What does a World Cup match last June have to do with Arlington High boys’ soccer this fall? It’s simple — admiration, dreams. Arlington High senior Max Fritsch has both — for the German team he follows and the team for which he plays.
Toni Kroos and his German teammate celebrate a score. / New York Times photo
That squad made a strong run for the Middlesex League title this fall, before dropping one to Lexington. If a 17-year-old can’t dream, who can? Fritsch is YourArlington’s intern this fall. He has written a lively account of a World Cup game he watched.
Fritsch
Germany and Sweden men’s national teams clashed in Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia, on June 23, 2018, in the second match of three in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group stage. Previously, in the first game of the World Cup for both teams, Sweden snuck past South Korea, 1-0, while defending champions Germany were upset by Mexico, 0-1.
The Germans, looking to bounce back from the loss, a win very much needed to keep alive their hopes of moving on to the knockout stage.
It was clear straight off the whistle that Sweden’s manager, Janne Andersson, had instructed his side to sit back and defend against the often lethal German attack, waiting for the perfect time to counter. This game plan is the same strategy that saw Mexico through against the former world champions a week earlier. Though Germany had held possession in Sweden’s half for a majority of the game, a very dominant 71 to 29 percent, according to ESPN, Sweden capitalized off its game plan in the 32nd minute, when striker Ola Toivonen broke away and went on to chip Germany’s keeper Manuel Neuer, taking a 1-0 lead. Sweden took this lead into the half. Stuck in a similar situation as a week before against Mexico, German head coach and mastermind Joachim Löw decided to add some attacking power by substituting on veteran striker Mario Gómez at half time.
Germany, came back attacking, creating chance after chance, just as it did in the first half, having double the number of Sweden’s eight shots, ESPN reported, and eventually caught a break- 3 minutes into the 2nd half (48th minute), when Marco Reus scored a tap-in from inside the box, tying the score at 1. The Germans, however, were hungry for more and continued to press against the Swedish, held together by goalie Robin Olsen, who finished the match with four saves. In the 82nd minute, German center back Jérôme Boateng was given a straight red card and sent off for a brutal tackle on Swedish striker Marcus Berg — forcing Germany to play with only 10 men for the rest of the game.
All seemed done for the Germans, and just when it seemed Sweden had pulled off a tie in the final minute, Timo Werner drew a foul for Germany just outside Sweden’s box. World-class midfielder Toni Kroos stepped up for the free kick and buried it past Olsen, into the top right corner of the net, for goal of the tournament. The Germans held on for the final 30 seconds and came away with the win, 2-1.
Victorious at last, Germany was safe from disqualification and back in the running in group F, though they hoped to keep the winning ways going in its next match against South Korea. The same follows for Sweden, now 1-0-1, who play undefeated Mexico next.
That was one snapshot among many in the 2018 World Cup: Germany lost to South Korea, 3-2. Sweden went on to beat Mexico and Switzerland, but lost to England. In the final. France berat Croatia.
This news account, which includes opinion, was published Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018.
