Amid the thunderstorm of goals for Germany in their World Cup opener, one player caught the attention of fans and pundits back home for all the wrong reasons. Leroy Sane was the only one of Julian Nagelsmann’s front four to end the match with neither a goal nor an assist, three good chances going past the Galatasaray winger as his teammates put seven past Curacao.
Though a record of 17 goals and 11 assists from 77 international appearances is hardly disastrous, Sane has rarely delivered his best football on the biggest stages. In European Championships and World Cups the Galatasaray winger, one of the veterans of a youthful squad at 30 years of age, has no goals and one assist.
It is perhaps due to that indifferent output when the nation is watching that the Galatasaray forward has faced such criticism at home, with record cap holder Lothar Matthaus among the most vocal skeptics of his performances, even arguing that he should not have gone to the World Cup. It is not, however, a media problem for Sane, who received boos and whistles in a 2-1 friendly win over Ghana in March. Nagelsmann, however, is intent on blocking out the noise of the crowd.
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“I don’t know why I wouldn’t let Leroy play tomorrow,” Nagelsmann reported. “He trained really well, he’s well integrated into the squad. He’ll be important for us tomorrow.
“I really didn’t like the criticism about Leroy Sane after the last match. I feel like there is always something people want to criticise about him, whether it’s his goal numbers or his work ethic. My opinion is: he played well, he trained well and he will have a good match for us tomorrow.”
Nagelsmann probably has a point with regards to the Curacao win. Sane might not have scored, but no one ended the game with more non-penalty expected goals than his 0.82. There have occasionally been questions about the winger’s work rate without the ball, but Gradient Sports tracking data assesses that only left back David Raum sprinted further than Sane. Only Florian Wirtz and Aleksandar Pavlovic pressed more frequently. Only Kai Havertz made more runs in behind; no one made more support runs.
The stats vindicate Nagelsmann’s view. Sane’s work rate is not in question. Get in the shooting positions he got in often enough and the ball will go in. He just needs one of those shots to break his way.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, June 20 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: BMO Field — Toronto, Canada
TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Germany -200; Draw +340; Ivory Coast +480
Germany vs. Ivory Coast predicted starting lineups
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck, Nathaniel Brown; Aleksandar Pavlovic, Felix Nmecha; Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz; Kai Havertz
Ivory Coast: Yahia Fofana; Guela Doue, Wilfried Singo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Ghislain Konan; Yan Diomande, Franck Kessie, Seko Fofana, Ibrahima Sangare, Bazoumana Toure; Elye Wahi
Germany vs. Ivory Coast pick, prediction
Germany’s defense did not exactly look flawless against Curacao so a forward like Yan Diomande will back himself to cause some damage. Still the quality at the other end should be enough to carry the favorites in what promises to be one of the most intriguing games of the World Cup group stage. Pick: Germany 3, Ivory Coast 1
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