Day Three unveiled the team of the tournament so far and one barely given a mention when it came to who might win the World Cup this year.
Step forward Germany. It’s a mystery to me that they haven’t warranted more coverage and discussion. Every four years they turn up, set about their work efficiently and progress to the latter stages, yet this year no-one is talking to them.
Until now. Their 4-0 demolition of Australia showed that they have allied a certain amount of flair with their usual ruthlessness and defensive strength. The loss of captain Ballack before the World Cup began actually seems to have done them some good. Whereas Ballack would be central to most things Germany did, he slowed the game down. Without him there’s a pace to their movements that was a joy to behold.
It was far from the slick speed at which Argentina moved the ball around in their opening game but it was still…well, very un-German-like. Thomas Muller was outstanding, Miroslav Klose looked to be getting back to his goal scoring best and the fact that their were four different scorers underlines the German’s strength in depth.
Phillip Lahm, now captain in the absence of Ballack showed defensive strength and attacking prowess in equal measure, getting an assist and ensuring Australia offered little going forward as he marshalled the back four from his full back position.
If anyone was in any doubt about Germany’s capabilities before this game, they should now know that Low’s men are here to win, not just make up the numbers.
They were, in all fairness, aided by the sending off of Australia’s Tim Cahill on 56 minutes but by then they were 2-0 up through the aforementioned Klose and Podolski.
The Germans will face tougher opposition than the Socceroos, of course, but that won’t phase them, such is their mental strength.
Elsewhere, Algeria and Slovenia played out the dullest game of the tournament so far. I wildly and somewhat hopefully predicted a goalfest on Twitter using the “it’s always the lesser games” logic. How wrong I was. It would have ended 0-0 were it not for a goalkeeping howler by Algeria’s Chaouchi – one Robert Green would have been proud of. He let Slovenia captain Robert Koren’s only slightly curling effort go right through him in the 79th minute.
The result means, rather inexplicably, that Slovenia now top England’s Group C but neither they or the Americans will fear playing either of these sides.
Finally, Ghana became the first African side to register a victory in the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Serbia thanks to an 85th minute penalty from Gyan. I didn’t see this game so I can’t comment on whether on whether or not it was a highlight or a lowlight. By all accounts though, this was a deserved victory for Ghana and sets them up as favourites to qualify as second place from Group D, behind Germany.
The game also featured, by my count at least, the third red card of the tournament when Serbian Lukovic was sent off in the 74th minute. Any bets on how many there will be come mid-July?
Germany have announced their arrival in South Africa and we have still yet to see the Dutch (just kicked off against Denmark actually!), Spanish, Italian and Brazilian teams. What a World Cup it’s turning out to be.
