By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
Match Review
South Africa, Tuesday, June 13, 2010 — Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira, Holger Badstuder, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil — the five of them are all under 25 years of age and possess only 30 international appearances between them. Nevertheless, their relative lack of experience did not deter Germany coach Joachim Low from starting all of them on the biggest stage of world football and that decision paid off, with a 4-0 demolishment of Australia.
The Germans’ display of smooth attacking football with an emphasis on wing play was a joy to behold. Although the Socceroos lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to Germany, they simply had no answer to the Germans’ attacking quartet led by Miroslav Klose, who was ably supported by Ozil, Muller and Lukas Podolski.
Poldoski gave the Germans the perfect start on eight minutes with a fierce shot inside the box that beat Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer at his near post. Klose doubled Germany’s lead on 26 minutes when he got just ahead of a onrushing Schwarzer to head home Philipp Lahm’s deep cross from the right.
Muller turned well inside the box before firing into the bottom left corner of the goal on 67 minutes before substitute Cacau added the icing on the cake as he finished off from just inside the six-yard box off a Mesut Ozil left-wing cross.
Things could have been different though if Australia had managed to capitalize on an early opportunity to score. A corner whipped in from the right on three minutes by Luke Wilkshere picked out Hull City winger Richard Garcia at the far post, but his volley was well blocked by Lahm.
Everton man Tim Cahilll looked ill-fitted for his lone striker role and had a frustrating night. To rub salt onto his wound, he was handed a harsh dismissal on 58 minutes for a mistimed challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Australia sorely missed the presence of ex-Liverpool winger Harry Kewell and the physical presence of 1.94-metre tall forward Josh Kennedy upfront.
The result put Germany in pole position in Group D with three points, above second-placed Ghana on goal difference. In the next round of Group D fixtures, Germany will take on Serbia while Australia take on Ghana.
Next, our pundit Andrew Chua gives his verdict on the German performance. He had predicted a 3-0 Germany win before the game.
Andrew Chua of Raffles Institution. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Andrew Says:
For all the talk about the possibility of an upset, the Germans put on a breathtaking display and completely rubbished the “least talented Germany team in decades” tag. Four textbook goals from Podolski, Klose, Muller and Cacau underlined a performance against an Australian side that never came close, even before the contentious sending-off of Tim Cahill. Despite being constantly labelled as “boring” and “mechanical”, the Germans moved the ball around effortlessly, exploiting and creating space at will — almost striking a Barcelona impersonation. A simply brilliant performance by Germany.
Man of the Match: Thomas Muller
To be fair, there was no clear-cut “Man of the Match”, simply because the entire German team was in red-hot form. With Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose popping in a goal each despite their supposed lack of form, Mesut Ozil outstanding in place of the injured Michael Ballack, and Phillip Lahm captaining the side admirably, deciding on the most outstanding player of the bunch was not easy.
However, my vote goes to Muller — the 20-year-old showed immense talent and few nerves, scoring Germany’s third goal in the process. Brilliant, considering this is his first World Cup.
More Reports and Reactions
Germany coach Joachim Low delighted at big win
Tim Cahill in tears after sending off
Socceroos failed to compete with Germany
Pictures from Day Three
Video highlights of the match
| GROUP D | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GERMANY  | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
GHANA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
AUSTRALIA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
SERBIA  | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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