Lozano, Neymar among winners and losers on Day 4 of World Cup

Craig Forrest and Martine Gaillard recap the surprise results from the 2018 World Cup fixtures featuring Germany and Brazil.

Sunday was literally a seismic day at the 2018 World Cup.

Mexico stunned Germany 1-0, while Brazil had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Switzerland. Serbia also notched a 1-0 win off a brilliant Aleksandar Kolarov free kick in the second half.

Brazil (9) and Germany (7) owned the longest winning runs in World Cup openers entering Day 4, only for both streaks to be snapped within hours of each other.

Here are three winners and three losers from the day’s action at the World Cup.

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WINNERS

Hirving Lozano

Before the World Cup, Hirving Lozano was tipped as a potential breakout player. He was coming off a sensational debut campaign in Europe, where he scored 19 goals in 34 matches in all competitions for PSV Eindhoven. All while asserting himself as a key player for Mexico.

Lozano lived up to the hype on Sunday against Germany. Not only did he score the winner, he consistently torched Joshua Kimmich down Germany’s right wing. The 22-year-old was the main outlet for several Mexican counter-attacks, one of which resulted in the goal.

He might not be the face of El Tri right now, but if Lozano continues this form in the final two group games, the transition will have officially begun.

Valon Behrami

Valon Behrami shutting down Neymar. That is a sentence worth reading twice.

The Swiss midfielder was given a clear task versus Brazil. Do not let Neymar cut inside and influence the game. It’s safe to say that Behrami accomplished that feat.

Behrami checked out of the game on 71 minutes after he was booked for – you guessed it – a foul on Neymar. The Swiss held their own until the full-time whistle but the Udinese man was definitely integral to the Rossocrociati in their World Cup opener.

Nikola Milenkovic

At just 20 years old, Milenkovic made his first competitive start for Serbia in the World Cup opener versus Costa Rica despite his inexperience on the international stage, and was immense.

Milenkovic stayed touch-tight to Costa Rican forwards Marco Ureña and Joel Campbell while ensuring he didn’t leave any gaping holes in the defence. He made five ball recoveries and a game-high nine clearances in the victory.

The Fiorentina defender was also ambitious on the ball. Milenkovic actually spent most of his time in the midfield, driving forward as a pseudo deep-lying playmaker. He finished the match with 42 passes completed for an 89 per cent accuracy rate.

Milenkovic’s heat map, via SofaScore.
Milenkovic’s pass map, via WhoScored.com

For a player who only became a permanent starter in Serie A in February, Milenkovic could become the revelation of the tournament for Serbia.

LOSERS

Neymar

Yes, Neymar just came back from injury. Yes, it was his first competitive match since February. Regardless, there were some very strange moments from the Brazilian superstar in the team’s draw with Switzerland.

Neymar was not lacking motivation nor was he uninvolved. But considering he was the most-fouled player in the match, it was surprising that he held onto the ball for as long as he did during the game.

There were countless moments when Neymar could have laid off a pass to Philippe Coutinho or Gabriel Jesus before making a darting run for a give-and-go. It would’ve unsettled Switzerland’s midfield and defence, who were perfectly content with the 26-year-old trying to dribble through the lines.

Jesus was notably invisible, mainly because he seldom touched the ball. He had nearly half as many touches (39) as Neymar (71) in the match.

Gabriel Jesus’s touch map, via WhoScored.

In the pre-match friendlies versus Austria and Croatia, most of Brazil’s attack-minded players were connecting with one another during the build-up in the final third. That was sorely missing against Switzerland.

Germany midfield

Germany’s defeat was undoubtedly shocking. But the manner of the defeat was the most surprising aspect of the match.

The German midfield was practically nonexistent. Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira were pushed very high up the pitch, which left acres of space for Mexico on counter-attacks. Had the Mexican forwards been more clinical, then El Tri would’ve won the match by at least a couple of goals.

Leon Goretzka or Ilkay Gundogan would have been the perfect choice for this game instead of Sami Khedira. They have more stamina and can create from deep, and this would’ve enabled Germany to scythe their way through the Mexican defence. Without one of Goretzka or Gundogan next to Toni Kroos, the world champions were restricted to long shots.

It played right into Mexico’s plan, as evidenced by expected goals – an analytic used to determine the quality of a particular attempt.

Coach Joachim Low will have some crucial decisions to make for the Sweden game. The Swedes are a compact defensive unit who seldom surrender space. Goretzka or Gundogan next to Kroos would be beneficial.

Oscar Ramirez

There were a couple of bizarre choices from Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez in the loss to Serbia.

The decision to bench centre-back Kendall Waston, which Ramirez did in the pre-World Cup friendlies as well, was puzzling to say the least. Costa Rica opted to force Serbia to attack down the flanks and cross, so starting Waston would’ve added another aerial presence defensively and another threat on attacking set pieces.

Additionally, forward Marco Ureña had no one executing runs for him. Ureña is a striker who drops deep and waits for oncoming players to dart into the box, so if nobody follows, the attack is ineffective.

Coaches have their favourites and it’s usually wise to keep a consistent lineup together. But if moving Serbia to the wings and then countering through Ureña was Ramirez’s plan all along, then he chose the wrong personnel.

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