It is the turn of Group F to conclude on Wednesday afternoon with the final two matches in the section taking place and it is a massive day for the defending champions Germany who need to beat South Korea or they could say goodbye to the tournament.
South Korea are the one side who already know their fate in the competition while Mexico have a foot in the knockout stages. Sweden are the other team in the qualifying mix over what promises to be an afternoon with plenty of chopping and changing in the table.
South Korea vs Germany
Germany go into their final match in the group knowing that a draw might be enough to take them through but a win would give them a better chance of it. They might even top the group with a win. South Korea know they have to win this and win it big if they are to make it through. They would then need Mexico to beat Sweden.
The offensive deficiencies that we have seen with a number of the Asian sides have been seen with South Korea too. Although they have a superstar in Son Heung-min they have been unable to get him on the ball enough and that is going to have to change if they are to get the desired result in this match. They will need to tighten up defensively too although that might not be easy given that they need a few goals.
Germany have looked very un-Germany like so far. They have been struggling to create huge chances in front of goal and they are conceded those sorts of chances on a regular basis. If they are to have any chance of holding onto their crown that is something that is going to have to change but with Jerome Boateng suspended you wonder what they can do with their defence.
Mexico vs Sweden
Mexico have put themselves in a wonderful position in this group with a pair of wins in it so far and if they avoid defeat here they will top the group and potentially avoid Brazil in the next round. Sweden need to better Germany’s result to qualify themselves or dish out a thrashing to Mexico.
There is no doubt in my mind that Mexico have been the best team to watch in this group. They look comfortable on the ball and their movement and quality has been something else. Whether they can open up a stubborn, and often deep Swedish defence remains to be seen. Whether they even try given that the draw serves them well is also something to look out for.
It might be that the Swedish defence is not as packed in numbers or as deep in territory in this match because in all likelihood they are going to need to win this game so at some point they are going to have to get men forward. They’ve not been negative in the tournament so far but there have been times where I’ve felt they could have been a little more adventurous, not least when Germany were down to 10 men, and they might pay for not being so.
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Betting
I don’t think the latter game is particularly easy to bet on with a draw suiting Mexico and me having doubts over whether Sweden have the offensive weapons to break through them. I’d like to think Mexico will have a go and try and win the group but certainly if they don’t score early the longer the match goes on the more I’m sure they will be happy with parity so I can’t really bet on that one.
It is hard to ignore the frailty of the Germany defence in the other match though and with South Korea knowing they have to win well you would think they will find a formation which allows them to get forward and rain shots in on Manuel Neuer’s goal. That should leave gaps at the other end for the classy German attack to feast on so I like the idea of both teams finding the net in this one.
Tips
Back South Korea vs Germany – Both teams to score for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
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