Hockey World Cup 2018: Pakistan vs Germany - 3 talking points

#1 Thorough, disciplined and efficient Germans win the day

German efficiency won the day for Kermas' men

Long vertical passes, switching across flanks and switching back to the centre almost in revolving fashion was the hallmark of the German game which Pakistan attempted to emulate rather unsuccessfully.

The accuracy of the passes for Kermas' side was just under 70% while for Pakistan less than 60% of passes found their intended target. It was some thorough, dogged, and disciplined work on the pitch by the Germans which helped them come out on top and indeed, the blemishes, if any, were few and far between.

As compared to the teams of the past, Pakistan defended admirably and sacrificed their natural attacking instincts with a view to cut off space for the German strikers.

Rizwan Sr. and co. did so with some success but the fact that they did allow the Germans to score without being able to restore parity simply did not serve the overall purpose.

If only Pakistan had managed to find the back of the net with the few chances and half-chances that came their way, the story of the match could have been remarkably different.

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