Kai Havertz was dropped from Germany's team to play Spain as Hansi Flick's side tried to recover from their shock opening game defeat to Japan.
The Chelsea forward thought he had scored a second goal for his country in the first half of their game against Hajime Moriyasu's side, but saw his effort ruled out for offside - something that brought great criticism form Ian Wright. He was then subbed off in the second half despite his team chasing a goal.
Japan came from behind on the night to condemn Germany to a surprise defeat that left a lot riding on the fixture against Luis Enrique's Spain side that crushed Costa Rica 7-0 on the opening matchday.
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Havertz has struggled at club level this season too, only scoring four goals this term in all competitions. Although his performances have tended to be better for Germany, Flick chose to go without the forward in a game they could not afford to lose.
The decision might not come as much of a shock to those that listened to Wright during the Japan game, though. The former Arsenal striker blasted Havertz, saying: "You can see so much and he’s so much closer to the goal. Now, Havertz just stay in between and behind the number, you don’t need to go you can just wait. He didn’t need to move there, just stay there, I can’t believe that’s happening at this level."
Alan Shearer was also critical of Havertz against Japan, commenting on his performance during the Spain game, saying: "When you look at the numbers in the last game for Germany they let themselves down in the final third. 26 shots they had and Havertz didn't have one. When you're a forward that's not acceptable so Hansi Flick had to something different tonight. There's no surprise that he's gone for experience."
The 23-year-old has 10 goals in 32 international appearances with 11 assists in that time too, but he faces a challenge to get himself back in the fold for the remainder of the tournament.
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