World Cup Preview - Group D - Germany
Nickname: "Die Mannschaft"FIFA Ranking: 6th
Manager: Former Duran Duran keyboardist Joachim Löw
Game Schedule:
June 13 – Germany v. Australia (Durban, 2:30 p.m. EST, ABC)
June 18 – Germany v. Serbia (Port Elizabeth, 7:30 a.m., ESPN)
June 23 – Germany v. Ghana (Jo'burg, 2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Prospects: It's been a shite day for German footie fans with Bayern completely outclassed by Inter. They'll fear the same fate this summer. Group D will be a tricky one for Die Mannschaft, particularly after the loss of the talismanic Michael Ballack. After the reasonably easy opener against the Aussies, they'll need to get another win out of the Serbs or the final match against the unknown quantity of Ghana will be squeaky bum time.
Key Player: With the absence of Ballack, the burden for making the team click will fall on the shoulders of Bastian Schweinsteiger. I'm not sure he's up to it.
Youngster to watch: 21 year old Turkish born Bremen midfielder Mesut Özil should be one to monitor.
Who Will Get the Goals: Miroslav Klose has been injured much of the last season, but if he's fully fit, there's no more reliable German striker - a goal every two games for the national side.
Who Will Get the Cards: Loose cannon Mario Gomez.
Funniest Name: Bayern keeper Jörg Butt - nice one!
Prediction: I'm hoping they don't bollix up the natural order of things by coming second. If things go to plan, they'll sweep the U.S. aside in the Round of 16. Run over by the Argies in the quarters.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 5:08 PM
2 Comments:
You have to be a little alarmed for Germany this time. Schweinsteiger looked feckless during the CL final yesterday, and Gomez, Klose, and Muller were all guilty of hopeless finishing. The loss of Bollocks is also a big blow.
I predict they'll go through, but 2nd is a real possibility.
I am alarmed that the Germans won't be able to play to the form book. The upside of that, though is that they might just about limp into the Round of 16 and allow the U.S. to give them a real game.
In the end, I suspect that the German machine is strong enough (just) to get the job done in the early stages.
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