Every football coach in Germany—no, wait, in all of Europe—knew that Wang Shuo was not good at physical confrontations.
Whether he was playing for Mainz in the past or for Dortmund now, opposing coaches would always repeatedly emphasize the same thing when setting their opening tactics.
Get physical!
Cologne's center-back, Yusuf Mohammed, was definitely the most experienced of all the defenders in this regard.
The two teams had played against each other back when Wang Shuo was still with Mainz and Cologne was in the 2nd Bundesliga.
The 1.82-meter-tall Lebanese center-back was known for his speed and agility. Physical confrontation wasn't his strong suit, but it was more than enough to handle Wang Shuo.
Their head coach at the time was Christopher Dom, and he was the one who had designated Muhammad to partner with Mackenna, forming a fast-and-tall center-back pairing.
