He had forced a save in the second minute, but he skied a header over the crossbar in the 57th minute. For long stretches, Germany's short passing and possession style seemed to lack energy and purpose. But Gomez scored in the decisive moment, and in the end that was all that mattered.
Still, many had expected Klose to start such an important match. After all, he had 63 goals in 116 previous international appearances. And Gomez had started only intermittently for Die Mannschaft. But Klose badly injured a thigh in March while playing for Lazio of Italy's Serie A, and his convalescence has been extended.
"It was a hard road for me," Gomez, whose father is Spanish and whose mother is German, said about being the usual understudy to Klose. "I am very happy that the coach had confidence in me. With the goal, I could pay something back. The ball was deflected and landed exactly on the front of my head. It wasn't that difficult."
No comments:
Post a Comment