Dietmar Hamann gives his opinion on the performances of Germany duo Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger against Ghana on Saturday. #451003914 / gettyimages Former Germany international midfielder Dietmar Hamann has hailed the performance of Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger against Ghana at the World Cup on Saturday. While Ozil started the game against the African giants, the Bayern Munich midfielder came on as a substitute for Sami Khedira in the 70 minute. It was 2-1 at the time, but a minute later, another substitute Miroslav Klose struck with his first touch of the contest to restore parity. The Group G clash at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza eventually ended in a 2-2 draw, but not before Germany had gone close to winning the contest. Former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Hamann has now highlighted the impact that Klose and Schweinsteiger made after coming on, and has also underlined the improvement in Ozil’s performance. article continues below ‘I thought that Germany looked tired in the first 60 minutes’, Goal quotes him as saying. ‘They were lethargic and slower than Ghana. This only changed when Schweinsteiger and Klose entered the match... Ozil seems to have stepped up and (Thomas) Muller has been scoring. Now Schweinsteiger will come back and that is why I am in a good mood! #450765046 / gettyimages Against the USA I think Schweinsteiger will start, but Klose won’t and Khedira will stay out... I expect Schweinsteiger to get into the team now and I am sure this will have a positive effect. Schweinsteiger has been suffering from a knee injury in recent weeks, but he is now fully fit and looked like his old self against Ghana. The 29-year-old Bayern midfielder, who has been linked with a £25 million move to Manchester United this summer, is not guaranteed a place in Joachim Low’s starting line-up, but he is a world-class player whose importance for Die Mannschaft remains as big as ever. As for Ozil, the Arsenal attacking midfielder did indeed have a better game than the one he had against Portugal. Although the 25-year-old former Real Madrid star played a role in his side’s second goal against their European rivals and looked lively, he still did not appear to be firing on all cylinders. SEE ALSO: World Cup: Top goalkeepers on Day 10 – Stoke star features However, on Saturday, Ozil was fired up and was especially good in the second half. The former Werder Bremen playmaker appeared creative, chose the right passes and did well on the flanks. Ozil did not have the best of debut seasons for Arsenal in the Premier League in 2013-14, but he appears to be recovering his form now. And that spells danger for Germany’s opponents in Brazil.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 06:42:34 +0000
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