Kimmich and Matthäus have their say on Barcelona star Adeyemi's horror miss against Netherlands
| Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images |
After taking the lead against the Netherlands through Felix Nmecha on Thursday, Germany looked set to make it 2-0 when Nathaniel Brown squared the ball across to Karim Adeyemi, who only had to slot it into an open net but instead sent his effort over the bar.
The miss sparked a wild reaction from Germany coach Jürgen Klopp, who opened his mouth in disbelief, put his hands over his face and turned towards his coaching staff, prompting laughter.
Speaking in the mixed zone after the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw, Germany captain Joshua Kimmich defended the FC Barcelona star.
“It happens … I’m the last person who can blame him – I don’t score enough goals myself,” Kimmich said, adding:
“Of course, it would have been nice to make it 2-0 there. To a layperson, it might look easy, but when you’re coming in at full speed … There’s absolutely no blame on him. He’s annoyed with himself about it.”
Germany legend Lothar Matthäus highlighted just how routine the chance should have been for a player of Adeyemi’s quality.
“He scores nine out of 10 of those. He knows that himself,” he said while speaking as an RTL pundit.
Adeyemi, 24, was handed a place in the Germany lineup after an impressive start to the season with FC Barcelona, for whom he has recorded three goals and three assists in eight games so far.
