European Championship 2012 Qualifier Review: Belgium Vs Germany

A tired looking Germany had enough energy to make the fresh Belgians work all night long and eventually take all three points.

The Match

Germany began the match as the brighter team and despite a few defensive lapses, ended the match as the better team. A single Daniel Van Buyten error was what gave Germany all three points. The Belgian lost his concentration in his penalty box and gave the ball away to an energetic Bastian Schweinsteiger. Schweini played a pass to Thomas Mueller who passed it to Miro Klose. Klose struck it with precision and the ball went over Belgian keeper Logan Bailly into the back of the net.

The Positives

The German defence held up well despite the absence of Arne Friedrich and Jerome Boateng. Holger Badstuber and Marcell Jansen took over the reins for the first half and performed well. When Heiko Westermann came in for the injured Marcell Jansen, he put in a good shift. Philipp Lahm attacked all night but didn't have much success with crosses or through-balls for most of the game.

The defence had one nervy moment when Belgium's Romelu Lukaku ran past Lahm, Badstuber and Per Mertesacker towards the goal but was denied by a last-minute challenge from Jansen. Mertesacker attacked more and Badstuber was even flagged for offside once!

The midfield was not great but one player did manage to stand out: Thomas Mueller. He played plenty of clever back-heels and great passes- he looked very energetic throughout and very creative. Schweinsteiger made a few errors but ran after every ball and tried to take every Belgian player on himself. Sami Khedira and Schweini pretty much kept the Belgian midfield under wraps. Mesut Oezil was very inconsistent throughout the game while Lukas Podolski, besides taking a few shots was invisible.

Manuel Neuer did not allow his defence to get into trouble from set pieces and kept things clean at the back. The man who scored his 53rd goal in his 102nd appearance, Miroslav Klose played a very good match. He tried his best to beat Vincent Kompany, the defender marking him and eventually did so. He had a second chance to score towards the end but pulled his shot wide.

The Negatives

So, as to speak, there weren't many negatives. The only criticism is that perhaps, Germany looked slightly weary and did not create as many chances as they normally do; however, that is to be expected considering that the players have only recently returned to action. Also, Romelu Lukaku toyed with the defence twice and that should not be allowed by the defenders.

In Conclusion

Germany played well; and the margin of victory will perhaps be greater in their next game against Azerbaijan on Wednesday. Hopefully, Germany will be victorious on Wednesday. There is no doubting Germany's consistency but what is to be doubted is whether they will finally come away with a trophy in 2012. Germany has had too many "near misses" in the last decade and hopefully, that will change in 2012. However, firstly they have to qualify.