World Cup 2018: 5 forwards who flattered to deceive in the group stage

#2 Thomas Muller (Germany)

Muller embodied Germany's struggles

Germany's catastrophic World Cup campaign saw several stars gravely underperforming. And Thomas Muller is one of the foremost names in the unwanted list.

Widely touted to surpass Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 goals after having struck 10 times the previous two editions, the Bayern Munich star bowed out of Russia without adding a single strike to that tally! As much bewildering as it may sound, he never really looked like scoring in this World Cup - In 207 minutes, Muller managed a total of zero shots on target! You read that right. Absolutely zilch.

He was an isolated figure down that right wing, struggling to get even a pass inside the box whilst also failing to get to the end of numerous chances. In the first two games, his 114 touches on the ball was the least among any outfield Germany player not named Timo Werner.

Muller was well off the pace and lacked dynamism, encapsulating some of the glaring issues that plagued the German side that managed to score only twice in the campaign.