Netherlands vs. Germany: Thoughts on the Germans' Highly Entertaining Victory

Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek combined for Poland’s equalizer against Russia in their 1-1 draw—that was a goal "made in Borussia Dortmund."

Ever since I saw that spectacular effort by the Polish captain, I have wanted to see one that was "made in Bayern München."

And yesterday, I was rewarded with two such goals from Germany.

Had Mario Gomez been half as fantastic as he was against the Netherlands in the Champions League’s latter stages, Bayern would have a fifth European Cup by now. Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger combined to great effect for both the striker’s goals.

Joachim Loew named an unchanged side; he was proved right in the long run. Each and every player had a brilliant match.

Jerome Boateng incurred a suspension for time-wasting, but his block to deny Wesley Sneijder what was a definite goal was excellent defending. The pairing of Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber once again had brilliant games. In fact, both of them were unlucky not to score. Philipp Lahm resembled his usual self.

Germany returned to the play that saw them progress almost unexpectedly to the semis of World Cup 2010. They only had 38 percent possession in the first half but scored two goals. They were quite clinical. The second half saw them gain more possession as the Dutch fatigued mentally and physically.

Despite having seven starters for Bayern Munich, and two ex-Bayern stars on the pitch, Germany’s game really is the antithesis of Bayern's.

While Bayern’s game is based on controlling possession, Germany’s is to make the most out of a small amount of it.

What was worthy of most appreciation was the manner in which Germany held on after the defence finally cracked and allowed Robin van Persie to score a brilliant goal. The defence was opened up twice in the first half as well, but the Dutch failed to convert their chances.

In the final 17 minutes, Germany was seemingly defending for their lives.

Instead, Loew made some smart substitutions which eventually saw the Germans run the clock down. By the end of the game, the Germans had four players on the pitch who are defensive midfielders or played as defensive midfielders for long stretches of the season in Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos and Lars Bender.

Bringing on Kroos, who is known for his ability to retain the ball, was a good move. Bringing on the tireless Miroslav Klose, who almost hassled Martin Stekelenburg into a hapless mistake for the hero of the night, Gomez, was also a good move.

Speaking of Gomez, the goals he scored were both classy ones. The first involved a brilliant turn. The second was a precise and quick strike. Thomas Mueller and he both took advantage of the inexperience of Jetro Willems on the night.

The only player who failed to light up on the night was the "Prince" who has seemingly fallen from grace, Lukas Podolski. The Köln player, who can do so much more with a ball than just strike it with power, failed to live up to his previous performances for the national side.

With qualification almost guaranteed, Loew might consider making some changes for the next game to keep his players fresh, or it might be better to keep things the same in case Portugal thrashes the Dutch, which is unlikely.

The Dutch now depend on Germany for their survival in the competition.

Schweinsteiger consoled Mark van Bommel in a touching scene at the end, while the two strikers Gomez and Van Persie exchanged jerseys. The night truly belonged to the former, who is now starting to show some flashes from his Stuttgart days.

In case Germany makes a deep run in the tournament, let’s hope his magic doesn’t run out before the semi finals.