Match Review: Germany v Portugal
The first match of Group G finished with the Germans handing Portugal an embarrassing 4 – 0 defeat which has left the Iberian nation in tatters. I won’t poke in the dark about the fact that I am a passionate supporter of the Seleccio so I will endeavour to try and be as partial as humanely possible. . . But no promises.
This match was touted as the game that would determine who would top the group but instead it showed the true gulf in overall ability between the two nations. The Germans came into the match at with arguably their strongest starting eleven that included Mats Hummels and Per Mertesacker at the back with Mario Gotze playing in Joachim Loew’s idealised “false nine” role.
Portugal too played their strongest eleven that included the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, whose fitness was always in question.
The initial stages of the game where close to 50/50 with Germany close to opening the scoring thanks to a poor clearance from Portugal custodian Rui Patricio while at the other end Hugo Almeida had an opportunity to put Portugal ahead had he not realised a tame shot on Manuel Neuer’s goal.
The first cruel blow came in the 12th minute when Serbian referee Milorad Mazic deemed that Portugal’s Joao Pereira had brought down Mario Gotze in the box. Yes if you compare it to the Fred penalty on the opening night, then this was a red card offence however in the real world of football, it wasn’t a penalty because Pereira and Gotze were at evens for the ball and the German had the chance to go through before falling over, thus winning the spot kick. This was converted by 2010 Golden Boot winner Thomas Muller, giving Rui Patricio no chance.
Over the next 15 minutes of the game, Portugal looked to get a foot back into the match before their target man, Hugo Almeida limped off the pitch in the 28th minute, replaced by Braga striker, Eder who earnt his tenth cap. This must not be overlooked in the whole context of the game because anyone who knows Portugal will understand what a key role Almeida plays. The big Besiktas forward is the perfect foil to the flair of Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, of whom he is able to link up well with. Eder and Portugal’s other attacking option, Helder Postiga are very different and have not had much success leading the line in the past.
Then the sucker punch with Mats Hummels thumping his headers into the Portuguese goal after a quality corner from Manchester United target, Toni Kroos.
Then the moment that is sure to get plenty of running time. The Pepe red card in the 37th minute. Muller took a dive when confronted by the physical tussle of Pepe whilst competing for the ball. Referee Mazic waved play on seeing no foul in the play and with Muller on the deck, Pepe strode over and confronted the German before nudging the 24 year old with his head. It was stupid and his track record doesn’t read well. Though it wasn’t a head but and I am frustrated to see that Muller didn’t receive a yellow for the dive that Mazic did acknowledge was a dive.
Paulo Bento shuffled things around, moving holding midfielder Raul Meireles to centre back in an effort to sort things through at half time. This went oay until the first minute of stoppage time when Bruno Alves clearance hit Muller to give him a brace. Here is where I would like to point out my frustrations with the commentator who said this was a poor piece of defending. Bruno Alves was 10 centimetres from knocking it 30 yards up field, he was unlucky not reckless.
Portugal made a change at half time to bring on natural centre back Ricardo Costa for Miguel Veloso switching to a 4-2-3 which would ultimately prove to be a big ask for the two wide men who were required to create opportunities out of nothing. This sub left Bento with only one swap to make in the final 45.
After the halftime break it was interesting to see the Germany did not overly pursuit a fourth goal instead remaining content to hold the ball and bide their time.
When things couldn’t seem to get any worse for Portugal they did in the 65th minute when left full back, Fabio Coentrao overstretched and injured his hamstring requiring a stretch to be removed from the field in tears as his tournament must surely be over. This led to Portugal using their 3 allocated substitutions with 25 minutes still to play, all forced.
The 75th minute included more controversy when Mazic waved away a legitimate Portugal penalty shout. Benedikt Howedes brought down Eder in the box after a Ronaldo shot was parried out towards the forward in the same position that Gotze was fouled in the first half. This foul on Eder which left Ronaldo furiously remonstrating with the referee would be a penalty in any other World Cup game. Eder got a foot on the ball before Howedes while the German followed through and took out a lanky striker who despite the challenge would have gone hand in hand with a German red card.
The inclusion of Andre Almeida reshaped Portugal into an interesting 3-3-3 which worked well for the most part until Muller knocked home his hattrick in the 78th minute. Goalkeeper Rui Patricio will have to take most of the blame for the fourth considering he was unable to handle Andre Schurrle’s awkward cross.
The last ten minutes where almost irrelevant as Portugal toiled to get something out of the German rock. The best chances that Portugal had came from the occasional burst of pace from Nani or the ever present threat of a Ronaldo free kick which was nearly on the cards in injury time when a thunder bolt was well blocked by Neuer.
A lot of boos were aimed towards Portugal’s key man Cristiano Ronaldo and even the commentator suggested poked fun at him in what would have been one of the darker moments in his stellar career. I would not have been surprised to see the Real Madrid star shut up shop or even ask to be substituted but instead I was impressed to see him carry on in an effort to get something out of the match.
Ill finish though by giving the German’s the praise in which they deserve. They come into most tournaments as one of the favourites and this result shows why. Their second 4 – 0 win in the opening match of the World Cup in a row after beating the Socceroos by the same scoreline in 2010. Germany were efficient and played to their own tempo, dispensing of very little energy that could be of benefit to them further down the line.
The display from Thomas Muller was pleasing as the wide man always manages to get amongst the goals and his hattrick earnt him the official man of the match in a 9 out of 10 match that was only blighted by his dive that led to Pepe’s sending off. Other notable players include Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze who were the key to Germany controlling the play.
The only concern for Germany was a knock to goal scorer Mats Hummels that saw him immediately replaced in the 73rd minute.
Germany’s next match is on Sunday morning against Ghana where a win should secure their spot in the Round of 16 while Portugal will look to bounce back against the USA on Monday minus Pepe, Coentrao and potential Almeida while Ronaldo’s injury will continue to be monitored around the clock.
Man of the Match – Thomas Muller
Flop of the Match – Pepe
Match Rating – 1 out of 10 for me but a 7 out of 10 for the neutral who will enjoy the confident football of the German machine.
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