Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira have been axed by Joachim Low for Germany's crucial World Cup showdown with Sweden in Sochi. Germany head coach Low defended Ozil in the build-up to Saturday's Group F fixture at Fisht Stadium after the underperforming Arsenal attacker was heavily scrutinised following a shock loss to Mexico. However, Low dropped Ozil for the game after 26 successive starts in major tournaments, with Germany's World Cup status in the balance. Khedira was also benched following a forgettable performance against Mexico for the world champions, with Marco Reus and Sebastian Rudy named in the starting XI. TEAM NEWS Here's how line up for our Group F clash with June 23, 2018 See more A neck injury, as expected, forced Mats Hummels out of the side, with the experienced defender replaced by Antonio Rudiger, while full-back Marvin Plattenhardt made way for Jonas Hector, who missed the Mexico loss through illness. There was talk veteran striker Mario Gomez could join Timo Werner up front in a 4-4-2 formation but Low resisted the temptation to sway from his usual 4-3-3 system.<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Ozil played the entire 90 minutes for Germany in their surprise 1-0 loss to Mexico in their World Cup opener. Gary Neville, working for ITV, was critical of the playmaker’s role in Hirving Lozano’s goal. The Arsenal man was easily beaten in the box by Lozano before the winger fired past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. “Mexico are a good side obviously but I couldn’t believe how many times they looked disorganised and counter-attacked on,” Neville said of Germany.<doc-sep>Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images You know Mesut Ozil's World Cup campaign has not started well when he is being compared to a dead frog after one match. He is familiar with being singled out for criticism, of course. It's been happening at Arsenal for the past five years. More often than not, it's his body language damaging his reputation. We all know of his sublime skill: the precise passing, fabulous crossing and beautiful finishing that has helped him become recognised as one of the most talented players on the planet. But when the going gets tough, Ozil usually takes the hits. That has been the case since Germany's shocking opening loss to Mexico. Some are calling the defeat a crisis, with the reigning world champions rocked to the core by Chucky Lozano's first-half winner in Moscow. And in the fallout of that opening defeat, one man has felt criticism harder than anyone else. "Ozil is an overrated footballer," said Mario Basler, a former German international, on the German TV show Hard But Fair, per Chris Hatherall of the Daily Star. "His body language is that of a dead frog." Video Play Button Videos you might like "If you look at the Mexico game and the way he has defended as a so-called leader, that was pathetic," Basler said. "It was like, 'There, please take the ball and shoot.' That's not defence." Basler has been laying into Ozil since before the tournament even began. "Ozil is overrated," he said, per German magazine Sport Bild (h/t 101 Great Goals), a week before a ball had been kicked in Russia. "Even if he plays another 100 internationals. To me, he's a follower. He has extraordinary abilities, of course. But in big games, he doesn't put them on the pitch." Look back at the stats from Germany's loss to Mexico, and Ozil doesn't appear to have had the worst of games. He made four key passes, and of his 74 passes, he was accurate on 91.9 percent of them. Play back the match, and his performance did not seem so terrible that he should be taking the flak for a team outing that was simply below par. But even legendary figure Lothar Matthaus criticised Ozil by claiming he is "in the game without joy." He went on to explain, per Alex Richard of The Mirror: "I often have the feeling that on the pitch, Ozil doesn't feel comfortable in the DFB jersey, is not free—almost as if he does not want to play. "There is no heart, no joy, no passion. After the latest impression, it is not excluded for me that he withdraws from the national team after the World Cup." So what is it about Ozil that really gets on the nerves of people who should be supporting him? Jochen Stutzky, who works for Sport 1 television and covers the the German national team, has a theory. "It's easy to pick him out because it's easy to criticise him," he said. "There's always one thing you can criticise, and that's his body language. "It's so easy to criticise him. Part of the problem is that Ozil could be the world's best player. But he isn't always at that level." Perhaps Ozil is his own worst enemy. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images Dr. Jack Brown is an American expert in body language and emotional intelligence. He studied images of the Germany star for Bleacher Report to observe the way Ozil carries himself on the field. "I am also an ophthalmologist, and I notice he has a condition called congenital ptosis," he immediately said. "That is a general term for a droopiness of one's eyelids. "This gives him the psychological appearance of being a little bit lazy, tired or apathetic, so places him at a disadvantage. If someone has these type of eyelids, we see them to be more lazy than we otherwise would." He continued: "I see he has shoulders slumped and his head tilted, and this shows a low-energy state. "As a leader this projects a low-energy mindset to the other players on the team, and they will tend to adopt that. Even the most junior member of the team should have a more confident and emotionally strong body posture. He almost looks like a 10-year-old boy who got disappointing news about not getting sweets after dinner." Then, looking at an image of Ozil hanging his head, he says: "It is a negative thing to do, although an easy thing to do in a losing position. It's important not to do this [to avoid] projecting a feeling to fans and teammates but also as a form of bio-feedback to oneself. I recommend strongly against it. "The other thing a person should almost never do is touch your face. It shows anxiety—that's the No. 1 reason we touch our face. It makes yourself feel that way too; you will seem more low-energy and defeated. Some sports teams even fine players financially for using bad body language." The way Ozil holds himself on the pitch clearly affects how he is perceived, no matter how much effort he is truly putting in. But another factor not helping him right now is his public profile. A man of few words, he created headlines ahead of the World Cup. Ozil, along with international teammate Ilkay Gundogan, was pictured with controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Relations have been strained between Turkey and Germany, and the photograph created a backlash, with the far-right group Alternative for Germany calling for both players to be left out of the World Cup squad. Munich-based fan Tina believes his lack of a connection with supporters generally is a bigger issue for Ozil, though. She told B/R: "I think people in general are unhappy with Ozil's lack of openness. He seems distant, which is partly his fault, but people expect too much of him. The national team is huge, bigger than any club." YURI CORTEZ/Getty Images Coach Joachim Low has defended Ozil ahead of their next encounter, and the player is expected to keep his place on the team for Germany's match with Sweden on Saturday. It is a must-win encounter for German fans, and focus will undoubtedly centre on the No. 10. Sport 1 TV's Stutzky added: "There are so many people who don't like him in Germany, who don't like the situation because he never wants to give an interview to the media. So he's seen very negatively and they don't see his qualities. "I would say only success can make this better for him. Shoot a goal, make an assist, win trophies. In my opinion, there's nothing else he can do. "If you look at his numbers, they are pretty good—I think 90 games played for Germany, and when you combine goals and assists, there are more than 60. But in the big matches? He's not the Mesut Ozil we want." Only one man can change this story, and winning over the critics is going to take some huge performances. For Ozil, that must begin now.<doc-sep>
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil is a divisive player for fans of both club and country. In the eyes of his supporters, he is a player of unparalleled vision and skill, whose brilliance is overlooked by those unable or incapable of appreciating the nuance of his game. Not all of his detractors are illiterate when it comes to football's finer points, however. Even those who complain that the German doesn't run enough, do enough or make an impact worthy of his reputation can usually pick out examples as evidence for their grievances. Yet regardless of where fans stand over the issue of Ozil and how effective he may be, his record for his country going into the World Cup 2018 spoke volumes about how much his national team manager Joachim Low values his influence. He was dropped for Germany's crunch match against Sweden in the second round of group stage games but before that match he had been selected to start in every single tournament game for the reigning world champions since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa eight years ago. That run included Euro 2012, when Spain made it three international titles in a row, the 2014 World Cup when Ozil won the biggest prize in international football, and the Euro 2016 when Portugal surprised their rivals to lift the trophy. He started his first tournament game in a 4-0 thrashing of Australia in Durban on June 13, 2010. From there he continued to play his part as Germany finished third ahead of Uruguay. They came up against Serbia, Ghana, England, Argentina and the eventual winners Spain on the way. (Image: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) It was against the team managed by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals that Ozil and his cohorts hit their peak at the 2010 World Cup, ripping Argentina apart 4-0 after having dispatched England 4-1 in the previous round. Germany went into Euro 2012 as one of the favourites. They finished top of their group with three wins over Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark. In the knock out stages, Low's side overcame Greece before being beaten by Mario Balotelli and Italy in the semi-finals. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Germans again beat Portugal and grabbed victory against the USA too but could only draw with Ghana, but that was a setback that helped to galvanise a squad that was forced to prove itself against Algeria before beating France, destroying Brazil 7-1 and then defeating Lionel Messi and Argentina once again in the final. Ozil was a world champion in 2014 - two years later and he would exit the Euros at the semi-finals, as was the case in 2012. Germany finished top of a group featuring Poland, Northern Ireland Ukraine and progressed past Slovakia and Italy (just about) before being knocked out by the hosts, France. (Image: Hector Vivas/Getty Images) Across all these tournaments, Ozil scored four times - against Ghana in 2010, Italy in 2012, Algeria in 2014 and Italy in 2016. He was also top assist provider at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Euro 2012, and was named German player of the year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. For the game against Sweden, he was sent to the bench for the first time in his career at a major tournament. With Unai Emery installed as the new head coach at Arsenal, he will return from Russia to a fresh start and a new approach at the Emirates ahead of next season. It could be exactly what he needs. Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android. Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.