[Due to accumulated yellow cards, Leon Goretzka would miss the next match]
Only now did they realize Germany had a defensive midfielder carrying accumulated yellow cards, though it did not affect today's match.
Miss the next match?
German fans had no time to worry about that for now. What they needed to worry about first was whether their team could make it into the knockout stage.
Before worrying about tomorrow, you had to make sure there was a tomorrow!
"Still, we can see that Germany came prepared today. Müller, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, and, as you mentioned, İlkay Gündoğan—Germany's midfield and attacking players have made their pressing a huge headache for China national football team."
"They've locked down the buildup from the back. Once that happens, you can't swing the play from side to side."
Fans who regularly watched the Premier League should have recognized this. It was the tactic many teams had used against Manchester United in recent seasons: high-frequency pressing up front to prevent Manchester United from playing out from the back, thereby suppressing the attacking ability of Europe's little overlords.
Germany's tactics against China now were a copy of what Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund used against Manchester United.
That was why China national team was called little Manchester United. The two teams had a lot in common.
Gnabry stopped the ball under his foot and waited for Thilo Kehrer to come up alongside him.
Once he confirmed his teammate was in position, Gnabry slid a through ball forward.
Kehrer collected it near the byline.
Smack!
He whipped in a cross toward Musiala at the edge of the box!
As Musiala brought the ball down with his chest, Zhang Linpeng barged into him, sending him straight to the ground.
It was an obvious foul, but Müller collected