Not used to this at all: Loew

It is still too early to say whether Germany will suffer the same fate that Spain and Italy had in previous versions of the FIFA World Cup. Italy and Spain, champions of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups respectively, were embarrassed in the subsequent defence of their titles, making early exits from the first rounds.

However, Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Mexico at the Luzhniki Stadium puts Germany in serious danger of following suit. The loss made them the third World Cup winners on the trot to fail to win their opening game and if the Germans do not beat Sweden, who came into the finals at the expense of Italy, then their dream of defending the title might be all but over.

Mexico forward Hirving Lozano's first-half goal was the difference between the two sides in an enthralling encounter. It was a cool finish from a quick counterattack with Javier Hernandez nicely setting up the fleet-footed forward who slotted one home past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from 12 yards out.

It was not only the goal but also the tactics employed by Mexico's Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who played three quick men down the flank, which caught the Germans off-guard time and again in the first-half, dictated by Mexico. Toni Kroos came close but was denied by the woodwork in what was Germany's only real opportunity to restore parity in the first-half. Germany fought with more vigour after the break but were held at bay by a resolute Mexican defence.

The very moment Iranian referee Alireza Faghaniblew the final whistle five minutes into injury time, the Mexico fans at the imposing stadium erupted into a wild celebration. Chants of Mehico, Mehico! (Mexico) rang out throughout the night all the way from Luzhniki Stadium to the city centre.

At about midnight, after all other fans had left the venue, one Mexico supporter was seen deep asleep on a wooden sofa with four Russian stadium volunteers surrounding him. The volunteers, desperately in search for a Mexican to pass off the drunk to, even asked this journalist if I was Mexican and could bail them out.

Earlier in the game, Germany were firing on all cylinders after the break and effectively neutralized Mexico's man-marking ploy, putting an extra man in the attack. Though the Germans started to look like the razor-sharp outfit they are known to be, they certainly seemed to be missing Philipp Lahm's creativity and Bastian Schweinsteiger's boundless energy.

The defeat may have come as a shock but Germany coach Joachim Loew is not one to to wither away from fear of a first round exit. During a tough post-match briefing, following Die Mannschaft's first defeat in the World Cup since their loss against Spain in the 2010 semifinal, Low admitted that Mexico were the better side in the first-half but ruled out the prospect of an early exit while also playing down the potential of a round-of-16 clash with Brazil, who interestingly suffered an embarrassing 1-1 draw against Switzerland later the same day.

Loew also refused to change their style of play, adding that they had done everything right apart from scoring a goal in the second-half, where they performed how they usually do.

“Disappointing to lose the first game, not used to that at all. We will have to accept that. We must be better in the next game. We played very badly in the first-half, we were not effective and very vulnerable. We were able to press more in the second and did everything but score a goal,” Loew told reporters.

On the other hand, his Mexican counterpart was all smiles at the briefing as Osorio played down a reporter's suggestion that the win against Germany caused an earthquake in Mexico.

He did suggest though that they made plans on this game six months ago and that his boys perfectly executed them.

“We drew up a plan six months ago. We used the fastest players in the wings. With due respect to Germany, we were the superior the team in the first-half. This young team has a bright future. We are interested in how far we can go. At the moment we want to rejoice with this win before our next game,” said the Colombian.

Mexico's hero for the game, Lozano, who required a few extra minutes to find the right microphone, happily admitted that it was best goal in his life. 

“If it is the biggest win I don't know. But it is the biggest victory for us, winning against the word champions,” Lozano said.