Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has been slammed for his performance in Germany’s surprise defeat to Japan at the World Cup.
Havertz was handing a starting role by Germany boss Hansi Flick for the Group E opener, starting up front with Thomas Muller playing as the number ten behind him.
It appeared things would go well for him as his team after Ilkay Gundogan handed them the lead from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute, a lead they held until well into the second half.
A change in formation from Japan helped them after the break, though, and they were level in the 75th minute when Ritsu Doan tucked home from close range.
Eight minutes later they were in front as Takuma Asano took down a long ball superbly before getting himself into the box to fire past Manuel Neuer for Japan’s second.
That proved to be the winning goal, with Japan securing the latest big shock of the tournament in Qatar after Argentina’s defeat to Saudi Arabia yesterday.
BILD give him a five out of six, which for those who are uninitiated in the German ratings system, is the second worst a player can receive.
Bild use the German school grading system so 1 means ‘very good’, 2 is ‘good’, 3 is ‘average’, 4 is ‘passable but still lacking’, 5 is ‘deficient’ and 6 is ‘insufficient’.
They say the Chelsea man was ‘never really in the game’ before being substituted off and ‘barely visible’ when Germany ultimately needed him most.
They do conceded he had some ‘bad luck’ given he had a goal disallowed but other than that, they were less than impressed and give him a ‘deficient’ rating as a result.
It’s a poor start for the Blues forward, who, like his country, now has work to do to convince the doubters and secure a place in the knockout stages.
