Germany 1-0 France The Powerful Europeans Face to Face
Deutschland Got The Upper Hand From The Start
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| 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.
