German football legend Lothar Matthäus criticized the weak performance of Mesut Özil in the debut match against Mexico. He not only criticized him, but also questioned the team led by Joachin Löw. "I have the feeling that Mesut Özil does not want to play," he said in his opinion column in the newspaper Bild. The former German World Cup winner in 1990 also said that the performance of the German-Turkish striker "gave the impression that he was in his own world."
The fall of the champion
The current world champion, the German national team, was defeated 1-0 by Mexico in their debut match at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Hirving Lozano scored the goal for Mexico in the 34th minute, causing Mexican fans to erupt in celebration, to the point of causing a slight earthquake in Mexico City, according to SIMMSA, the country's seismic monitoring network.
"For one or two years, Özil has played much weaker and at a level that does not justify Joachin Löw giving him a free pass," he said. Matthäus not only criticized Özil, but also other players including the German coach and Julian Brandt.
