Germany 1-0 France The Powerful Europeans Face to Face

Germany 1-0 France The Powerful Europeans Face to Face

Deutschland Got The Upper Hand From The Start

Players From Both National Teams France and Germany

One thing for certain on Friday is that a South American team and a European team will secure their spots in the World Cup semifinals.

A pair of 22-year-old forwards who have been among the stand-out players of the tournament go head-to-head when Neymar’s Brazil takes on a James Rodriguez-inspired Colombia team that has won all four of its games so far. The host nation is relying on Neymar to deliver again, and keep Brazil on course for a sixth World Cup title.

Germany and France have had some memorable meetings in World Cup matches, and both are former champions. The current French team is vastly less experienced than Germany, which has reached at least the semifinals of each major competition since the 2008 European Championships. France is rebuilding and has not reached any semifinal since its run to the 2006 World Cup final, but is showing glimpses of great promise in Brazil.

Germany 1-0 France The Powerful Europeans Face to Face

The Maracana is where both teams hope to shake off uninspiring second-round wins that exposed some frailties.

Contesting a quarterfinal for the ninth straight World Cup, the Germans will start as slight favorites because of their experience but with doubts surrounding a slow, porous defense that was breached repeatedly in the 2-1 extra-time victory over Algeria on Monday.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was forced to play a sweeper role to ensure Joachim Loew’s lineup avoided a shocking defeat to the Algerians.

The French left it late against Nigeria, scoring twice in the last 11 minutes to win 2-0 in a gritty performance that didn’t live up to the attacking exhibitions they put on in the group stage.

Face to Face Germany 1-0 France The Powerful Europeans   

Germany opened with a 4-0 victory over Portugal that immediately put them near the top of contenders for the title, but hasn’t reproduced anything close to being that clinical since.

Defense undoubtedly is Loew’s chief concern, although the probable return of Mats Hummels at center back after illness will make up for the loss of Shkodran Mustafi for the rest of the tournament with a left hamstring injury. On the eve of the match, Loew said seven of his players had been struggling with sore throats and illness, but he predicted all would be available for selection.

Veteran Germany striker Miroslav Klose may get another chance to break the World Cup scoring record of 15 goals that he shares with Brazil great Ronaldo. Klose is likely to start on the bench behind Thomas Mueller.

There may be a change in the center of France’s defense, with Mamadou Sakho available again after a hamstring problem. There’s also speculation over who will partner with Karim Benzema in attack, with Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann in consideration.

The Powerful Europeans Face to Face Germany 1-0 France 

Any time France and Germany meet, memories are revived of their famous clash in the World Cup semifinals in 1982 when West Germany came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 and win the shootout. In that game, West Germany goalkeeper Toni Schumacher rushed out of his area and broke the jaw of Patrick Battiston with a feet-first tackle that was not punished.

West Germany also beat France 2-0 in the 1986 World Cup semifinals, but France has won four of its six matches since German reunification in 1990.

A good game, but it didn’t develop into a classic as hoped. More 1986 than 1982. The exhausting heat didn’t help. France didn’t have enough guile to break Germany down. Germany were comfortable for long periods of the match. They should have made it 2-0 at the end.

It was a very professional performance by Löw’s much-changed crew. Not beautiful, but effective. The Germans go through to a semi-final against either Colombia, or Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (aka ‘Brazil’).

France didn’t have enough variety in attack to really test Lahm & co. They relied too much on long balls into expected space, where it turned out Lahm left no space at all. In the second half, France relied too much on getting the ball to Benzema and hoping he would get something. He nearly did.

 The French players are gutted. Some are in tears. They’ve had a good World Cup. It’s a young team. Their chance may come in 4 years’ time – or in 2, when France hosts the European championship.

13min: Bastian Schweinsteiger lofts a free-kick towards the back post where Mats Hummels uses his strength to shrug off Raphael Varane, before nodding the ball into the top corner with a glancing header. Excellent set-piece goal.https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/AC5E6A486B1096878941375209472_2caebc231b7.1.0.13855762487917456544.mp4?versionId=_munmJKw8TExtzGprZlaZT4x3APo6DKe

How far can Germany go? They can still improve in attack. But their defense looked much better today. The final looks within reach for them.

Colombia 2-0 Uruguay Two From James Rodriguez Ended 3 Million Dreams

Colombia 2-0 Uruguay Two From James Rodriguez Ended 3 Million Dreams

The Celestes Tried But Ultimately The Cafeteros Advanced To Quarter Finals

Edinson Cavani And James Rodriguez, Forwards From Both National Teams

The clash between Colombia and Uruguay was plagued with controversy even before it started due to the decision made by FIFA to send Uruguay's star striker Luis Suarez home after he was proven to have shown conduct unbecoming of a sportsman by biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in their final group stage match.  Things did not look any better for Uruguay as they were all sent home to follow Luis Suarez back to Uruguay when Colombia defeated them in the round of 16.

Colombia 2-0 Uruguay Two From James Rodriguez Ended 3 Million Dreams

James Rodriguez was the culprit as he scored a brace against Uruguay to put Colombia through to the quarterfinals where they will be going up against host nation Brazil.

With 8 out of 16 teams in the knockout stage from the Americas, it was inevitable that some of them would cancel each other out. Such was the case for Brazil who took out Chile and the same happened with Colombia and Uruguay.

Rodriguez scored a goal on the 28th minute and Uruguay were quick to attempt a counter attack only to be thwarted by flawless defending by the Colombians. Rodriguez stuck another goal five minutes into the second half which put the Colombians up 2-0 with plenty of time for Uruguay to fight back. The 22-year old is quickly becoming one of the revelations of this World Cup.

Two From James Rodriguez Ended 3 Million Dreams Colombia 2-0 Uruguay 

"It's historic, a dream come true: I always wanted to score in the Maracana and now I have. If you want to win, every player is important. Uruguay had a lot of men behind the ball, so we needed plenty of movement up front and we got it. Now things are going to get even harder, but we can go far" said man of the match James Rodriguez in the post-match press conference.

Uruguay kept pressing on making 16 attempts at goal in contrast to Colombia's 10. However, despite furious attempts, Colombia were able to rely on superior defending and goalkeeping to hold Uruguay down to a blank slate.

"We had to take risks to reduce the deficit, but we came up against a 'keeper who performed extraordinarily well and didn't let us back into the match. But I'm proud of these players: once again they showed character and gave it their all." said Oscar Tabarez, Uruguay's coach about their failure to break through Colombia's defence.

James Rodriguez Ended 3 Million Dreams Colombia 2-0 Uruguay 

Brazil 1(3) -1(2) Chile The Favorite Were On The Brink Of Elimination

Brazil 1(3) -1(2) Chile The Favorite Were On The Brink Of Elimination

Ultimately They Got Better Luck On The Penalty Kicks

Julio Cesar Holding Off Alexis Sanchez Penalty Kick

Amidst a sea of red and yellow in Belo Horizonte, Chilean hearts were broken as the hosts Brazil narrowly won on penalties 3-2 with former Nottingham forest defender Gonzalo Jara missing the key, final penalty.

Brazil started with a similar team to the previous matches but Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho made his first start of the World Cup, while Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez – who may have played his last game for the Catalans – started in attack for Chile.

Brazil 1(3) -1(2) Chile The Favorite Were On The Brink Of Elimination

The hosts were on top straight away and broke the deadlock within 17 minutes as David Luiz appeared to knock the ball over the line from a corner but Chile pegged Brazil back as their pressing finally paid off and Alexis Sanchez scored to equalise on half an hour.

Brazil started well with a whole country firing behind them. Neymar made a couple of early breaks with pace but his main impact on the game came on 17 minutes. His corner was flicked on by Thiago Silva towards Luiz at the back post who appeared to bundle the ball over the line. He appeared in complete shock but the roof was raised in Belo Horizonte.

Chile were back level just 13mins later though as Marcelo and Hulk messed up from a throw-in next to their own penalty area. A loose ball back into the 18-yard box was pounced on by Sanchez, who calmly passed the ball into the far corner to level the game.

Neymar was Brazil’s main threat and almost gave them an instant lead after a flying header was deflected wide. This game has had it all so far. He unlocked the Chileans again a couple of minutes later, dribbling through two players and creating a chance for Fred, who skied his shot.

The Favorite Were On The Brink Of Elimination

As half-time edged closer, Chile were pushing forward with real threat and Sanchez was cutting them to pieces. This was utterly mesmerising, full of entertainment and at least another 45 minutes to go.

On 54 minutes, the roof had erupted once again as Hulk controlled a deep cross and sliced his finish into the far corner. He ran away celebrating but Howard Webb spotted his linesman’s flag, disallowed the goal and booked the Zenit man for handball. A huge call.

Around the hour mark, Chile were looking in control with Julio Cesar making a point-blank save from Charles Aranguiz. The hosts looked a little flat after the disallowed goal.

Little under 10 minutes remaining on the clock, the hosts had pushed Chile back and the off-form Hulk found some magic in his boots, dancing past two players and forcing a brilliant save from Claudio Bravo in the Chile net. This is tense, really tense.

Chile had one last chance before the game turned into extra time as Sanchez’s corner flew through the Brazil penalty area and out the other end for a throw-in. After 90 minutes of drama and tension, this game headed into another half-hour of football.

A third of the way into extra-time, both sides were clearly running on fumes with Chile’s high pressing slowing down and a lot of sloppy passes finding the wrong target in midfield. Hulk danced down the right wing and dinked a cross into Oscar whose header was easily collected by Bravo.

Willian made his way onto the pitch in place of his Chelsea teammate Oscar with 15 minutes of action left and both sides still locked at 1-1.

 On The Brink Of Elimination Brazil 1(3) -1(2) Chile 

The game had now become nitty gritty with lots of stoppages and both sides seemingly headed to a penalty shootout. There was still time for drama though as 30 seconds remaining in normal time, Mauricio Pinilla played a neat one-two with Sanchez and smashed hit shot against the crossbar. Brazil were inches away from elimination.

And with that, we headed into penalties.

Brazil just edged through, winning 3-2, after Chile missed three penalties through Pinilla, Sanchez and, ultimately, Gonzalo Jara, who hit the post. Neymar, Luiz and Marcelo scored for the hosts in the most dramatic of finishes.

The World Cup's Host Secures Its Place As Leader Against Cameroon

The World Cup's Host Secures Its Place As Leader Against Cameroon

Expecting Saturday's Match Against Chile

David Luiz celebrating Fred's Goal with Neymar, Luiz Gustavo and Marcelo

Pre-tournament favorite Brazil beat Cameroon 4-1 here Monday to claim the top spot in Group A of the 2014 World Cup.

FC Barcelona Neymar contributed two goals as Brazil finished the group stage with seven out of nine possible points.

Mexico likewise netted seven points, but the Brazilians won the group based on goal differential.

The World Cup's Host Secures Its Place As Leader Against Cameroon

Brazil got off to a furious start in front of the 70,000 people packed into Brasilia's Mane Garrincha stadium, but eased off the gas within minutes, creating an opening for the nothing-to-lose African side.

Yet amid the Cameroonians' offensive flurry, Oscar broke away down the left side and spotted Neymar standing alone in front of the net.

Up 1-0 in the 17th minute after the first of Neymar's two goals, the Brazilians relaxed again and Cameroon began pressing.

Thiago Silva had to be alert to stop Nyom's centering pass from landing in the net and the ensuing corner kick set up a header by Matip that hit the post.

With Brazil in disarray, Nyom eluded Daniel Alves and connected with Matip, who was not to be denied a second time.

Host Secures Its Place Against Cameroon

Matip's tally in the 26th minute - Cameroon's first of the 2014 competition - concentrated Brazil's attention and it took Neymar less than 10 minutes to score his second of the contest and put the South Americans ahead for good.

The Brazilians showed greater energy in the second half.

Fred scored just four minutes into the half to make it 3-1 and Cameroon's heart wasn't enough to make up for their technical deficiencies.

As Leader Against Cameroon The World Cup's Host Secures Its Place 

Fernandinho delivered the final blow with a goal in the 84th minute.

Brazil will face Chile in the first match of the knockout stage.