Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has blasted Germany defender Antonio Rudiger for 'belittling' Japan during their World Cup opener on Wednesday afternoon.
Takuma Asano was running for the ball down the right side of the Germany half, but Rudiger came across to guide the ball out of play while seemingly running in an emphasised high-knee gait.
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Germany took the lead in the first half of the match through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty before Japan scored twice in eight minutes late in the second period to produce their first ever win against the four-time winners.
Hamann took to social media to slate the Real Madrid defender for his antics during the defeat: "Shameful that you even post this. Belittling the opposition has never been in the spirit of the game. There’s only one out the 2 players laughing tonight and it ain’t Rudiger. Unprofessional and arrogant."
The Twitter account for the German side tweeted: "Those @ToniRuediger legs."
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