Germany vs Mexico: 5 Talking Points, World Cup 2018

#3 Mexico exploit space left behind by marauding Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich's attacking runs worked in Mexico's favour

Make no mistake, Joshua Kimmich is an excellent full-back and Germany are lucky that he came along as soon as Philipp Lahm retired from the international scene.

The 23-year-old right back was instrumental in their World Cup qualifiers, piling on the assists playing out wide on the right. Joachim Low has obviously given him the freedom to get forward and make overlapping runs and he is quite effective when he gets forward.

However, against Mexico, it backfired. El Tri coach Juan Carlos Osorio had clearly asked his players to counter-attack down Kimmich's flank when his positioning was exposed.

Mexico pressed with a lot more fervour when Kimmich was in an advanced position and it paid off when they dispossessed the defending champions. With Kimmich further up the field, Carlos Vela drifted to the left while Hirving Lozano also found more space to work with.

It was Kimmich's absence that allowed Mexico to counter-attack down that flank and even though Ozil tried to cover for his absence, he is no defender to close down a player with tricky feet as well as Kimmich does.