The afternoon before, it was clear to see what we should expect the next day in the game against Northern Ireland. The final training session before the match – rarely does he live up to his reputation so much. Shooting practice: from every position, from every angle, in every possible way.
Manuel Neuer did what he always tends to do: he saved magnificently and stopped everything that he possibly could. Nevertheless, he had to fish the ball out of his net way too often for his liking. Many of his teammates played a part in that, but one in particular: Mario Gomez. Gomez scored: from every position, from every angle, in every possible way.
Gomez scored in the game against Northern Ireland as well. Not from every position, not from every angle, not in every possible way. But he scored. Just once - one decisive time. Gomez scored the only goal of the day, which secured Germany’s spot at the top of the group. Paris, Parc des Princes, 21st June 2016, 18.29 CEST. Joshua Kimmich wins the ball in his own half and brings Mesut Özil into play. He gives the ball to Mario Gomez, who feeds it through to Thomas Müller. Müller pulls towards goal, turns 180 degrees and lays the ball back to Gomez. And then: a shot, a goal, huge celebrations.
"We are top of the group – that is what counts at the EUROs"
And a compliment after the match. "Mario Gomez scored the goal, and that was great", said Joachim Löw. Looking back at their work over the past days and weeks, the national coach heaped praise on him: "he was very dangerous in front of goal in training. Because of this, he is there to be a different type of player for us up front. Not a false nine, but a real number nine. He was dangerous two or three times."
Goal scored, mission accomplished? No way! The manager’s expectations of his striker are higher than that. Gomez should occupy the centre, should keep opposition players busy, and should therefore create space for his teammates. And, did he? Absolutely! Gomez worked hard, was always available for a pass, held the ball and distributed cleverly. He had an outstanding 50-50 win rate of 83.3 percent. The 30-year-old had eleven touches outside, and six touches inside the box.
And Gomez could have scored a couple more goals. Just like the rest of his team. In his summary of the match, the Turkish Super League top goalscorer summarised it all: "We are top of the group – That is what counts at the EUROs. Now we hope that we will keep scoring goals. Maybe we are saving them all for the knockout stages."
created by mmc/mb
The afternoon before, it was clear to see what we should expect the next day in the game against Northern Ireland. The final training session before the match – rarely does he live up to his reputation so much. Shooting practice: from every position, from every angle, in every possible way.
Manuel Neuer did what he always tends to do: he saved magnificently and stopped everything that he possibly could. Nevertheless, he had to fish the ball out of his net way too often for his liking. Many of his teammates played a part in that, but one in particular: Mario Gomez. Gomez scored: from every position, from every angle, in every possible way.
Gomez scored in the game against Northern Ireland as well. Not from every position, not from every angle, not in every possible way. But he scored. Just once - one decisive time. Gomez scored the only goal of the day, which secured Germany’s spot at the top of the group. Paris, Parc des Princes, 21st June 2016, 18.29 CEST. Joshua Kimmich wins the ball in his own half and brings Mesut Özil into play. He gives the ball to Mario Gomez, who feeds it through to Thomas Müller. Müller pulls towards goal, turns 180 degrees and lays the ball back to Gomez. And then: a shot, a goal, huge celebrations.
"We are top of the group – that is what counts at the EUROs"
And a compliment after the match. "Mario Gomez scored the goal, and that was great", said Joachim Löw. Looking back at their work over the past days and weeks, the national coach heaped praise on him: "he was very dangerous in front of goal in training. Because of this, he is there to be a different type of player for us up front. Not a false nine, but a real number nine. He was dangerous two or three times."
Goal scored, mission accomplished? No way! The manager’s expectations of his striker are higher than that. Gomez should occupy the centre, should keep opposition players busy, and should therefore create space for his teammates. And, did he? Absolutely! Gomez worked hard, was always available for a pass, held the ball and distributed cleverly. He had an outstanding 50-50 win rate of 83.3 percent. The 30-year-old had eleven touches outside, and six touches inside the box.
And Gomez could have scored a couple more goals. Just like the rest of his team. In his summary of the match, the Turkish Super League top goalscorer summarised it all: "We are top of the group – That is what counts at the EUROs. Now we hope that we will keep scoring goals. Maybe we are saving them all for the knockout stages."
