2010 FIFA World Cup Group Stage Preview: Group D: Germany Vs Australia

Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban        

Date: 13 June 2010

Germany and Australia could not have been more different from each other. The beautiful game is referred to as "fussball" in one nation and “soccer” in another. Both teams had different qualifying campaigns with the same result: they both topped their groups. Australia looked solid defensively while Germany got the job done due to a potent attacking force.

However, a look at the numbers would suggest that Australia and Germany were equally good defensively. Whilst Germany conceded five goals in 10  matches, Australia conceded three times in six games in the third stage of qualifying.

However, in the fourth and final stage of AFC qualifying Australia conceded just once in eight games. On the attacking side of things, Germany hit the back of the net 26 times while Australia hit the back of the net a mere seven times. Seven goals is the number of goals that Miroslav Klose alone hit in qualifying. In the final stage of AFC Qualifying though, Australia hit the back of the net 12 times.

Miro Klose’s name brings up another interesting debate. Both teams employ a 4-5-1 formation. Germany at times revert to a 4-4-2. Who will start as the lone striker for both sides?- Miro Klose and Cacau are the main candidates for the berth in Germany’s team, while Harry Kewell and Joshua Kennedy will do battle in training to claim that berth.

Qualification:

Australia did quite well in their first campaign as part of the AFC. They lost twice doing their campaign in the third round of AFC qualifying. They lost 1-0 to China at home and 1-0 to Iraq away. They drew once against China at home and won the rest of their games. Their loss to China came after they had already qualified for the fourth round. In the fourth round, they didn’t lose a single game and drew twice only, winning six times.

Of the five goals that Germany conceded, four were scored by Finland. Russia put one past Germany as well. Germany, however, did not lose a single game. They won eight games and drew the other two. Germany drew for a second time against Finland only because they had qualified by then. They did not look solid defensively and needed Rene Adler to make a couple of wonderful saves. It’s a shame to see Rene Adler watch the World Cup from the sidelines due to injury.

Tactics:

Germany will most probably employ a 4-5-1 formation and if Lukas Podolski is to be believed, apply plenty of pressure on the Australian defence using their wingers. Australia will most probably go out searching for a point. They will defend for most of the match and try to catch Germany on the counter attack. Sami Khedira will perhaps sit back and allow Bastian Schweinsteiger to join the attack.

Trying to catch Germany out on the counter attack isn’t a bad idea. Joachim Loew is still trying to figure out his best back four; the left back position has still not been taken up by any of his players for a certain period of time. On the other hand, trying to batter Australia’s defence isn’t a bad idea as the U.S proved in their friendly game against the Socceroos.

Recent Friendly Results:

Germany battered all three of their recent opponents: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Malta, and Hungary. They put three past each of their opponents and conceded just once against Bosnia. If these friendlies revealed the strength of the German bench, it also revealed the weakness of the German defence. The German defence struggled even against Hungary and Bosnia especially exposed the weaknesses. A Philipp Lahm error led to Germany conceding a goal against Bosnia.

Piotr Trochowski and Miro Klose are superb when on form. However, both are horribly off-form but Joachim Loew will still start them both. There are many on-form players waiting to fill in including Thomas Muller, Marko Marin, Mario Gomez, and the gentleman Cacau. Loew has stuck by them and it remains to be seen whether these two suddenly rediscover their form.

Having beaten New Zealand and the Danes, Australia succumbed to the U.S, 3-1. The Australians however managed to qualify from a group including Brazil, Croatia, and Japan in 2006 and they are thus no pushovers. They did manage to shut out the Danes, beating them 1-0. Their victory over New Zealand was a narrow one, the final score being 2-1.

Probable Line-ups:

Germany: Manuel Neuer- Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Arne Friedrich, Holger Badstuber- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira- Piotr Trochowski, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski- Miroslav Klose

Australia: Schwarzer – Wilkshire, Moore, Neill, Chipperfield – Culina, Grella – Garcia, Cahill, Bresciano – Kewell

Other Thoughts:

The average age of this German squad is 25 years; the average age of the 2006 German squad was 26 years. The team is really missing a backbone without Michael Ballack. I won’t take anything away from Sami Khedira as he is excellent. However, Ballack is the most important man in this German side and his absence will be felt.

Another problem is that both Khedira and Schweinstieger are more willing to join the attack rather than sit back and join occasionally. Germany needs one of them to sit back; but which one of these two players will actually do so? Mesut Ozil's finishing has been questionable recently and hopefully he will finish better in the World Cup.

Prediction:

I am going for a narrow German victory. I think Germany will win 2-1. When Germany won the World Cup in 1974, they battered Australia on the way, 3-0. The match might turn out to produce a 1-1 draw as well.

Final Score: Germany 2-1 Australia

* Australia automatically qualified for the third round of AFC qualifying. Having topped their group in the fourth round, they automatically qualified for the World Cup.