All is not well for football's biggies

Chennai: Never in recent World Cups have all the four hot contenders for the title failed to win their opener. Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Spain have all dropped points in the first round in Russia. Although it is too early to call it the World Cup of the Underdog, the top guns have adequately been warned within four days of action.

Germany were the only team to bite the dust. More than their 1-0 reverse at the hands of an inspired Mexicans, the manner of defeat should worry the defending champions. Mexico, who on Sunday became the first team from Central America to beat Germany, had entered the field with the specific plan of playing a high-tempo game that would derail their opponents’ own strategy.

Mexico’s Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio was the architect of the stunning win. According to Mexican players, Osorio had been plotting the downfall of Germany for months. Javier Hernandez, who supplied the assist for Hirving Lozano’s winner after a lightning counter, called his coach “a genius.” Mexico’s blistering pace was too hot for Germany who essentially lost the battle in midfield.

Osorio, as all decent coaches do, credited the players. He went on to hit the nail on the head. “We play for the love of winning and not with the fear of losing,” added Osorio, who has an appropriate nickname — The Professor.

The Mexico coach may well have explained the poor performance of Argentina and Brazil with his quote. Unless the two football powerhouses play for the pleasure of it, they aren’t going to bring much joy to their legion of fans all over the world. Amateurish defending, more than anything else, saw both Argentina and Brazil lose their lead. As soon as they conceded the equaliser, Argentina and Brazil allowed their shoulders to drop.

Spain, who were held 3-3 by Portugal, are the only team among the big four that can feel reasonably happy. They dropped two points to the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo rather than to the collective might of Portugal. With two easy matches to come in Group B, there is not so much pressure on Spain, who in fact recovered on time from the turmoil of seeing their coach sacked a day before the tournament.

Germany had never lost a match as defending champions but on Sunday they joined the dubious list comprising Spain (2014) and France (2002), Argentina (1990 and 1982) and Italy (1950). Another worrying piece of statistic for Germany is they failed to respond to Lozano’s goal despite having 55 minutes on their hands. Argentina couldn’t find the winner in 67 minutes while Brazil plodded on for 40 minutes after conceding the equaliser respectively, with Lionel Messi and Neymar far from being menacing.