By Ed Valentine & Robbie Butler
We have to admit we were caught by surprise watching the Germany Algeria game last night. The African team played really well and we were shocked at how close they came to defeating a European powerhouse. Most people we spoke to today had the same thoughts. Algeria really impressed and could have knocked out one of the favourites for the competition last night.
However, despite what we saw, the Germans dominated the statistics. In fact, some records were broken last night by the Germans. Die Adler (The Eagles) had 28 shots on goal – a record at World Cup 2014! Toni Kroos had 473 touches in the game, the highest ever recorded at a single World Cup match! Philipp Lahm had 438 touches, the only other player to make it past the 400 mark in a single match this World Cup.
However probably the most noticable thing about last night was the movement of German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The Bayern Munich stopper played like a sweeper at times, rushing off his line on many occasions to prevent or stop Algerian attacks. To the right is Neuer’s heat map duirng the game last night (courtsey of OPTA). The goalkeepers movement looks similar to that of any central defender or sweeper! The Germans looked exposed at the back at times and one would wonder if they’d get away with that against more clinical opposition.
We have to admit we were caught by surprise watching the Germany Algeria game last night. The African team played really well and we were shocked at how close they came to defeating a European powerhouse. Most people we spoke to today had the same thoughts. Algeria really impressed and could have knocked out one of the favourites for the competition last night.
However, despite what we saw, the Germans dominated the statistics. In fact, some records were broken last night by the Germans. Die Adler (The Eagles) had 28 shots on goal – a record at World Cup 2014! Toni Kroos had 473 touches in the game, the highest ever recorded at a single World Cup match! Philipp Lahm had 438 touches, the only other player to make it past the 400 mark in a single match this World Cup.
However probably the most noticable thing about last night was the movement of German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The Bayern Munich stopper played like a sweeper at times, rushing off his line on many occasions to prevent or stop Algerian attacks. To the right is Neuer’s heat map duirng the game last night (courtsey of OPTA). The goalkeepers movement looks similar to that of any central defender or sweeper! The Germans looked exposed at the back at times and one would wonder if they’d get away with that against more clinical opposition.
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