Argentina-Germany: 2010 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal Preview

Date : 3 July 2010

Venue : Green Point Stadium, Cape Town

The war of words has already started.

Diego Maradona has already accused Bastian Schweinsteiger of being “nervous”.

Let’s put all that to one side and take a look at this glorious quarterfinal.

Germany comprehensively beat England 4-1, but not without the help of the referee who disallowed a valid Frank Lampard goal. Argentina likewise beat the Mexicans 3-1; however, Carlos Tevez’s first goal was offsides and Roberto Rosetti allowed the goal to stand.

The referee for this match happens to be the Uzbek official who refereed the opening game of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico. He did a splendid job and hopefully will allow the match to finish without any controversy.

Tactics and Team Break-Downs

Diego Maradona isn’t much of a coach himself, but he has a lovely coaching team around him. He relies on those coaches, especially Carlos Bilardo.

Maradona spends his time providing inspiration to his players while his coaches study the videos of previous performances of the opposition. Joachim Loew, meanwhile, takes most of the big decisions to himself.

Argentina will perhaps use a 4-4-2 formation with Nicolas Otamendi, Walter Samuel, Bayern’s Martin Demichelis, and Gabriel Heinze making up the back four. Javier Mascherano will be the defensive midfielder while Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, and Maxi Rodriguez will be the trio of attacking midfielders. Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain will be the forwards.

Germany will use a 4-5-1 formation and will thus have an extra defensive midfielder in their team. Sami Khedira does like to get forward but can also sit back alongside Schweinsteiger, protect the back four, and distribute the ball. This one extra man in midfield could turn out to be Argentina’s undoing. Messi cannot score unless he has the ball. Just ask Jose Mourinho.

Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich are the kind of defenders that Carlos Tevez and Higuain like exploiting. Jerome Boateng sometimes loses concentration; Di Maria will definitely not be short of ideas if that does happen. Philipp Lahm usually has a good game, but he is not the kind of full back who likes to sit back. He likes to move forward, and Rodriguez will love to exploit the space left behind if he does forget his defensive duties.

Argentina isn't that great defensively, but this is not to say that Germany has a very good defense. Demichelis can be exploited, and so can the entire back four. However, a rock sits in front of them in the form of Mascherano, who makes the team click. He is sort of like Schweinsteiger.

Due to a wealth of attacking options, both teams will love to move forward and counter-attack. The Germans will have to be careful with their tackling, considering some of the starters are just a card away from being suspended.

In 2006, Torsten Frings' suspension turned out to be Germany’s undoing and he got suspended because of being involved in a brawl with the Argentines.

Miroslav Klose, due to his current connection with Bayern, might have a few tricks up his sleeve for Demichelis. Klose will perhaps be more of a decoy to bring defenders out of position to allow his team to score. Mesut Özil, Thomas Mueller, and Lukas Podolski have to be prepared for the match and have their scoring boots on.

Manuel Neuer will have to worry less about crosses as Argentina lacks height. He will have to be at his best without a doubt though.

On paper, Argentina already seems to be the winner. The team consists of stars who play in the world’s biggest clubs.

The Germans all play in the Bundesliga. Boateng will be moving to Manchester City following the World Cup. Argentina are most people’s favorites to win, and thus, Germany have to be at their utmost best.

Probable Line-Ups

Cacau will most probably not be available for Germany.

Germany : Neuer; Lahm, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Boateng; Khedira, Schweinsteiger; Mueller, Özil, Podolski; Klose

Argentina : Romero; Otamendi, Demichelis, Samuel, Heinze; Rodriguez, Mascherano, Di Maria; Messi; Tevez, Higuain

Other Thoughts

The Argentine players can really influence the referees. They influenced Roberto Rosetti’s decision in the previous round.

Germany has already suffered at the hands of Albert Undiano. So hopefully, the referee will not easily be influenced by petty fouls and produce cards.

The Germans' mental toughness is another aspect to look out for. Germany almost gave up a 2-0 lead against England.

Argentina will definitely score. Germany will have to keep things together and continue to play with confidence if they fall behind. Podolski and Klose's state of mind will be important. They have to play to their best ability.

Prediction

Argentina are the favorites; I am not sure who will win this encounter.

I would love to hear your thoughts about who you think will win the battle.