Brazil, Spain, Argentina, England and Holland. These were the five nations who were most people’s favourites to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Only Spain and Holland are left as Germany accompany the Spaniards in the eagerly-anticipated semi-final. But it is not the guile of Spain which has left the world drooling or the classy Dutch. It is the mighty Germans who have captured the hearts of football fans around the globe.
But it was only in Euro 2008, the post-mortem was taking place into how some Germans wondered how such a team containing the likes Tasci, Marin and Scafer fluked their way to a European final. How much 2 years in football things can change though!
Prior to the World Cup, nobody gave Germany a hope. In a tough group with Serbia and Ghana along with the slightly wekaer nation of Austrailia, it was clear they would need to be at their best to emerge from it. They opened their World Cup campaign in magical style as Joachim Low’s 4-2-3-1 formation ripped Austrailia apart.
At half-time when they were cruising 2-0 even Dietmar Hamann, who was a pundit on Irish television network RTE, was astonished by the swash-buckling manner in which the Socceroo’s were brushed aside. The youthful pairing of Schweinsteiger and and Khedira in the centre of midfield orchestrated the crushing win as the stars of Ozil and Muller began to shine.
Even the veterans of Podolski and Klose, who both endured torrid seasons mustering only 4 goals between them were pivotal to this incredible performance.
After the blip against Serbia where they were unluckily on the receieving end of a 1-0 defeat, their class stilled showed as they didn’t panic in the crucial game against Ghana as they held their nerve to clinch a 1-0 win thanks to Mesut Ozil’s perfectly-struck volley.
Next up for the slaughter was England. They may have been robbed of a second goal but the efficient and ruthless team effort from Germany went simply unanswered as the Three Lions struggled miserably to cope with Muller and co. Most recently, Diego Maradon’a Argentina went home with their tails between their legs as Germany marched on with a stunning 4-0 victory over a team bursting with world class players such as Messi, Tevez, Higuain.
This refreshing mixture of youth and experience will continue to take South Africa by storm and is there a single force that will be able to deny them from reaching the ultimate glory in the game?
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