Germany Hopes Rest on Bayern Munich Star Thomas Muller Breaking His Scoring Duck

For the vast majority of 2015-16 club football season, Thomas Muller was absolutely outstanding for Bayern Munich.

The lanky, somewhat awkward-at-times forward had often been misunderstood by international football fandom. But for the umpteenth time, he proved his quality, and he finally became widely accepted as one of football's greatest players.

Muller ended the campaign with 32 goals and 12 assists in all competitions for Bayern, coming up aces when his side needed him in the Champions League against Juventus and on countless occasions in the Bundesliga. But his form tailed off toward the end of the season, and he went goalless in his final four games.

The 26-year-old has since carried his scoring woes into Euro 2016; although he was on target in the warm-up match against Hungary, he has failed to score over five competitive games at the tournament. He even missed his penalty against Italy in the quarter-final shootout on Saturday.

Germany have nonetheless been able to progress without much contribution from Muller, whose only direct involvement in a goal thus far was assisting the winner against Northern Ireland. Yet for Joachim Low's side to stand any chance of claiming Euro glory, they will need Muller to break his scoring duck—and fast.

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The Mannschaft's next opponents, France, may be the toughest side they'll face during the tournament. Les Bleus have the home-field advantage as hosts of the competition and reached top form on Sunday in their 5-2 pummeling of Iceland.

Antoine Griezmann is the top scorer of Euro 2016 thus far with four goals, and he has given two assists as well. Germany only narrowly defeated France en route to the 2014 World Cup triumph, with Mats Hummels heading in the winner in the quarter-finals. And with Hummels suspended, Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez ruled out and Bastian Schweinsteiger doubtful, Germany will be understaffed come Thursday.

It's conceivable Khedira and especially Schweinsteiger could return for a possible final appearance, but the injury to Gomez has proved terminal for the striker's Euros campaign. Low confirmed as much on the German FA's website (h/t ESPN FC), leaving Germany desperately thin in the striker department.

Gomez had scored in each of his last six games for Besiktas prior to the Euros, and he played a hand in a goal in each of his final three appearances for Germany in the warm-up matches. After being benched for all but 19 minutes in the first two group-stage games, he scored against Northern Ireland and Slovakia, and he played the defense-splitting pass that led to the opener against Italy.

There was a dimension Gomez added to the Germany attack that no one else can among the squad; his physicality in holding up the ball and contesting for headers, as well as his instincts in front of goal, are unique for the Mannschaft.

Now Gomez is gone, and there is a void in the Germany attack. It's one Mario Gotze failed to fill in the first two matches of the group stage, Gomez consequently usurping his position in the lineup. And the Bayern man hasn't played since going anonymous over 55 minutes on the left wing against Northern Ireland.

Julian Draxler has played well during the Euros, but he isn't a reliable goalscorer and certainly not a striker. He could make the difference, but the odds are against him. Similarly, it's unlikely Mesut Ozil will be the man to score the needed goals; he got the opener against Italy but has always been much more a provider than a finisher.

That leaves Muller, of whom so much more was expected heading into the tournament. His 32 international goals are second only to Lukas Podolski in the squad, and the former Arsenal man hasn't been relied upon for years as his strike rate has diminished. Following the international retirement of Miroslav Klose in 2014, and in the absence of Gomez and Marco Reus, there isn't another qualified scorer in the squad.

It should be said that anything can happen in football, with Germany's World Cup triumph two years ago being a prime example. In that tournament, Germany had a pair of goals from the center-back Hummels and defeated France and finalists Argentina without a goal from a recognized striker. Even so, they had Muller and Klose in fine form, as they combined for six goals.

With most of the legwork having been done by the usual suspects, the support staff stepped up to deliver. This summer, Germany are relying on their support staff to do it all.

Ultimately, one can only say this should have been Muller's tournament. The Bayern man had scored 10 goals in two World Cups prior to Euro 2016, and he ended his club season with a personal scoring record.

Yet even as Germany have struggled, he just hasn't delivered. Although Germany have managed to reach the semifinals without Muller being anywhere near his best, it's hard to see them standing a chance of winning the tournament without the 26-year-old breaking his scoring duck. The pressure is on.

@Mr_Bundesliga