"Passive play, no fighting spirit—I didn't tell you to play like this! DEFENSE! DEFENSE! GODDAMN DEFENSE!!"
In the locker room, Löw was exploding with rage.
His emotions were boiling over. This match had him furious—his players hadn't followed his instructions at all. They played sluggishly, hesitantly, without conviction.
As Löw continued shouting, Ballack finally snapped.
"Isn't this the tactic you wanted?! Don't just blame everything on the players—you should reflect on yourself too! Was Schweinsteiger's red card last game really unavoidable? Didn't we have a chance to prevent that?"
"Yes! You want defense, but you have to look at who we're playing!"
"Croatia's performance in the Euro qualifiers and the first group stage match already showed their strength. The teams that sat deep against them—how did that turn out? You knew it was a trap, so why walk into it?"
Ballack grew angrier as he spoke:
"We're Germany. We have a glorious history. Now you want us to sit back and defend against Croatia? What next? Against Spain, the Netherlands, Italy—do we all just park the bus inside our own box?"
A rapid-fire barrage of questions left Löw speechless.
Ballack said coldly,
"Coach, I say this with no disrespect—but respect goes both ways. You need to understand our concerns too."
Then he turned toward the squad and shouted,
"Do you all want to play defense?"
The German players fell silent.
Then Lehmann spoke up:
"Who doesn't want to attack? It takes the pressure off."
Seeing the two senior figures speak out, others began voicing their thoughts:
"I don't know what to do anymore—I'm confused!"
"This is the EUROs—I want to play better!"
Lahm bit his lip and said:
"I just want to win."
Ballack turned to Löw:
"You heard them. Their stance is clear."
"I understand the situation we're in now. And I get what you want. In the second half, I'll fully obey your tactical arrangements—whatever they may be. But if we lose, please... 'respect' us."
Ballack's eyes burned with fury.
Löw's expression darkened. He knew the truth: in that dressing room, he, the newly appointed coach, didn't have nearly as much authority as Ballack.
He swallowed his anger and said,
"Let's begin second-half tactics."
The locker room finally quieted down.
But the tension in the air was still thick.
Meanwhile, in Croatia's locker room:
"Germany's playing a mess!"
"Some want to attack, others want to defend—they're all running in different directions. Of course they're chaotic!"
"Did they fall out internally?"
"Who knows. It's not unheard of—back in the day, Beckenbauer led a player revolt against the coach, and they won the World Cup that year!"
"Ballack pulling that off? If it were Kahn, maybe I'd believe it."
Croatian players chatted casually.
The first half had gone so smoothly that even they found it hard to believe.
Germany shouldn't be playing this poorly—but they were.
In their first match against Austria, the opponent was too weak, so Germany's flaws hadn't been exposed.
But now against Croatia, those flaws were glaring.
"Or maybe we're just that good?"
Dujmović chimed in smugly.
"What's that got to do with you? You're a benchwarmer!"
Pranjić shot back.
Dujmović pointed at him:
"You're just a squad rotation player! You're no better than me!"
Meanwhile, Modrić sat with Šuker, discussing the match.
"Germany were terrible in the first half. Think they'll recover in the second?"
Šuker wiped off some sweat:
"Depends on whether anyone there is willing to swallow their pride. But either way, it doesn't matter much now. In the second half, we'll switch to counterattacks. If Germany sticks with defensive tactics—we'll just stall. If they start attacking—they'll walk straight into our trap."
"Is it really a trap though?" Modrić scratched his chin. "Germany honestly looks hopeless."
Šuker nodded:
"As long as we don't make any stupid mistakes, Germany won't get a chance."
"The price for their first-half mistakes—will be a loss."
"Players are now walking out of the tunnel. After the first half, Croatia leads Germany 2–0!"
"That first half really shocked us. On one hand, it's Croatia's incredible performance—their new generation showing even more fight than past Croatian squads. Even against a team as strong as Germany, they dominated and scored two goals!"
"Let's see if Germany can turn things around in the second half."
But the German commentators sounded far from confident.
Croatia were just too aggressive—and they weren't just a group of young kids. Many of them had major tournament experience.
Even worse, they had elite players like Šuker and Modrić, both Champions League winners.
That was the key.
Most young teams can't pump the brakes when attacking.
But Croatia could.
They went from all-out offense in the first half—to full defense in the second.
The midfield and back line dropped deep.
Both wingers tracked back constantly.
Only Mandžukić stayed up top.
"Croatia, man… their tactical execution is insane."
The German commentator clutched his head in frustration.
When they attacked—they attacked like wild beasts.
When they defended—they turned into machines, blocking every channel, sealing every gap.
Ballack and Podolski tried individual breakthroughs—but were stopped every time.
Gómez had to drop deeper to receive the ball—but that left no space in the final third, making it nearly impossible for Germany to even shoot.
"Pass it to me!"
Ballack shouted.
He took a small touch forward—and then let loose a powerful shot with his right foot.
BANG!The ball flew between Vukojević and Kovač—
—and smashed the crossbar.
Rebound!
Šuker winced:
"Damn… Ballack's back to long-range shots again."
And they were dangerous.
The match ticked into the 55th minute.
Both sides made substitutions.
Germany:
Jansen and Fritz off.
Odonkor and Kurányi on.
More attacking firepower.
Croatia:
Mandžukić off.
Dujmović on.
"I'm here! Pass to me! Watch this long-range blast!"
Dujmović ran on smugly.
"Coach told me to shoot from distance."
He told Šuker,
"He said shoot however I want. Even if it goes into the stands, it's fine!"
Šuker could feel his enthusiasm.
This guy was totally driven by mood.
He couldn't handle pressure in tough situations—but in dominant games like this, he could be a lethal weapon to extend the lead.
"Got it."
Šuker nodded.
Dujmović winked:
"This time, I'm scoring. No rebound for you."
Šuker shrugged:
"We'll see."
But he'd be there for a tap-in if needed.With Mandžukić off, Šuker was now the central striker.
"Another tactical change!"
Ballack watched Šuker move to center-forward and groaned.
Things were bad enough already—now Croatia's change of shape was causing even more discomfort.
The biggest issue? Šuker was now closer to goal.
And he was even more dangerous as a striker.
But Germany couldn't slow down now.
Their only option was to attack.
If they lost this match, they'd have to fight for second place in the group.
The next 35 minutes would be a battle of two very different tactics—
But both teams had the same goal:Victory.
And from this point on, Germany would begin a desperate fightback—
While also trying to stop Croatia's deadly counterattacks.