The group stage at the World Cup in Russia saw plenty of major upsets - the elimination of defending champions Germany after 2-0 loss to South Korea, quite easily the biggest surprise of the tournament this year. The World Champions entered the tournament after lifting the Confederations Cup in 2017 and finishing the World Cup qualifying in top position. But the side led by coach Joachim Loew could not save themselves from the champions' curse and exited earlier than anyone would have expected. Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal and Spain, were also some of the teams that have not been at their best in Russia, but can bless their stars, as they have reached the knockout phase in Russia. In a well-oiled machine, it is the parts of the machine that often lead to faulty mechanisms. Similarly, in a football team, some poor individual performances can affect the entire team. In Russia, there were some players who were expected to be big stars at the World Cup, who failed to live up to the expectations. Mesut Ozil (Germany) In January 2017, Mesut Ozil was adjudged as Germany's Player of the Year for the fifth time in six years. The Arsenal midfielder, who has scored 21 international goals in 83 matches, was regarded as the primary playmaker for Germany and gained a reputation for providing crucial assists. But his performance in Russia infuriated the fans and left a lot to demand. Not only was Ozil slammed by the critics, he also was picked out by the trolls as the primary reason for Germany's exit. He was nowhere to be seen on the field in the opening match against Mexico and was left out in the second game against Poland. After the final game against South Korea, the 29-year old was seen getting in a tussle with the fans, who berated him for his poor showing. "It wasn't only Ozil, a number of other players didn't perform as they normally would. I take responsibility for that and stand up for that, but I thought it was a good team," coach Joachim Loew said at the press-match conference. But it did little to redeem the player as Germany bid farewell to the tournament. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 34 goals in 36 games for Poland under coach Adam Nawalka, and was the side's leading figure in the World Cup qualifying round, had a horrible campaign in Russia. The 29-year old, who scored 49 goals in 56 matches for Bayern Munich last season, was expected to set the stage on fire for his country. But he could not even score a single goal in three matches. He was completely absent in the opening game against Senegal which they went on to lose 2-1. Instead of accepting his shortcomings after the match, he slammed the team’s tactics. “Lewandowski was probably not even on the field in the first half. The team moved with the monotonous pace of a regional train on the stretch from Pilawa to Tluszcz," former Poland international Maciej Szczesny was quoted as saying by Polish TV. In the next game against Colombia, Lewandowski hardly did anything to improve his game, and remained on the periphery, in spite of Nawalka shifting formation from 4-4-2 to 3-4-3. He was constantly bullied by Colombian defenders and missed an easy chance with goalkeeper David Ospina coming in front to stop the ball. Promising to exit the tournament on high, the striker failed to have any mark against Japan in their final game, as Poland crashed out of the tournament despite 1-0 win over the Asian nation. David de Gea (Spain) David de Gea, who bagged the Manchester United Player of the Year trophy for a record fourth time, could well face the axe in Spain's Round of 16 encounter against Russia on Sunday. The star goalkeeper, who won the Golden Glove, for making 18 saves this season in Premier League competition, had a poor showing in Spain's opening encounter against Portugal. De Gea failed to hold on to a low hit effort from Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo which slipped out of his hands and went into the back of the net. His performance against Morocco, where a mix-up between Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta opened up Khalib Boutib to score a goal, could not instill confidence in coach Fernando Hierro. Spain managed to draw the match 2-2, but speculations continued whether De Gea will be a part of the starting XI in the knockout stage. Antoine Griezmann (France) Talking about France, who were earlier pegged as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, there appears to be several chinks in the armour for the 2016 European Championships runners-up. While Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has looked to be a shadow of his original self, not being able to create too many chances, Barcelona's Ousman Dembele has been wasteful inside the box. But the biggest disappointment for Didier Deschamps' side has been Antoine Griezmann. The 27-year old, who scored the winning goal for Atletico Madrid against Marseille in the Europa League final last month, has scored just one goal, which came from a penalty, in three matches. He has not had a shot on target, and it appears as if he is feeling the pressure to justify his decision to reject a move to Barcelona. His performance against Denmark, the only goalless match in the group stages, didn't inspire much confidence either. An insipid France have managed to reach the knockout stages, and Griezmann might want to get back into the thick of things, as quickly as he can. Sardar Azmoun (Iran) Iran striker Sardar Azmoun on Thursday, announced his retirement from the international squad, claiming his mother's illness due to a barrage of insults aimed his way. The 23-year old, regarded as "Iranian Messi", and was seen as the long-term succssor to Iran great Ali Daei, failed to light up the World Cup tournament in Russia, as the Asian nation suffered an exit from the tournament. Azmoun, who was the side's leading goal scorer in the qualifying rounds, failed to score a single goal in three games. He wasted plenty of chances up front, and could not manage a single shot on target.
