Germany

VIFF 2023 Intro And Review: The Promised Land (Bastarden)

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Mads Mikkelsen plays Gustav Kahlen, a settler in 18th Century Denmark in the film The Promised Land.

VIFF INTRO: Normally I do a separate blog for VIFF when it opens. Since the Festival ended on Sunday the 8th, I’ll do a brief summary here. The Vancouver International Film Festival returned. This year, there were no longer films to stream as VIFFaccess is no longer. It became a case cinemas are working to bring crowds back to the theatres. Same with VIFF as its films were shown at seven different facilities. There was a reduced number of films shown at 140. Now that the pandemic is almost over, the arts communities have to downsize in order to rebuild itself. Nevertheless a lot of great films to see coming from 73 nations. A wide selection of Canadian films, Indigenous films, LBGT-themed films, documentaries and an excellent number of films directed by women are yours to watch. And even after the Festival with VIFF repeats just after! The Festival may be over but the reviews are still worth posting as the films could return to the VIFF theatre, get wider release or even be put on a streaming service.

One of my goals of the Vancouver International Film Festival is to see at least one film that’s a nation’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for this year’s Oscar race. I did it on my very first VIFF film: Denmark’s The Promised Land. This film already has a lot of buzz, and rightly so.

It’s the middle of the 18th Century in Jutland; territory ruled by Denmark. A peasant man named Ludvig Kahlen of unknown fatherhood sets out to cultivate the untouched heath land in hopes to win honor from the king. Even though the king’s men accept and give him servants, he soon makes an enemy with Frederik Schinkel who owns the land and wants to believe his say supersedes that of the king’s. He also reminds Kahlen that those who attempted to cultivate the land before him have failed. Nevertheless Kahlen is stubborn and is determined to make it work with the minister Anton Eklund and a servant couple. He also meets a dark-skinned Romani orphan girl named Anmai Mus who tries to connect with him, but he rejects her at first with the common racist attitude.

Over time as Kahlen gets better at his work, Schinkel gets more envious and more control-hungry. He even takes the servant husband, has him whipped in his private chamber and executed with boiling water poured on him in a dungeon. All are shocked but Schinkel is remorseless. A distraught Kahlen soon develops an intimacy with the servant’s widow. He even welcomes Anmai Mus in his life and soon it becomes a family-like situation between the three. As for the heath, Kahlen and the two work tirelessly against a stack of odds to make the land work. If it’s not the land that’s hard and lacks fertility, it’s the unpredictable weather, workers that desert and the murder of Eklund by Schinkel’s men.

In the second year, Kahlen gets a new set of settlers from Germany. They are hesitant to help Kahlen out as they view Anmai Mus as a wicked child because of her dark skin. Kahlen is insistent since he has developed a fatherly love for her. Meanwhile problems threaten Kahlen’s goal and his unity with Ann Barbara and Anmai Mus. The jealous Schinkel starts coming onto Ann Barbara and creating a love triangle between her and his cousin wife. In addition, the workers refuse to assist as long as Anmai Mus is there. They consider her bad luck. Kahlen makes a resolution to send her to a boarding school miles away. It works in getting the settlers to work, but Ann Barbara is disgusted how he did this in the name of his pride.

The cultivation of the heath becomes successful, but the envy of Schinkel gets to the point he feels he has to destroy what Kahlen has created. Kahlen’s land and livestock are set ablaze. Kahlen responds by killing some of Schinkel’s men. That leads him to being captured by Schinkel and sentenced to death. The method being whipping and boiled water: the fame fatal punishment Ann Barbara’s husband receives. Kahlen is whipped mercilessly and Schinkel would delight in seeing him burned to death but as Kahlen is put in the dungeon, Schinkel is called to his chamber. Ann Barbara awaits him and promises him an unforgettable night. After a cup of tea, which Ann Barbara poisoned, Schinkel convulses and Ann Barbara has him at his most vulnerable. Ann Barbara does not resist arrest at all for his murder.

Schinkel’s murder is successful in stopping Kahlen’s execution, but Ann Barbara is imprisoned for life hundreds of miles away. Before Kahlen returns to his farm, he takes Anmai Mus away from the boarding school and promises never to let her go. Upon returning to the fame, Kahlen leads and demands the settlers treat Anmai Mus with respect. Over the years, the farm is prosperous and Kahlen earns the title of baron from the king. Also Anmai Mus grows up to be a successful woman who wins the eyes of a young man in the area. It is after her marriage to him and her goodbye to Kahlen that Kahlen knows what he must do. The ending is slow, but it comes with a surprise result.

This is one of those films that is based on a historical person that gets you questioning if it’s real or not. This story of Ludvig Kahlen as he and his wife try to grow a farm and overcome the ruthlessness of landowner Schinkel does appear farfetched in how it plays out. Actually this is based on a novel from Danish writer Ida Jessen. Nevertheless this film does tell a lot about the case of classism and racism. It was as problematic back then as it is today. It will shock many how the settlers viewed the dark-skinned daughter as bad luck, but that’s how most people thought back then. Also seeing how someone who owns the land thinks he has bigger empowerment on situations than the king, we can see examples of people like that in the world.

I’ve seen films based on a novel based on a historic person before. It seems to be a common thing now. Although it is still common to do historical dramas, it’s become more common lately to adapt novels of stories loosely based on historical people. Gets you wondering about the “Based on a true story” factor. In this film, we see a case where a historical figure overcomes racism and adopts a dark-skinned girl. He overcomes classism by making the Heath fertile and marries the widow of his servant. He overcomes geographic odds by cultivating land in Jutland. He also overcomes his own class odds by him, a bastard peasant son who’s normally destined to stay in the peasant class, achieving Baronhood. It’s uncertain how much of this is true or loose fiction, but it is a story to get one thinking.

You can either welcome a loose story of historical figures like this or you can pan it for its inaccuracies or farfetched drama. However you view it, this film plays this story out in a unique style. One can say it plays out in the style of an epic film with all this recreation. Some would even view the film as an unlikely romance. Some even say this story plays out with the common dramatic elements of an American western. It takes a story of a historical person few have heard of and makes people get intrigued by the drama and even anticipate what will happen next. It even adds some comedy with the behavior of people, including Schinkel. The stupidities of Schinkel are behaviors that can easily remind people of bad behavior of some rich people of today. In addition, this story does not end like your typical drama. There are atypical twists at the ending, surprising people who didn’t expect the film to end that way. Maybe sending the message this film isn’t what they thought it would be about.

Top credits go to director Nikolai Arcel. Arcel has already amassed a good reputation with having written for fourteen previous films and directing five. One film he wrote and directed, A Royal Affair, was nominated for an Academy Award. In this film that he directed and co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen and Ida Jessen, he goes back into the genre of epic films and delivers a drama that’s grand in spectacle and thrills. Also worthy of top honors is lead actor Mads Mikkelsen. Here he temporarily leaves behind the MCU and Indiana Jones that has catapulted his stardom and returns to Denmark for a character he helps create and enhance with his performance. Also worth admiring is Simon Bennebjerg who creates a villain in Schinkel that succeeds in making you hate him for being evil and laugh at him for being stupid. Additional good performances include Amanda Collin for adding the drama as Ann Barbara and Melina Hagberg for adding in the charm as Anmai Mus. The set designers did an excellent job in recreating the barren land of the 18th Century and the score by Dan Romer adds to the dramatic feel of the film.

Danish film has really had it strong at the Academy Awards in the 21st Century, especially these last ten years. In the Best International Feature Film category, Denmark has achieved two of its four wins, six additional nominations and three years making it into the annual shortlists this Century. Arcel himself had one of his films, A Royal Affair, nominated in that category back in 2012. The Promised Land is the second of his films submitted as Denmark’s official film in this category. This film was even nominated for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. At that same festival, Arcel was given Honorable Mention for the SIGNIS Award.

Whether it is true or mostly made up, The Promised Land is an intriguing story about classism and racism and the lust. Even a telling story about what it’s like to live under a monarchy. It’s also an unlikely love story.

2023 Women’s World Cup – Group H Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments
Official ball: The Adidas OCEAUNZ

Hard to believe this is the last group review! Hard to believe there are eight groups this year. Well, women’s football is growing and I’m confident Australia and New Zealand will do a great combined effort in hosting. Interesting is that the host nation or nations of the 2027 Women’s World Cup have not yet been decided. Placing bids are South Africa, Brazil, a combined US/Mexico bid and a combined Belgium/Germany/Netherlands bid. We’ll see who gets it in the future.

In the meantime 2023’s teams still have to contest. Here is my look at the teams from Group H. The last group of Australia/New Zealand 2023:

-Germany (2): If there’s one team that comes closest to the United States’ record of wins in women’s football, it would have to be Germany. The Frauenteam have competed in all previous Women’s World Cup, making the finals three times and winning in 2003 and 2007, won all but three Women’s Euros, and won Olympic medals four times including gold in 2016! Lately the team has had some hard luck. They didn’t win the last two Euros and they finished in the quarterfinals of France 2019 which kept them out of the Tokyo Olympics.

The team is coached by Martina Voss-Tecklenberg who played for Germany in the first three Women’s World Cups. Most of the players play for teams as part of Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga. Star players include forward Alexandra Popp, midfielder Sara Dabritz defender Kathrin Hendrich and goalkeeper Merle Frohms. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved wins to the Netherlands, France, Turkey and Austria. They had a draw against Sweden. They’ve had a win and a loss to the USA, as well as losses to England (at the Women’s Euro final) Brazil and just twelve days ago, Zambia in a friendly. The stage is set at this Women’s World Cup for Germany to prove that they can be among the best, if not the very best in the world.

-Morocco (72): Morocco is another nation where women’s football took longer than usual to get active. At first, the most they ever did was go as far as the Group Stage in the Women’s African Cup of Nations. In the last fave years, they’ve shown a huge surge of improvement. They finished third in the 2019 African Games and were runners-up in the 2022 Women’s African Cup. Even making it into the semifinals allowed the Atlas Lionesses to become the first-ever team from an Arab nation to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.

The team is coached by Reynald Pedros who was part of the French national team for three years. Most of the women play for teams with the Moroccan league or French league or various leagues in Europe. Their last 12 months of play have had their ups and downs. They had wins to Bosnia and Slovakia and draws to Nigeria, Italy and Switzerland. They’ve also had a draw and a loss to Ireland as well as losses to Canada, South Africa and Jamaica. Australia/New Zealand 2023 is the perfect arena for Morocco’s women to write a new chapter in their football history.

-Colombia (25): Brazil is undoubtedly the best South American team in women’s football. If there’s one woman’s team that can have them looking over their shoulder, it’s Colombia. This is their third Women’s World Cup and they even made it to the Round of 16 back in 2015. They’ve also competed in two Olympics, have been runners-up in the Copa America Femenina three times and won the Pan Am Games in 2019.

Las Cafetarias are coached by Nelson Abadia who has coached to women’s team since 2017. Most of the women play for teams with the women’s division of Atletico Nacional or with Brazil’s league or Spain’s Primera Federacion. In the past twelve months, they’ve had wins mostly against other South American countries, but also wins to Nigeria and Zambia. They had a win and a draw to Panama along with draws to Mexico and Costa Rica. Their only losses came to France, Italy and Brazil. It looks like this Women’s World Cup is a chance for Colombia to surprise the world how far they can go!

-Korea Republic (17): Isn’t it something that team H4 of both the Men’s World Cup of 2022 and this year’s Women’s World Cup are the same team: South Korea? While the South Korean men have one of the best Asian results in football, the women have struggled to break through. This is their fourth Women’s World Cup. Their best finish ever is the Round of 16 in 2015. Things have looked up in the decade in continental play. They finished third in the past three Asian Games and they were runners-up at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

The Taegeuk Ladies, as they are commonly known, are coached by England’s Colin Bell who has coached the team since 2019. Most of the team play for teams that are part of Korea’s WK League. There are a few who play for teams in Europe and the US. All of their most capped players ever are part of the current squad. In the past 12 months, the team has had wins against Zambia, Haiti, Chinese Taipei and Jamaica. They had a win and a draw against New Zealand and a draw against China. They’ve also endured losses to Japan, England and Italy. No doubt the Tigers of Asia will be arriving at this Women’s World Cup with something to prove.

My Prediction: You think predicting the two qualifiers would be easy, but it’s not. This particular group has to get me thinking. For this group, I predict the qualifiers to be Germany and Colombia.

And there you go! There’s my look at Group H of the Women’s World Cup. To think the action all starts tomorrow! The world will be watching! Closely!

World Cup 2022 Preview: Group E

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

I must admit when I look at the team’s rosters, I often forget that most nations have not officially declared their World Cup teams. Every time I look at Wikipedia with the team information, it lists a lot, but very rarely the official cut. So I’m dealing with teams as I type along. In this group, Spain have not officially their team for Qatar 2022 and Germany only declared theirs on Thursday!.

Without further ado, here is my look at Group E of World Cup 2022:

-Spain (7): La Furia Roja are an interesting team. For so long they’ve been known as “football’s greatest underachievers.” Then starting in the late noughts, they had an amazing run winning Euro 2008, World Cup 200 and Euro 2012. Then they went back to their underachieving ways going out in the group stage at World Cup 2014, the Round of 16 at Euro 2016 and the Round of 16 at World Cup 2018. However Spain has shown progress as they made the semifinals of Euro 2020.

The coaching staff of Spain’s team is completely of Spaniards. Head coach Luis Enrique won Olympic gold in 1992, participated in three World Cups and in Euro 1996. Most of Spain’s players play for La Liga with some playing in England and France. Recent results have they’ve had both wins and draws against Portugal and Czechia. They achieved wins against Sweden and Greece, but they’ve also endured a loss to Switzerland. Qatar is the scene for them to try and achieve another World Cup.

-Costa Rica (31): If there’s one thing to learn about Los Ticos, it’s you don’t count them out of World Cup play. They often come with low expectations, but can surprise, like when they made the Round of 16 in 1990 and the quarterfinals in 2014. As they prepare for their sixth World Cup, they again come with low expectations. At the last CONCACAF Gold Cup, they only made the quarterfinals. On top of it, they’ve never had a win against any of their World Cup opponents.

Most of the coaching staff are Costa Rican, but the head coach is a Colombian – Luis Suarez – who has managed five previous Latin American teams. Most of the team including captain Brian Ruiz plays for the Costa Rican league. In recent play, they’ve won against Nigeria, United States and New Zealand. They’ve had recent draws to South Korea and Mexico, and losses to Panama and Canada. Qatar is another chance for Costa Rica to prove to the world how well they can play.

-Germany (11): It almost seemed like a given. If the Mannschaft doesn’t win the World Cup, they would at least be guaranteed to go as far as the quarterfinals. Their past record seemed to sum it up well. That all changed during Russia 2018 when they appeared to be under the alleged “curse of the defending champion.” Their failure in the group stage was their first World Cup opening round ouster since 1938. It was after Euro 2020 and their exit during the Round of 16 that they knew it was time to fix things.

Germany’s coach since Euro 2020 is Hansi Flick. He was assistant coach to the German team from 2006 to 2014 and was head coach of Bayern Munich from 2019 to 2021. Most of the players of the World Cup squad play for Germany’s Bundesliga with four playing for the Premier League and two playing for Spain’s La Liga. Since Euro 2020, they’ve had mixed results including a win and a draw against Italy, two draws against England, a draw against the Netherlands, and a draw and a loss against Hungary. Qatar 2022 is the stage for Germany to redeem itself.

-Japan (24): Since they made their World Cup debut in 1998, Japan has competed in every World Cup since and Qatar will be #7 for them. One thing they will hope to do is go past the Round of 16, which the Samurai Blue have never done. Their most recent feat is making it to the finals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Since their Round of 16 exit in Russia 2018, they’ve returned to having Japanese coaches. The entire coaching staff is Japanese with Hajime Moriyasu as head coach. Interestingly enough, Moriyasu was part of the last Japanese team that failed to qualify for a World Cup (back in 1994). The team mostly play for European leagues with a few players that play for the J-League. In recent play, they’ve achieved wins against the US, Ghana, Australia and their top Asian rival South Korea. They’ve also had draws against Ecuador and Vietnam, and losses to Tunisia and Brazil. It could be here in Qatar that Japan could pull a surprise.

My Prediction: It’s not easy to make a prediction here as all four teams have known strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless I predict the qualifiers to be Spain and Germany. I predict Japan to have the best chances to upset.

And there you go! Another review of another World Cup group. This time it’s Group E. Eagerly awaiting the start. Hard to believe it’s coming this soon! Hard to believe it will be this late in the year!

UEFA Euro 2020: Knockout Round Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Well the Group Play has just been conducted. There were a lot of surprises and there were a lot of expected results. Whatever the situation, the sixteen qualifiers have all been decided. And after their two days of rest, the Round of 16 starts the knockout part of the Euro en route to deciding the winner of the Cup. So in the meantime, here are my predictions on how I think the games will go:

ROUND OF 16

First off the Round of 16. This is only the second Euro ever to have such a round. One good thing that time around is there isn’t as much huge traveling around from place to place. And here are my predictions with my picks for the winner in bold.

Wales (Group A 2nd) vs. Denmark (Group B 2nd): Wales showed their strength with a win against Turkey and a draw against Switzerland. Their 1-0 loss to Italy showed they are able to rival the best. Denmark is a team that was visibly shaken after the cardiac arrest of Christian Eriksen. However it was in their last group game against Russia that they finally came out of their shell and won. For this match, I predict Wales as they’ve been more consistent in team unity and delivery.

Belgium (Group B Winner) vs. Portugal (Wildcard: A/E/F): Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup. Portugal is defending Euro champions. Belgium have shown their dominance since the start of the tournament. Portugal’s biggest success in Euro 2020 play is their 3-0 win against Hungary. However Cristiano Ronaldo keeps on breaking Euro scoring records! This is a tough one. Belgium’s team prowess against Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring. I will have to go with Belgium to win.

England (Winner Group D) vs. Germany (Group F 2nd): A classic rivalry with landmark moments and moments of infamy such as in both the 1966 and 2010 World Cup. And to make it a bonus, it’s right in Wembley Stadium! This is the only Round of 16 match which has a home team playing!

England has been performing very well as a team and only suffered a scoreless draw against Scotland. Germany show great scoring ability in their games, but their team unity which normally is what takes them far in World Cups and Euros is missing here. Also England is in one of its best eras of team play ever, but their two wins were 1-0: both times scored by Raheem Sterling. A tough one but I’ll go with England in added extra time.

Italy (Winner Group A) vs. Austria (Group C 2nd): Italy came to Euro 2020 with redemption and the chance to show a new Azzurri in mind and they have been excellent. They’ve one all three of their group games scoring seven goals and not conceding one. Actually the last game Italy conceded a goal was against the Netherland way back in October! Austria have reason to celebrate as they achieved their first-ever qualification to the Euro knockout round: one of two Group C teams to make it their first ever. However this is where Austria is going to be brought to an end here. Italy are practically unanimous favorites here, and my pick too.

Netherlands (Winner Group C) vs. Czech Republic (Wildcard: D/F): Like Italy, Netherlands is another powerhouse that failed to qualify for World Cup 2018 and looked to Euro 2020 as a shot of redemption. And like Italy, they won all three of their games. They scored eight goals and conceded only two against Ukraine. The Czechs have also played very well too with Patrik Schick scoring all three of the team’s goals. I’ll predict the Netherlands and their team play.

France (Winner Group F) vs.  Switzerland (Wildcard A/C): France comes out of a tough Group F with two draws and a win that came thanks to a German own-goal. Switzerland has had mixed results but has done a good job in play and scoring. In fact they did a good job scoring in their match against Turkey. France has still shown the better team unity. I predict France to win this match.

Sweden (Winner Group E) vs. Ukraine (Wildcard B/C/D): This marke Sweden’s first time to the knockout round since 2004 and Ukraine’s first time to the knockout round ever! Sweden appeared conservative at first with just having draws but performed very well in their win against Poland. Ukraine is a team that’s unpredictable. It won against North Macedonia. However their 3-2 loss to the Netherlands showed they can contend with the best. Ukraine is a team that can do the unexpected. I predict the win to go to Sweden in added extra time.

Croatia (Group D 2nd) vs. Spain (Group E 2nd): This is a case of both teams playing substandardly their first two games and then pouring it on in their final games. Spain drew against Sweden and Poland, but was spectacular against Slovakia. Croatia first lost to England and then drew to the Czechs, but was brilliant against Scotland. Their win against them here during the Euro is their first victory over the Scots ever! This is a tough one and could be the one Round of 16 match that could be decided on penalty kicks. I’ll go with Croatia.

QUARTERFINALS:

Unlike group play and the England vs. Germany match of the Round of 16, none of the games will have a home team. Here’s my bonus quarterfinal predictions. For each quarterfinal, I assume each prediction I make for the Round of 16 is true, though you know it won’t always be the case. Whatever the situation, here goes:

Belgium vs. Italy – Should this match-up result, it would be interesting. Two teams who won all three of their group games. One team has a reputation for consistency, the other is making a comeback. The Round of 16 games they play in could tell more about them. For now, I think this could go into a draw in which Belgium would win on penalty kicks.

France vs. Croatia – This would be a rematch of the World Cup final. However both teams are not playing as the teams they’re reputed to be. Croatia struggled at first and finally came active in their last group game. France topped Group F, but not without three tough bouts. One important statistic. Croatia has never beaten France in the eight times they’ve played each other. So I’m picking France to win.

Sweden vs. England – This would be exactly like it was during the 2018 World Cup quarterfinals. England have been playing well, but conservatively while Sweden has been delivering better than expected. Despite it, I anticipate that England will take this.

Netherlands vs. Wales – Both teams are unpredictable. Remember that Wales made the semifinals at the last Euro. Netherlands however just qualified for their first Euro knockout stage since 2008. The Dutch have shown their dominance so far and that’s why I think the Netherlands will win this, should this quarterfinal result.

And there are my predictions for the first two knockout rounds. It’s not an easy job as things can change from the Group Stage to the knockout rounds. It should all result in a lot of excitement. And I’ll see you all again in the semis.

UEFA EURO 2020: Group Stage With One Game To Go

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

To be among the 16 to qualify, it takes two wins to guarantee. The only way it could ever be possible for a team with two wins not qualifying is if all six groups had three teams with two wins and a loss. And that’s extremely unlikely. Whatever the situation, all four teams of each of the six groups have played two games and there are a lot of telling stats. Three have qualified already while twenty others still have the last game as one last chance, and only one is officially out. Here’s how the groups look so far. Those who have already qualified are bolded:

GROUP A:

Italy came to Euro 2020 with the hope of redeeming their reputation in the football world. They delivered 3-0 wins against Turkey and Switzerland to guarantee themselves qualification for the Round of 16. Wales’ 2-0 win over Turkey and 1-1 draw against Switzerland put them in very good chances of qualifying.

For the next game, Italy could lose to Wales and they’d still qualify, but I’m sure they’d want to win or at least draw so that they can keep their #1 status. Wales’ chances of qualifying are healthy, but they would have to win to take the lead in Group A, draw to guarantee 2nd place, or rely on their game stats and goal differentials if they were to lose to Italy. Switzerland will have to win over Turkey if they want to qualify. A draw won’t cut it as game stats and goal differentials decide the four third-placers that qualify. And Turkey will need nothing less than a win for them to have a chance. They’ve lost to Italy and Wales. Only a win against Switzerland will do if they are to have any chance of qualifying.

GROUP B

Many touted Belgium as the team most likely to win Group B based on their third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. With two wins, they’ve already guaranteed a qualification no matter how bad their game against Finland goes. They haven’t completely guaranteed the #1 spot. If Finland beats Belgium they will be the #1 team as a result of head-to-head play.

With Russia and Finland having a win under their belts, drawing can guarantee a 2nd place for Russia and a 3rd-place for Finland which would have to rely on their wildcard stats to qualify. However I’m sure Neither of the teams simply want to draw in their last matches on Monday. Denmark is in the uncomfortable position that they will need to win against Russia if they are to have any chance to qualify. It would not surprise me if the Danish team has been shaken since the collapse of Christian Eriksen. That’s a shocker he was dead for five minutes. It’s very good fortune that the first aid on the field did all the right stuff to resuscitate him and have him taken to a hospital. Actually since Eriksen’s cardiac arrest, it’s a reminder to us all that living is more important than winning.

GROUP C

Most groups would normally have a simple qualifier if they have two wins by now. Group C has an official first-place with the Netherlands! It was their two wins and big goal differential that did it! And I doubt if they will want to lose to North Macedonia in their last game!

The game of Ukraine vs. Austria will be the game for second-place in the group. If there’s a draw, Ukraine will have the advantage because of bigger scoring. Austria could qualify due to the combination of game results and goal differentials. If both qualify for the Round of 16, or either one, it will be their first time ever at the Euro that they do. As for North Macedonia, they have the misfortune of being the first team eliminated. Even if they win against the Netherlands and by a big margin, it won’t matter because of their head-to-head losses to Ukraine and Austria.

GROUP D

Interesting that Groups A to C already have a qualifier guaranteed while Groups D to F don’t have anything decided and it will take Matchday 3 to not just decide it all but decide anything. If if any team in those groups is guaranteed a Top 3 finish, that still doesn’t completely guarantee them qualification. Focusing on Group D, Both first-matches for the group’s teams resulted in wins, but both second-matches on Friday resulted in draws. That means with two teams having a win and a draw and two teams with a loss and a draw, none of the four have secured qualification and all four still have a chance in their third-matches on Tuesday.

In the match of the Czech Republic vs. England, the winner will naturally claim the #1 spot of Group D. If there’s a draw, the Czech Republic has the advantage with better goal differentials. However I’m sure both teams want to win. Croatia and Scotland both have a win and a draw. Croatia leads because of goal differentials and a draw would solidify Croatia to finish in third place, but that most likely won’t be enough to qualify. The six third-place teams will be ranked by game stats and goal differentials. Only the top four will qualify for the Round of 16, and two draws and a loss will most likely make Croatia one of the two third-place packing sooner than they hoped. So either Croatia or Scotland will have to win and nothing less if they want to secure qualification.

GROUP E

Like Group D, Group E has the difficulty of two draws causing the statistics to remain completely undecided for who will qualify. One thing that is certain is that all four still have chances to qualify and it’s up to Matchday 3 to decide it. Sweden has the best luck so far with a 1-0 win over Slovakia despite their scoreless draw against Spain. Despite the loss, Slovakia is second in ranks thanks to their 2-1 win over Poland. Spain, normally a powerhouse, has just two draws while Poland looks like their still waiting to deliver. They’re lucky they saved themselves against Spain 1-1.

Sweden has the luxury that they can qualify simply by drawing, but I doubt if they want a simple draw. Especially since Poland will be hungry for the win. The winner of Slovakia vs Spain will definitely qualify, but Slovakia will have better qualifying chances if they lose because of their win over Poland. You can be sure Spain want to win this. Attempting to qualify on a wildcard with three draws is pushing it. Possible, but pushing it. Also Poland requires nothing less than a win if they want to qualify. Two draws and a loss has very low chances of cutting it. Plus they’d have the added bonus that is they win over Sweden, they’d overtake Sweden in standings because of the head-to-head result!

GROUP F

Group F looked to be the Group Of Death. However a lot of lopsided play has turned a lot of things around unexpectedly. France is one team that has underperformed. One would usually expect a lot of big play from the team that are the reigning World Cup holders. However their 1-0 win over Germany came thanks to an own-goal from Germany’s Hummels and they drew 1-1 to Hungary. Drawing against Portugal will guarantee them qualification, but they will have to win if they want to prove themselves a worthy winner. Isn’t that something? A rematch of the Euro 2016 final happening in group play?

Germany has had it most interesting. They got a loss to France because of an own-goal, but a 4-2 win over Portugal thanks to two own-goals from the Portuguese! A draw against Hungary will guarantee them qualification, but Hungary won’t make it easy as they will want to win. Despite the loss, Portugal are still in good contention after their 3-0 win over Hungary. They can still qualify if they lose to France, but they would have to rely on goal differentials to see if their stats are good enough for the wildcard berth. Finally Hungary proved themselves strong players by drawing 1-1 against France, but they need nothing less than a win against Germany if they want to qualify. That’s how it is for them with just a loss and a draw.

And there you go. This is how things look right now with the teams of Euro 2020 with only one game to go. Matchday Three will finalize everything to decide the thirteen others who will advance and the seven others who will be packing for home sooner than they hoped. Looking forward to it!

UEFA EURO 2020: Group E and Group F Review

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Interesting to note for this year’s qualifying teams, there are only two new teams competing this year: Finland and North Macedonia. Also this year are nine of the ten countries that have one at least one Euro title. Greece is the only former winner that didn’t qualify. The funny thing about football is that any team can win the Euro. There have been surprise victories before when the underdog came out the winner like Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004. It’s very possible a country that has never won a Euro before can win here.

Continuing on with my group reviews, I focus on Group E and Group F today.

GROUP E

For this group, this looks to be the most unpredictable. This group consists of two teams that are known for great play, but frequently fall short. It also has two teams that can go further than most people expect them to.

Spain (6) – La Furia Roja are an enigma. For so long they had been known as football’s greatest underachievers. However that all changed around the time of the late-noughts, early-2010’s. During that time, Spain won two straight Euros (2008 and 2012) and finally clinched the World Cup in 2010. After that, Spain lost their winning edge. They were stopped in the Group Stage of the 2014 World Cup and since then it’s been the Round of 16 at both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

Spain have been in a struggle to get their winning ways back. The current team has an all-Spanish team of coaches. Most of the players play for La Liga with six playing in England’s Premier League teams. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to Ukraine. They would also beat Ukraine in that time as well as Germany, Switzerland and Lithuania. They also had draws against Greece and Portugal. Chances are Euro 2020 could be the domain for Spain to redeem itself.

Sweden (18) – One thing about football is never underestimate the Blågult. After a disappointing Group Stage ouster at Euro 2016, they came back with a World Cup qualifying surprise against Italy in the playoff round and would then go on to finish in the quarterfinals of the Cup. And this is after superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from the national team!

You can thank coach Janne Andersson for the turnaround. Team Sweden’s players play for various leagues around Europe. They arrive at the Euro competition with a set of mixed results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve had losses to France, Portugal and Denmark, but they’ve also had wins against Russia, Croatia and Denmark. Whatever Sweden does here in Euro 2020, they have what it takes to deliver the unexpected.

Poland (21) – Making it to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 has been Poland’s biggest Euro success ever. This is a team that has finished as high as third at two World Cups and three Olympic medals including gold in 1972. Unfortunately Poland didn’t get the breakthrough they were hoping for at the 2018 World Cup as they were out in the Group Stage. Robert Lewandowski didn’t even score a goal.

The current Polish team consists of players who mostly belong to teams in England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A. Poland has had mixed results in its play since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won against Bosnia, Finland and Ukraine, both also lost to England, Italy and the Netherlands. The Euro 2020 arena will be another chance for Poland to prove itself and what it’s made of.

Slovakia (36) – Slovakia is a team that is constantly under low expectations, but will surprise many of their naysayers. They’ve only qualified for a single World Cup back in 2010 and their first-ever Euro was the Euro 2016. In both cases, they progressed past the Group Stage into the Round of 16.

Here in Euro 2020, The Falcons hope to do much better. Their coaching staff is completely of Slovakian coaches and the players play for a wide variety of leagues throughout Europe. Slovakia have had a mixed set of results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won over Russia, Scotland and Northern Ireland, drawn against Cyprus and R. O. Ireland, and lost to Israel and the Czech Republic. Anything can happen in Euro 2020 and the Slovaks have what it takes to pull a surprise.

My Prediction: For this group, I anticipate that Spain will top it and Sweden will come in second. I have a feeling Poland will come in third but may not have enough to earn the wildcard qualifying berth.

GROUP F

Of all the groups in Euro, this is the group most deserving of the title the Group Of Death. Two of them have won the World Cup in the past ten years, one is the defending Euro champion and the other is a former great looking to reclaim its greatness.

Hungary (37) – The Magyars have been hoping to regain the success their team used to have from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that carried them to two World Cup finals and three Olympic gold medals. For those that don’t know, the Euro began in 1960 and Hungary’s best-ever result is a third back in 1964. For a long time it seemed like their era was long over. However Euro 2016 showed signs of a comeback as the team qualified for the first time since 1972 and made the Round of 16.

The head coach is Italian Marco Rossi whose been hired since the 2018 World Cup. A majority of the players play for teams in the Hungarian league. Since 2020, they’ve only had a single loss to Russia, a single draw to Poland, and wins against Iceland, Serbia and Turkey. Not much is expected of Hungary here but they have what it takes to pull an upset in Euro 2020.

Portugal (5) – Portugal comes to Euro 2020 as the defending champions. They started the Group Stage with straight draws but came on in the knockout round winning all their games en route to the win. Unfortunately, they followed it up at the 2018 World Cup with an ouster in the Round of 16.

Fernando Santos, who coached them at Euro 2016 is still their head coach. Cristiano Ronaldo is their captain, but they also have a lot of other greats with the team like Pepe, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to France. They’ve had draws to Spain and Serbia, and wins against Croatia, Sweden and Israel. Portugal has made it as far as the semi-finals in four of the last five Euros. It’s highly likely the magic of the Navigators will be back in Euro 2020.

France (2) – France is a case of a success story that rose over time. They started after humiliation at the 2010 World Cup. Then became slow-and-steady progression with a quarterfinal finish at the 2014 World Cup to becoming runners-up at Euro 2016 to winning the World Cup in 2018.

Les Bleus is still coached by Didier DesChamps who has coached them since the 2012 Euro. Ironically there are more players on France’s team that play for Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League than in France’s Ligue 1! Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who is the team captain, plays for Tottenham Hotspur! For play, France has only had a single loss since the beginning of 2020, to Finland. They’ve won against Croatia, Sweden and Wales, but also had both a win and a draw against both Portugal and Ukraine. Euro 2020 could be the stage where France can claim their third title.

Germany (12) – The Mannschaft have always been known as a top contender in football, whether it be the World Cup or the Euro. Their win at the 2014 World Cup kept their reputation of consistency alive. However their reputation took a severe beating at the 2018 World Cup when they were ousted in the Group Stage. That made it the first World Cup in 80 years Germany failed to progress past the opening round. Some say it was because of a team that wasn’t together. Some even say it’s the ‘curse’ of the defending World Cup champion. Germany’s disappointment would continue as they struggled during the first year of the UEFA Nation’s League.

Despite the setbacks, Joachim Low is still the national coach. The current team features some of the 2014 World Cup alumni but mostly consists of a lot of new younger players. A majority of players play for Germany’s Bundesliga. Since the beginning of 2020, Germany have only had two losses: to Spain and North Macedonia. They’ve also drawn against Spain as well as Switzerland and Denmark and they’ve achieved wins over Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Iceland. A recent 7-1 win over Latvia shows the Mannschaft have something to prove. Euro 2020 could prove to be the domain for Germany to redeem themselves.

My Prediction: This is a tough one as even the best teams have shown some visible weaknesses. I predict Spain to top the group with Portugal second and Germany third, but with enough game stats to qualify as a wildcard.

And there you have it. That’s the last of my predictions for Euro 2020. Sure, a lot could be told. However we should remember that lots have changed since the pandemic and that could also mean the prowess of some teams. Those expected to fare well might now here. That’s why whenever I make my predictions, I tell people not to use them for gambling bets! Anyways this should be an exciting month with a lot of exciting play.

VIFF 2020 Review: Undine

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Paula Beer plays a Modern-day undine in Christian Petzold’s latest film Undine.

Undine was the first live-action foreign-language film I saw at the VIFF. It’s a very unique story.

The film begins with a man names Johannes breaking up with his girlfriend. She is distraught and even says she’ll have to kill him. Her name is Undine Wibeau. Undine tries to go about her daily life as she works as a historian at the Berlin City Museum. There she shows people a model of the city and tells of the history of Berlin. Undine has a unique ability to focus in on places and areas. She has an area of the Spree River in focus.

At a remote area of the Spree River, a man named Christoph works in the water to weld or to search out treasures found in the ocean floor. That is his profession. Undine returns to the cafe where she and Johannes used to drink at. That’s where she meets Christoph for the first time. The conversation gets friendly, but an accident happens. The accident causes them to bump into the cafe’s fish tank, causing it to break and spill all over. Both Undine and Christoph fall to the floor in love. However the owner is furious and bans the two from the cafe forever.

Over time the relationship between Christoph and Undine grows. They even move in together. One time during his job, Christoph offers to show Undine what he’s seen. Undine goes down, but without the scuba gear and she later floats off. He senses something peculiar about her. His sense of peculiarity grows right during his job he comes across a sunken ship with the name Undine on it.

Even though the relationship between Undine and Christoph grows, Undine still can’t help but think of Johannes. It strikes her as she goes about her job but when she looks at a part in the module that resembles the location of the cafe, she gets the sense that Johannes is there. Even while she’s walking romantically with Christoph in a park, she noticed Johannes with his new girlfriend. She turns her head, but returns back to Christoph. However Christoph sensed something. It wasn’t just the turn of the head but the the change of her heartbeat. It infuriates him, but Undine confesses the truth. That it was her ex.

Heartbroken, Undine goes to the cafe where Johannes is. Despite the owner being infuriated by Undine’s presence, she meets with Johannes and says he wants her back. The next day, an emergency happens at Christoph’s job site. The oxygen has been cut from his scuba outfit and he’s removed from the river unconscious. Undine is distraught to learn the news. She goes over to the hospital to see Christoph, but there’s a woman by his bedside. Christoph is unconscious and comatose. The woman tells Undine he’s brain-dead and she unleashes her anger on her. Undine leaves, going to Johannes’ place later that night. Johannes is in the pool while his girlfriend goes in the house to get a drink. Undine enters the pool. While Johannes is happy to see her, Undine drowns him. The then leaves and walks into the Spree River naked.

Two years pass. Christoph is alive and well. He recovered from his coma. The woman from the hospital, Monika, is his girlfriend and they are expecting their first child together. However Christoph is sensing something back to the Spree River. He returns one night alone, and there he sees her: Undine. She is alive and well and she belongs in the water. It becomes clear who is truly in Christoph’s heart.

One thing about this film is that it gets into the myth of the undine. For those who don’t know, the undine is a lot like the mermaid most us are familiar with. However the mermaid is just one of the images of the undine. The mythical undine is a lot darker than the mermaid who wants to please the man she meets. In fact one aspect of the undine is if the man is unfaithful to her, he is doomed to die.

What this film does is try to get to the common image of the undine in both its positive qualities and its negative qualities too. In a sense, the film is more of a reminder of the undine myth. The film also tries to set the myth of the undine in the modern world. In modern-day Berlin to be exact. Undine Wibeau is the undine in the modern world who lives along the humans, but gets to the true sense of who she is when she’s in the water.

One unique thing about the film is how they use Berlin as part of the telling of the story. Undine works as a historian with an urban development team. She knows a lot of Berlin’s history form centuries back to the days of division with the Berlin was to the present and its developments. The history also provides clues to Undine’s own past and own identity. One would be surprised how a story of an undine in modern Berlin would come to be.

This is another good film by Christian Petzold. Petzold has become one of Germany’s most heralded directors in recent years with films like Barbara, Jerichow and Phoenix. Here he delivers another good film. It’s very well-done, but it does have its flaws. The energy level does seem to get lost somewhere near the end. Nevertheless it is mostly well-written and well-acted. Paula Beer is also excellent as the mythical Undine. Her role may have lacked dimension, but she was very good in capturing the mythical figure of the undine well. The two leading men, Franz Rogowski and Jacob Matschenz, were good in their roles, but I felt their roles were underdeveloped. Hans Fromm did an excellent job with delivering the cinematography for the film.

Undine has done quite well on the film festival circuit. At the Berlin Film Festival in won the FIPRESI Prize and was nominated for the Golden Bear for Best Film. Beer herself won the Silver Bear Prize at that Festival for Best Actress. It’s also been a nominee for Best Film at the Denver Film Festival, Beijing Film Festival, Seville European Film Festival and a Best Narrative nominee at the Montclair Film Festival.

Undine is a good attempt at telling a modern-day story of the undine myth. It doesn’t keep the energy or the vibe consistent throughout the film, but it is picturesque and has a good sense of the characters.

2019 FIFA WWC: REVISED Predictions For The Quarterfinals

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

WWC QF

Did I say that I won’t be doing any predicting until the semifinals? I changed my mind. Normally I would let my predictions I made back on Friday stay as is, but the Round of 16 matched made me rethink a lot of things. Not simply because I got two quarterfinalists wrong — I’ve been wrong in Round of 16 predictions before and shunned them aside — but because of the play of teams in the Round of 16. Here they’re showing more of their strengths and weaknesses and it’s better to tell who will win.

So I will try to make a new set of predictions for the quarterfinals. Interesting how all six teams that topped their group won their Round-Of-16 match. Also interesting how seven of the eight quarterfinalists are European teams. The USA is the only non-European team that won their Round of 16 match. What did it? Jetlag to all those other teams? The same curse on the men’s World Cup that has prevented any non-European team from qualifying for a World Cup semifinal on European soil since 1998? Bad reffing? Or is it because the European teams are simply the most there? You be the judge. Anyways that’s the way it is and here’s how I predict for the quarterfinals:

NorwayNorway vs. England fixedEngland: Already for Norway, this is their best WWC result for them since 2007. They won their match against Australia, but on penalty kicks. They will be hard-pressed against England. Don’t forget it was England who ended Norway’s Women’s World Cup run in 2015 with a 1-2 in the Round Of 16. Don’t forget England looked good in their 3-0 win over Cameroon. I will have to go with England here.

France fixedFrance vs. USAU.S.A.: The U.S.A. looks like they struggled in their game against Spain. They won 2-1, but it was on penalty kicks from Megan Rapinoe. They appeared invincible in their 13-0 win over Thailand, but don’t forget football is opponent vs. opponent and results can differ greatly. France may have won 2-1 over Brazil, but it was in added extra time. So they showed some vulnerability here.

France may have won over the U.S. 3-1 in a friendly back in January, but this is a different day and a different meet. I think the U.S.A. will win, but in added extra time.

Italy ficedItaly vs. Netherlands FixedNetherlands: Italy, in its first Women’s World Cup in 20 years, but won their first-ever knockout round game against China 2-0. This is also the Netherlands’ first time ever winning a knock-out match at the WWC, and it was up against Japan: last year’s finalist. Both teams also looked great in their group play. Netherlands won all their games while Italy only lost to Brazil.

This is a tight call between the ‘Cinderella team’ of the tournament and the 2017 Women’s Euro winner. Don’t forget both teams will already have their best-ever result at the Women’s World Cup. I will have to say Italy as they’ve won over the Netherlands in head-to-head competition more often.

Germany fixedGermany vs. Sweden FixedSweden: Isn’t that something that this quarterfinal looks like a rematch of the 2016 Olympic final? Germany is one of five teams entering the quarterfinals with straight wins. Sweden’s only loss came to the U.S.A. in group play. Germany was very convincing in their 3-0 win against Nigeria. Sweden may have won against Canada 1-0 but they proved the can be a strong team.

I predict it will be Germany that wins as they have appeared the strongest. Also because they haven’t conceded a single goal in the tournament. And also Germany has won against Sweden more than they’ve lost in head-to-head competition.

And there you have it. My new predictions for the quarterfinals. Funny how watching play gives you second-thoughts. Right now I’m tempted to predict that the WWC final will be the U.S.A. vs. Germany. But it’s wrong to jump the gun. So let the play decide!

2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Group B Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

One thing about football is that there is normally a lot of foregone conclusions on who will win the Cup and who don’t have the best chances. Those are not all guarantees. Even the best teams can bomb out sooner than anyone expected. And I will be getting to that very shortly in my blog. In the meantime, I will be focusing on Group B today. It’s easy to assume one team will win the Cup, but upsets are bound to happen. So without further ado:

Germany fixed-Germany (2): Germany has been seen as one of the best women’s teams consistently. They’ve been in all seven previous World Cups and won twice. In 2016, they won their first Olympic gold medal after three bronzes. They’ve been in the Women’s euro all ten times and won eight. However it’s not to say they’ve had some inconsistencies too. The last World Cup where they finished in the Top 3 was their winner in 2007. Also a year after winning Olympic gold, they were beaten in the quarterfinals of Euro 2017 by Denmark. Even the best have an Achilles heel.

If there’s one thing, Germany has been consistent in play in the last twelve months. They’ve won against Canada, Italy, France and Sweden. They’ve also drawn against Japan and Spain. Chances are if Germany’s on target, they can make this World Cup #3.

China–China, People’s Republic of (15): China is another team that experienced big success when women’s football started establishing itself in the 1990’s. They dominated in the 90’s, but have been set back in recent years. There was even a brief time at the beginning of this decade, they didn’t qualify for either the World Cup or the Olympics. Recent years have shown an improvement with China as they made the Round of 16 at the last World Cup and the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics.

China’s last twelve months have had a lot of ups and downs. They’ve had wins against teams like South Korea, Cameroon and Russia. They even tied the Netherlands at the Algarve Cup. However they’ve also had losses to France, Denmark, Norway, Japan and the United States. France 2019 will be the place for them to show the world what they’re made of.

Spain Fixed-Spain (13): Spain’s women’s team is a team just starting to enter the stage of women’s football. In fact their appearance at Canada 2015 was their very first WWC. It was a learning experience for them as they left with two losses and a draw. In the women’s Euro, they did have one semifinals appearance all the way back in 1997. They were able to qualify for the last two Euros and finish in the quarterfinals both times. However the most recent Euro was another case of scraping by as their only win came against Portugal.

In the last twelve months, Spain has shown that they’ve made a lot of improvement. They may have lost to Poland, England and the United States, but they did achieve draws against Canada and Germany, and they also won against Finland, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Brazil. France is the arena for them to prove themselves once more.

South-Africa-flag.jpg-South Africa (49): South Africa is one of four teams making their Women’s World Cup debut. South Africa has competed in the Olympics twice in 2012 and 2016. South Africa has also been runner-up five times in the CAF Women’s Championship.

South Africa will be coming to France with a lot to prove. They’re one of the lowest ranked teams in the world competing in France. In 2019, they have yet to win a game, enduring losses to the United States and the Netherlands. However they did draw against Jamaica and Sweden. It’s quite possible South Africa is just a team that hasn’t proved themselves and France 2019 could be the domain to show how much they can do.

MY GROUP PLAY PREDICTIONS:

This is one of the easier ones to predict. I’ll have to say I predict Germany to top with China in second. I anticipate Spain to take third.

And there’s my take on Group B. I aim to have all my takes on the groups completed by Wednesday. Which means I’m planning Group C’s focus tomorrow. Stay tuned.

World Cup 2018: The Struggle Of The Defending Champion Continues

Jon The Blogcentric4 Comments

germany-out-of-world-cup-afp_625x300_1530117776053
A dejected Team Germany looks on in disappointment after their 2-0 loss to South Korea.

“Congratulations to Korea for the win, for Sweden and Mexico for the qualification. It’s difficult to explain. The way we played we didn’t deserve to go through.”

-Germany coach Joachim Loew

Many of you may remember during the last World Cup, I posted a blog about the challenges the defending World Cup champion faces. Sometimes it seems like bad luck. After Germany’s game against South Korea, my look at the defending Champion deserves an update.

In the 20th Century, only Italy in 1950 and Brazil in 1966 were among the defending champions that failed to make it past the Group Stage. In the 21st Century, there was France in 2002, Italy in 2010 and Spain in 2014.

Then came Germany here in 2018. Germany was the most impressive team at the 2014 World Cup and deserving of their victory. The team appeared to have many a great retire from the national team over time like Miro Klose, Per Mertesacker and Phillipp Lahm just after their World Cup win, Bastian Schweinsteiger right after Euro 2016, and Lukas Podolski in 2017. Nevertheless their reputation of consistency would continue to be as they would continue to do very well in tournaments, if not win. There was the semifinal finish at Euro 2016. There was winning their first ever Confederations Cup in 2017. They even won FIFA team of the year in 2014 and 2017 as well as the Laureus award for Team Of The Year in 2015. It appeared that the years were kind to team Germany as well as with the new talent that was coming along. Including Joshua Kimmich who won German Player Of The Year in 2017. Germany’s Olympic team in Rio which consisted mostly of men under 23 won the silver medal. It also appeared Head Coach Joachim Loew was continuing to make the right decisions and Germany’s football system which went through an overhaul in the early 21st Century was continuing to pay off big time.

Even in friendly play, Germany did very well, but they also had notable defeats like 4-2 against Argentina seven weeks after the World Cup, 2-1 against the US in June 2015, 3-2 against England in March 2016, and 3-1 against Slovakia in May 2016. 2017 looked like a good year for Germany as they topped their World Cup qualifying group easily and they didn’t even lose a dingle friendly. Their draw for the World Cup didn’t appear to threaten their World Cup status as their mix with Sweden, South Korea and Mexico appeared to be a group they could advance with after playing.

Then the 2018 year began. They drew against Spain 1-1 in their first friendly in March. Their next friendly, against Brazil four days later, they lost 1-0. They would lose to Austria in a friendly 2-1 on June 2nd and then win 2-1 in a friendly against the Saudis on June 8th. It was apparent the team chemistry that gave Germany the winning edge in 2014 wasn’t there.

The World Cup squad of 23 for the German national team was announced on June 4th 2018: two days after their loss to Austria. Manuel Neuer, goalkeeper for the 2014 team, was back and was captain of the team, as were eight other members of Germany’s 2014 team. There was also Mario Gomez who was part of Germany’s 3rd-place World Cup team of 2010. Marco Reus, who had to be replaced just before the 2014 World Cup because of an ankle injury, finally got his World Cup moment in 2018. There were some notable differences about the make-up. Four members of the 2014 team had 100 caps or more. None of the 2018 team had that. Three of the members were part of Germany’s silver medal-winning performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016. There were the ‘reliable’ veterans like Ozil, Muler, Neuer, Khedira and Boateng. As for the new players, there were talents like 26 year-old Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 22 year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Brandt, and defenders like 25 year-old Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea and 23 year-old Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich as well as 22 year-old striker Timo Werner who scored three goals during the 2017 Confederations Cup.

There were also some notable members of the German national team who were left off the World Cup squad like Shkodran Mustafi who was part of the 2014 team and Mario Gotze who scored the goal that won Germany the World Cup. Gotze had been going through a metabolic disorder since March of last year and it may have caused his dismissal from the national team.

Then the World Cup started. Their first opponent was Mexico right in Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. There were talks of struggles with the team chemistry since the Cup started, including with their team-based training in Moscow, but it appeared to be nothing to worry about. Mexico was a team where their last defeat to them was in 1985. They even beat them in the semis at the Confederations Cup last year. However sport is not about the past; it’s about now. Vet Neuer was chosen to be goaltender, Kimmich and the relatively inexperienced Marvin Plattenhardt were the only two ‘new’ players chosen as defenders, the two midfielders were vets Kroos and Khedira, and Werner was the only ‘new’ defender of the four. Substitutions also caught people’s eyes as ‘new players’ Plattenhardt and Werner were among those substituted and two vets along with ‘new player’ Julian Brandt were the substitutes. Germany had 60% of the ball possession, 25 of 37 attempts, nine attempts on-target and nine off-target, eight of the nine corner kicks, 88% pass accuracy, but the one goal was scored by Hirving Lozano of Mexico in the 35th minute.

Germany’s 1-0 loss soon got people talking. This was Germany’s first loss of a Group Stage opening match in yay so long. There was even talk about how the German team lacked organization, lacked chemistry. Some claimed Loew was ‘separating’ the team between the tried-and-true vets and the newer players. More scattering of players than setting a build of play. Germany still however had two more games. Their next match was Sweden in another Olympic Stadium: Fisht in Sochi. Neuer was back as goaltender, but this time there was more presence of newer players, especially among defenders. Even two of the three substitutes were new players like Brandt and Ilkay Gundogan. However it appeared to be another struggle for Germany, especially after Ola Toivonen scored after the 32nd minute. It did, however, appear that Germany was beginning to find their groove again as Marco Reus evened the game up at the 48th minute. However it was starting to look like Germany was going to choke again. Then came the miracle of stoppage time. It was Toni Kroos delivering a successful free kick in the 5th minute of stoppage time to give Germany their winning goal. Despite their 2-1 victory, there were still naysayers, pointing out how Germany did so little with so much. Germany had ball possession for 71% of the game and 16 goal attempts, but only five attempts on-target. They also had five of the seven offsides. Also Jerome Boateng received two yellow cards– in the 71st and 82nd minutes– en route to a red-card dismissal and Germany to play one man down for the remainder of that game and against the following game against South Korea.

Then came Game 3 against South Korea at Kazan Arena. Germany had to win if they wanted to qualify as Mexico already had two wins. No doubt Germany appeared to be there. They had 70% ball possession, had nine corner kicks, and delivered 17 shots, but only six were on-target. Germany appeared to deliver a lot of good attempts at goals, but young goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo was on that night. It was definitely frustrating for Germany as they knew they had to win to stay alive. Sweden was beating Mexico 3-0 so a win was needed to qualify. It did not happen. This time, it was South Korea that took full advantage of stoppage time with a goal by Kim Younggwon in the 93rd minute giving Korea the lead and a goal by Son Heungmin in an empty net in the 96th minute that meant it was the end for Germany. That was only Germany’s second loss to South Korea after their fourth time playing each other.

It’s tough to decide what lead to Germany’s demise. It may be the coaching staff’s overtrusting of its senior players and not giving the newer players a fair chance. Especially after vets like Neuer, Ozil and Thomas Muller all performed below expectation. Some say there was lack of unity or lack of a game plan. There was enough on the field to notice that. Some say the coaching tactics of Joachim Loew that was successful in the past finally ran out here. Loew himself was shocked at the loss and Germany’s early dismissal, however he did not deny any of his misdoings or the team’s misdoings.

Quotes from Loew after the game:

“I think we prepared well for the tournament. We were ready and we knew that all teams will be desperate to beat us, but we haven’t showed for it.”

“It wasn’t only Ozil, a number of other players didn’t perform as they normally would. I take responsibility for that and stand up for that, but I thought it was a good team.”

Interesting to note that Loew signed a contract to stay on as coach of the national team until 2022. Loew has been coach of the German national team since 2006. However he has made it evident that he will voluntarily step down. He made his disappointment obvious, but he said it will take hours to digest.

One thing about the loss is that it gave Germany some embarrassing statistics like the second World Cup ever and first time since 1938 that Germany failed to move past the 1st round, first time for Germany to fail to qualify after opening Group Stage play, and the third defending champion in a row to be eliminated after the Group Stage.

That last statistic continues to be biting. This is the fourth time in five World Cups this 21st century and the third consecutive time the defending champion is out after the Group Stage. I’ve never considered it bad luck to be defending World Cup champion, but the statistics are strongly pointing the way to it. It was never this way in the 20th century. They may have had some bad statistics at the following World Cup, but it was very rare to be out in the Group Stage. Now it’s more common than ever with Germany being the sixth ever and third-consecutive. It’s tempting to think bad lack, but one has to study teams to know why they perform poorly time after time. This is something new and shouldn’t be, but this is tempting.

The defending World Cup champion. The definition continues.