How Man United's Blind inadvertently helped Germany to win the World Cup

Dutchman Daley Blind might play for one of Germany's biggest international rivals but that didn't stop him playing a pivotal role in Joachim Lowe's side winning last summer's World Cup.

Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper has revealed how Die Mannschaft's backroom staff observed how Blind managed to easily cut out one-twos during a match between Holland and Germany's Under-21s two years ago.

"This video is one of the reasons Germany won the World Cup," begins Kuper.

"The Germany national team have an app. All the players are on the app. For months before the World Cup videos would be put on the app because players like watching videos and videos are a good way of learning.

"Germany's data analysts got very interested in this particular video of Blind because what he was doing was the perfect way to cut out a one-two.

"And before France played Germany [in the World Cup quarter-finals], the data analysts started to highlight it [the video of Blind] on the app because France are a country where one-twos are a big part of the football culture.

"Pogba would hit a pass to Benzema and Benzema would then play a one-two with Pogba and so the Germans said to the players: 'Watch how Blind cuts out the one-two'.

"The Germans watched this repeatedly before the France quarter-final and they watched it repeatedly before the Brazil semi.

"And the German chief data analyst told a colleague of mine 'the headline for your story should be: How Daley Blind saved the German World Cup'."