Sami Khedira Heads Die Mannschaft To 3rd Place World Cup Finish

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said he was determined to prove Paul the octopus wrong by beating Germany in the third-place play-off on Saturday. Unfortunately Oracle Paul was proven correct once more when Die Mannschaft won the most entertaining match in the World Cup so far. Sami Khedira pounce on some haphazard La Celeste defending to guide a header past Muslera in the 82nd minute.

It was another five goal thriller which Uruguay unfortunately ended up on the losing end. There are no complaints though as Forlan and team were beaten by another great Germany performance. Jogi Loew braved his own flu condition to take his place on the team bench and he witnessed another masterful display from Schweinsteiger. Basti capped a great World Cup outing by captaining Germany in Lahm's absence.

Two mistakes from Muslera gifted Germany goals duly despatched by Mueller and Jansen. Diego Forlan's long range shooting has been a highlight of this World Cup tournament and he did not disappoint with another contender for goal of the tournament. Finally Khedira popped up with the winning header for the fully deserving German side. 

Continue Reading >>>

La Furia Roja Outsmart Die Mannschaft With Setpiece Goal

It took an immensely powerful header to bring tears to German eyes. At that "twilight zone" period of the game, Carles Puyol rose virtually unchallenged to direct a bullet header past Manuel Neuer. There was no coming back for the Germans from that. Unaccustomed to coming from behind, the Germans will have to be contend with their outstanding performances against England and Argentina.

Perhaps Germany outdid themselves with those stunning four-goal victories in the earlier rounds. They succeeded in putting the spotlight on themselves and unfortunately, made all the would-be contenders take note of their strengths. You could say that Jogi Loew's exciting young side were definitely outsmarted by Del Bosque's tactical intelligence.

Carles Puyol represents the new ethos of La Furia Roja - a combination of intelligence, hard working, humility and dedication in a single flexible package. Spain these days are made of sterner stuff, not easily disheartened when things do not go their way. They have a zen-like patience to persist with their famed tiki-taka approach knowing full well that it will 100% bring goals and victories. The fact they are grinding out 1-0 wins while completely dominating possession is testament of their trust in their style of play.

Continue Reading >>>

La Furia Roja Unhealthy Reliance On "The Kid" Villa

Spain's second 1-0 victory allowed them to squeeze past Paraguay in the World Cup quarterfinal. Once again, El Guaje pulled La Furia Roja through the finishing line. Also for the second match running, Spain dominated possession (60%) over the opposition. They must be excited at the prospect of an open semifinal encounter against the counter-attacking Germans. Well, Del Bosque will have to think otherwise as the Germans also defend in numbers, just ask England and Argentina.

Like in the Portugal match, the Barcelona connection again proved effective as Iniesta-Pedro-Villa put paid to La Albirroja's dream of being first time semifinalist. Paraguay's exit is due to them not scoring enough goals. The loss of Salvador Cabanas was a total blow to Gerardo Martino and that firepower could not complement the excellent defensive solidity.

Due to the lack of goals from Santa Cruz and Barrios, Martino took a gamble and rang in the new striking cavalry - Oscar Cardozo, Nelson Valdez and Jonathan Santana. The trio worked well with each other, having Paraguay's best spell in the first half, with a Valdez goal disallowed.

Continue Reading >>>

Germany Braces For Spain By Humbling Maradona's Men

What can I say? I had thought that Argentina would be a real test for the young Germans. Argentina who had the most potent attack in the World Cup this year and also had only let in two goals all tournament, were as the English before them, outclassed by the young Germans!

Bastian Schweinsteiger was simply superb at the centre of the pitch, directing play, spraying the ball left, right or down the middle as he deemed suitable. Thomas Mueller, who will miss the semi final, once again played in a manner that belied his 20-year old age. His runs, passes and movement were a joy to watch. Schweinsteiger showed his new-found leadership when he consoled Mueller when he was clearly upset over his yellow card. Schweini's second World Cup campaign at 25 makes him an elder statesman compared to Oezil, Khedira and Mueller.

Germany's fourth goal against Argentina typifies the new Die Mannschaft footballing philosophy. An attack broken up by the German defence, a quick ball forwards to Podolski. Seeing the run of Oezil, Podolski laid it on to him who supplied a pinpoint cross for Klose to volley home. Shades of Manchester United at their counterattacking best, no wonder Jogi Loew attributes his team's success to a mixture of English energy, Spanish flair and Italian catenaccio.

Continue Reading >>>

England's Golden Generation Hopes Crushed By German U-21 Graduates

It had to happen, hadn't it? Shades of 1996 all over again? Some sort of sick German vindication? Those thoughts went through everyone's mind as the referee overruled Frank Lampard's perfectly legitimate goal against Germany at Bloemfontein. A section of the England fans will argue that the match could have swung in England's favour if that goal had stood. That's fair enough, but when I considered how the young Germans cut open England defence at will, I doubt that it would make much of a difference. Still, it is too easy to hold on to a "what if" because England was completely ripped apart by an excellent German team.

England's lack of pace in defence was completely exploited by Klose and the delightfully talented gang of Mueller, Podolski and Oezil. Germany's first goal was route one football that even England would have been proud of. Klose moved nearer to his aim of beating Ronaldo's record 15 World Cup goals. Miroslave Klose is now on 12 goals and has three more matches to at least equal Ronaldo's 15.

Continue Reading >>>

Group D Decided! Die Mannschaft and The Black Stars Advance

Group D teams went into the final stage of the group phase with all teams with a chance of qualification into the Round of 16. Ghana were the group leaders ahead by a point, Serbia and Germany were tied at three points and Australia had one point. All teams were out for a win and if results went their way, any of the four teams in Group D could find themselves in the last 16. This meant a fantastic round of football was in store and it turned out to be two excellent matches as Ghana, Serbia, Germany and Australia fought tooth and nail to try and feature in the knock out phase.

In Soccer City, Jo'Burg, Ghana faced up to the young and energetic Germany. The Black Stars were not overawed by the challenge that Die Mannschaft pose in terms of attacking threat. Jonathan and John Mensah dealt capably with whatever Podolski, Cacau and Oezil threw at them. Ghana took the game to the Germans but were let down by poor finishing. I questioned Phillip Lahm's ability to lead this young German side but I was very impressed by Lahm in this match as he saved Germany time and time again. Sami Khedira is proving to be Michael Ballack's successor in the German senior side. The former U-21 captain showed that he is a world class act. who could do a bit of everything and do it well. Once the ever-dangerous Mesut Oezil had put Germany in front, Jogi Loew's team reverted to classic German rearguard action and closed out the game.

Continue Reading >>>

Serbia Escapes Handball Deja Vu And Beat Germany

First it was Kuzmanovic against Ghana, then in the second game against Germany, Nemanja Vidic decided to indulge in some deja vu and conceded a needless handball. Would it be too much to expect a third handball when Serbia plays Australia? That would be some record!

Let's see....Serbia were not pretty against Germany but they were effective. Against Australia, Germany's midfield were excellent with Khedira, Oezil, Schweinsteiger, Mueller always supporting Podolski and Klose. None of them had such joy against Serbia who played a very high defensive line and pressured the German midfield constantly.

Continue Reading >>>

Rampant Germany Scores Four Against Aging Socceroos

Germany addressed the lack of goals in the World Cup in style. Die Mannschaft put on an impressive display of attacking football to thrash Australia 4-0. The intelligent movement off the ball was a joy to watch and a big change from the low-key affair seen so far. Mesut Oezil, Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Khedira played with an understanding and fluency that was almost telepathic.

Joachim Loew justified his decision to include six strikers into his German squad with Podolski, Klose, Mueller and Cacau all scoring. But it was the way Germany carved open chance after chance which impressed all of us who watched the match. It was truly breathtaking.

Socceroos coach, Pim Verbeek sprang a surprise naming Tim Cahill as a lone striker. His desire to get involved got the better of him as he was red-carded in the second half. An unfair red card, if you ask me and Cahill's dismissal makes Australia's chances of progress very slim indeed.

Continue Reading >>>

2010 World Cup Group D Head To Head

Group D brings about potentially some interesting matchups. Serbian connections in Australia will divide family loyalty when Australia takes on Serbia.

Continue Reading >>>

Loew Plans Assault On World Cup And Landon Donovan Talks Thrash!

German coach, Joachim Loew have named six strikers in Germany's provisional World Cup squad. This included the likes of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose. There hasn't been a world-class striker in the German squad since Klinsmann. So the lack of quality may have to be compensated by the quantity. What I am wondering is why Kevin Kuranyi still not in Loew's plans.

These are the six players Loew have named for South Africa...

Continue Reading >>>

Castrol Football Rates The 2010 World Cup Contenders

Just like the Barclays Premier League and others like La Liga, Calcio de Lega and Bundesliga, the World Cup tournaments are pretty dominated by four nations. These are the nations with the most World Cup wins in the history of the tournament. Brazil, Italy, Germany and Argentina are the most successful teams in the World Cup. Will these four be the likely victors of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? Most likely not, as I personally favour a Spain v. England final to be held at the newly constructed Johannesburg Soccer City stadium.

Castrol Football has done an extensive round of predictions and what-if scenarios, and the result are as seen below, quantifying the chances of the aspiring footballing nations.

Brazil

SpainEngland

This is the probable opponents for England when they make it out of the World Cup group stages. Qualifying first in their group should give England a simple path to the semifinals where they will have to beat Brazil and then Spain to end 43 years of hurt. Don Fabio has got the England team playing with determination and organisation. For the first time in years, England may have what it takes to win this tournament.

Holland

ArgentinaGermany

Italy

France

Portugal

Ivory Coast

The rest of the competing nations at a glance:

It looks to be a different World Cup altogether, as apart from Brazil, traditional powerhouses are not considered favourites this time around. In fact, England have possibly the best chance of all to capture their second Jules Rimet trophy.

If you are a football fan who travels a lot on business, it may be best to start thinking of alternative ways of watching the World Cup. Live streaming football on PC could be a great option.