The DFB team were left empty-handed in their World Cup opener against Mexico in Russia. At the end of the 90 minutes, coach Joachim Löw’s men were left licking the wounds of a 0-1 defeat to the Mexicans. The only goal of the game was scored by Hirving Lozano in the 35th minute. VfB striker Mario Gomez was introduced as a substitute in the 79th minute. It was Mario Gomez‘ first World Cup outing since July 7th, 2010. The striker had a chance with a header in the 87th minute, but failed to hit the target. Shortly afterwards, the VfB man again caused some problems in the opposition penalty-area, but could not make effective use of the opportunity. Germany now follow up the opening game defeat to Mexico with a clash against Sweden on Saturday, June 23rd (kick-off 20:00 CEST).
On Saturday, a further VfB man began his World Cup campaign. Benjamin Pavard and the French national team enjoyed a 2-1 win over Australia.
