice it was that we won, especially after such a long trip here,” said the cerebral coach, who has been with the team for close to eight years now.
“There was a lot of applause. We always like it when she comes to see us, she is always a nice guest to have.”
4 with ‘false nine’
loew left Germany’s all-time leading scorer on the bench in the World Cup opener against Portugal and it proved to be the right move.
loew raised some eyebrows in Germany when he decided to call up only one classic striker into his squad, the country’s top-scoring Miroslav Klose.
Klose has surpassed legendary Gerd Mueller with 69 goals for Germany and needs one more in the World Cup to tie the record of 15 held by Brazil’s Ronaldo.
But even such credentials were not enough to get the 36-year-old Klose a spot in the starting lineup, courtesy of some very good player and a different system.
loew has been favoring a “false nine” system, with attacking midfielders swapping positions and passes to break clear of the defenders.
It worked like a dream against Portugal.
Mario Goetze and Mesut Ozil created chances but failed to score themselves.Mueller, however, pounced on every opportunity.
He converted a 12th-minute penalty — earned by Goetze — then stripped Bruno Alves of the ball to score his second and Germany’s third just before halftime that all but put the game away.
Mueller said he had no qualms about taking the penalty.
“I’ve been in some big matches and it’s not like I get afraid,” Mueller said.
loew said he also valued Mueller not only for his scoring. “He ran a lot and tied Pepe and Bruno Alves (Portugal’s two defenders), who had to stay behind and could not go forward. That allowed Goetze and Ozil to look for space. That was planned,” loew said.
loew’s plan was to “win the ball in midfield and quickly attack” and the coach said the players executed it well.
By choosing to play without a true striker, loew may have increased the efficiency of his team.
loew lost another option when Marco Reus was injured just before the World Cup.
Still, if the team keeps playing like this, Klose may not get the chance to equal Ronaldo’s record.