Mighty Germany's rare opening World Cup defeat may not be surprise

Moscow (dpa) - It was widely believed that Germany would overcome some recent rustiness when they started their World Cup title defence on Sunday.
After all, German teams have a history of delivering when it matters.
But on a mild Sunday evening they ran into a spirited Mexico team which exposed all their recent weaknesses to claim a deserved 1-0 win and send the Germans reeling.
Lost balls, huge holes in defence and lack of firepower have somewhat tainted the image of Joachim Loew's team that won the 2014 title in style and was determined to do it again in Russia.
"We always allow too much space on the counter. We always talk about the same problems in the last games and try to stop them," forward Thomas Mueller lamented after only the second opening game loss at a World Cup for the Germans.
"Now we effectively have only knock-out games," he added in reference to the upcoming tasks against Sweden and South Korea.
Centre-back Jerome Boateng said: "To be honest, that's the worst possible start into the tournament. But we will fight back."
Coach Loew also insisted that the four-time champions and eight-time finalists Germany would not go out in the group stage for the first time ever. But in order to really avoid that worst case scenario some issues need to be urgently addressed.
At least Loew is not panicking, just like his players didn't as they tried to hit back after Mexico's opener from Hirving Lozano with their usual patient possession game until the final minutes.
"We don't throw our plan overboard. We can always generate chances," the coach insisted. "We will not fall apart and do something different. We will make a few corrections.
"We didn't play deep, we must improve that. We didn't show it today and the two games before. And then you lose many balls and make things easy for such a strong opponent."
Boateng and and his fellow centre-back Mats Hummels were on edge all through the first half as the attacking right-back Joshua Kimmich left gaping holes at the back, playmaker Mesut Oezil was no factor, and Timo Werner was also not as sharp as in the past up front.
As it turned out, the meagre 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia and 2-1 defeat against Austria just before the trip to Russia were no fluke at all, just as a defeat against Brazil and winless games against England, France and Spain before.
Loew said Sunday's loss was not the result of a lack of energy even though "we appeared not as dynamic in the first half," while also admitting that there were "unusual nerves" affecting his players.
Germany now stare into the abyss of becoming the fourth title holder in the last five World Cups to exit the following finals in the group stage. And given their current form things may not be easier against deep defending Sweden and fast South Korea.
"It is an unusual situation. We have always won in the past. We have to accept it and learn our lesson," Loew said.
"Mentally we are all down and disappointed. But the team has experience and can rise again. If you lose the first game you have to win the second," Loew said.