England vs Germany: World Cup 2010 Preview and Prediction

Published by William | Filed under Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010, Predictions, Previews

Now is probably as good a time as ever if Wayne Rooney decides he wants to end his international scoring drought at 8 straight games.

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6/26 16:00 GMT England vs Germany – Odds | Stats


We’re in for a treat as the sure-to-be crazy knockout stage of the World Cup 2010 South Africa presses onward with the high flying Germans taking on the underachieving Three Lions of England this Saturday at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa. England squeaked into the next round thanks to a 1-0 victory against Slovakia in their final group stage match while Germany had to claim a late result as well against Ghana despite starting the tournament wonderfully against Australia. Expect the gloves to come off when these 2 age old European rivals take the pitch for a chance to advance the quarterfinals.






Germany:


Germany appeared to be one of the teams to beat in this year’s World Cup after starting off magnificently with their 4-0 defeat of Australia. However after a questionable send off of Miroslav Klose against Serbia and an eventual 1-0 defeat, they had to regroup and claim their 3 points against Ghana to ensure a spot in the knockout stage. They are full of talent, certainly enough to go even further in this tournament, but the mental lapse against Serbia immediately following Klose’s red card raises questions about this young team’s maturity and whether or not it will be the deciding factor as they press forward. The return of the 32 year old Bayern Munich striker should hopefully help calm some of those nerves and bring some stability to the squad. However, not helping their chances at all is the doubtful statuses of both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jérôme Boateng who suffered a thing and calf injury, respectively, against Ghana. Schweinsteiger is another one of those rock solid veterans that provides this team some stability that Germany will severely miss if he is not able to feature. He has also been instrumental in picking up the slack in the defensive midfield in the absence of former captain Michael Ballack. If he is not able to feature, it could play right into the hands of Fabio Capello and England.


England:


I, probably like the rest of you, have not exactly come away impressed with England’s form in this World Cup. Sure, it’s easy to come to that conclusion simply by looking at their marginal results against inferior talent but if you actually watch them play, it’s not the England we saw in qualification. Poor balls, inability to finish, and shaky defense and goal keeping are probably the best ways to describe the Three Lions’ woes thus far. Perhaps the pressure to meet expectations has infiltrated their minds. Who knows? But the fact of the matter is that they will not be able to squeak by Germany with the way they have been playing. They did show a little more promise in their final game against Slovenia but I can assure you this. Germany is not Slovenia (not to take anything away from the impressive display put on by the Slovenians). One man that needs to get it together (and he’d probably be the first to tell you) is Wayne Rooney. 8 straight games without a goal in international play is pretty shocking considering how the Wonderboy fared for Manchester United this season. Hopefully he can shake off the frustration and come through for England when they need him most. However, it should be noted that he was substituted late in the second half against Slovenia after appearing to be favoring that troublesome ankle of his but is said to be fit to play Sunday.

Özil’s strike against Ghana was enough to put the Germans through and capture the top spot in Group D.

Prediction:


Obviously a difficult one to call here. This is one of the most intense rivalries in all of football and to say this one is going to be hard fought is an understatement. Both teams have been hot and cold but we know they both have the firepower to blow this thing wide open. Look for a lot of fouls and flying elbows, etc. I really hope this doesn’t happen and truly don’t mean to sound cliché but it would not surprise me a bit if this one comes down to penalties. For the love of God let’s hope this doesn’t come down to penalties just so we don’t have to hear about it again and again. As for the outcome, I think England has just lacked the chemistry they need to get the job done and feel that the bigger the game, the more shaky they will be. Unless Wayne Rooney comes through, look for all of Germany to be celebrating in the pubs come Sunday evening.


Pick:


Germany 2 – 1 England






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