Former England defender Rio Ferdinand hailed Mesut Ozil‘s late assist for Germany against Ukraine, commenting that the midfielder put the ball “on a plate” for Bastian Schweinsteiger to make it 2-0.
Germany took the lead through a powerful header from Shkodran Mustafi, but they had to wait until the dying embers to secure the win when Schweinsteiger, on as a substitute, found the net.
The goal owed much to the work of Ozil, however, with the Arsenal star providing an inch-perfect cross for his experienced team-mate to latch onto.
Ozil just put that on a plate for bastian!!!
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 12, 2016
Ozil enjoyed a hugely impressive season at club level for Arsenal as he provided 19 assists in the Premier League, and the 27-year-old will be eager to make a major impact at Euro 2016 as Germany seek to build upon their success at the 2014 World Cup.
This victory was an excellent start for Joachim Low’s side as they seek to achieve that aim, with further group stage fixtures to come against Poland and Northern Ireland.
By his high standards, Ozil had a quiet evening overall, but he came to life at the vital moment to help Germany rubber-stamp their victory.
For all the criticism he endured in his first couple of campaigns at Arsenal, Ozil is now emphatically proving the doubters wrong, and if Germany do reign supreme this summer, he will surely have a prominent part to play in proceedings.
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