PREVIEW | World Cup Final
After a month of enthralling football action, the big game is upon us. The Maracana in Rio De Janeiro will play host to Germany and Argentina as they do battle to claim the title of world champions. While there paths have varied there is little doubt that these two sides are the deserved participants in the final.
Germany
GS – Portugal W 4-0
GS – Ghana D 2-2
GS – USA W 1-0
R16 – Algeria W 2-1 AET
Q – France W 1-0
S – Brazil W 7-1
Germany started their World Cup like a house on fire with a scorching win over a disjointed Portugal side that really had the doubters stand up and take note. This was followed by a draw with Ghana which was exciting for the neutrals however it unearthed the defensive frailties that are in this German side. Their final group game was against the USA, this game was marred by the torrential rain that prevented Germany from playing expansive football.
They meet Algeria in the Round of 16 with many tipping a walkover though Algeria were able hold Germany at nil until extra time where the Germans ended up winning 2-1. Algeria was able to use their pace on the forward flanks to trouble Germany’s high line but lacked the true quality to make their opportunities count.
France was waiting in the quarter finals in what ended up being the only all European clash in the knockout stages. Manager Joachim Loew rejigged his side moving captain, Philipp Lahm back to his natural position of right back. The goal came from a set piece only 13 minutes into the game and the Germans controlled the game from there on in with the French being presented with a few half chances without ever really looking capable of breaching the Germans air tight defence.
A semi final against the host nation had many licking their lips however what was served up by a Thiago Silva and Neymarless Brazil was nothing more than a training run for the Germans. Of course Germany were brilliant however they were up against a defense with zero structure. The result may have been a better representative of how bad Brazil were rather than how good Germany had played.
Key stat – Germany are the top scorers at this World Cup with 17 goals.
Argentina
GS – Bosnia and Herzegovina W 2-1
GS – Iran W 1-0
GS – Nigeria W 3-2
R16 – Switzerland W 1-0 AET
Q – Belgium W 1-0
S – Netherlands (4)0-0(2) PSO
The group stage was all about Lionel Messi for Argentina with the Barcelona superstar being the difference in all 3 group games. Against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina struggled with an unaccustomed three at the back formation forever Messi put the South Americans two ahead with 25 to go to assure a 2-1 win. The second game was against a resilient Iran where in the dying stages of injury time Messi came to the fore with a stunning curled strike into the far side netting to secure the 1 nil win. The final group match against Nigeria was entertaining to watch with both side throwing the kitchen sink in attack. Nigeria exposed the Argentina left hand side with two Ahmed Musa goals threatening to break Argentina’s perfect record. In the end Messi bagged a brace including a fabulous free kick as well as a well hit goal from defender Marcos Rojo to secure 9 points out of 9.
The Swiss were waiting in the Round of 16 and they proved to be extremely difficult for the Argentines to breakdown. On top of that Xherdan Shaqiri was able to exploit the lack of pace in the Argentina defence without having the players around him to help him out. It took 118 minutes for Angel Di Maria to get the goal before holding on for a 1 nil extra time win.
Many believed a quater final clash with Belgium would prove a tough test for Argentina. Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring in the 10th minute and from that point forward Argentina didn’t really look like scoring again. On the other hand Belgium could not find a solution to crack the Argentina defence.
After the 7-1 result the day before, Argentina verse the Netherlands was always destined for dour viewing and it lived up to that billing with both sides offering very little going forward with a combined shots total of just 15. Messi looked tired and no other Argentine seemed able to step up to the mark in attack. The absence of Di Maria who was injured in the match against Belgium seemed to affect them however holding midfielder Javier Mascherano had a phenomenal game holding the South American defence together including a stunning tackle on Arjen Robben in the dying embers of the match. The teams held each other goalless for 120 minutes before Argentina dispatched all four of their penalties to pull themselves into the final.
Key stat – Argentina have yet to win a match in the World Cup by more than 1 goal.
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The Germans were dominant in their shocking 7-1 win over hosts Brazil with the most astonishing element being that they never seemed to shift to their higher gears. This, combined with an extra days break should mean that the three time World Cup winners are fresh. On the other hand, two time winners Argentina had to slog it out for 120 minutes against the Netherlands before going through the mental rigors of the penalty shootout. This could work into the Argentines favour as a sense of belief could have been further reinforced from the clinical shootout showing.
You can expect for Germany to dominate the ball in this match, possessing the best midfield at the tournament that includes Bayern Munich trio Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller as well as Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira. The functionality of the German team has greatly improved since the match against France with the shifting of Philipp Lahm back to his more natural position of right back. In an alternative way it is he who has the ability to control the teams tempo whilst adding great defensive stability to the German back four that also includes Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Benedikt Howedes.
The pre tournament issue for the Germans was the lack of a out and out striker with the only true striker in the squad being 36 year old Miroslav Klose. This has proved not to be an issue for Germany with Thomas Muller scoring a team high of 5 goals in the process while Andre Schurrle has 3 along with 3 other Germans with 2 goals each. This is a German team full of goals from all over the pitch.
The main reason for this is that they attack as a unit meaning they don’t have to rely primarily on moments of individual brilliance. Everything the German team does is as a team and the hard thing about facing Germany is that you can’t just close down their best player because they don’t really have a best player so oppositions end up having to play the full eleven and as an eleven Germany are the best team in the World. Germany just need to toil in order to open up a stoic Argentina defence.
The best player in the Germany squad may be the man in between the sticks. Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer is the perfect goalkeeper and a World Cup victory may help establish him as the greatest number 1 in the history of football. He seems so confident in his ability and it appears impossible for him to be beaten. His incredible reaction time and fantastic technique means he is the first name on Joachim Loew’s team sheet.
Argentina went into the tournament with so much expectation not only on Lionel Messi but on a strike force that included a number of genuine goalscorers, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuaín, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio included. None have yet held a opposition defence to ransom with Higuain the only one of the quartet to have scored. This is the reason for the over reliance on Lionel Messi whose father has come out in recent days saying how he is extremely fatigued with “each leg feeling as if it weighs 100 kilos”. Angel Di Maria is expected to miss the final which will increase the difficulty of Messi’s task who with the absence of Di Maria is deployed more as a attacking midfielder.
The defence of Argentina has been impressive after only conceding 3 goals in 6 games and none in the knockout stages. Sporting Lisbon’s Marco Rojo and Benfica’s Ezequiel Garay have been particularly impressive. The success of the defence also has to be credited towards midfield anchor Javier Mascherano who has more often than not squashed offensive raids before they are able to threaten the back four.
Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella is expected to set his side up to sit deep and hold the Germans out. Argentina will have no hope of winning this game if they go toe to toe with Germany because the likes of Fernando Gago and Enzo Perez simply are not good enough to do so. Argentina’s best hope will be to hold the Germans out and make the most of breaks forward which could be deadly if their pacey attackers are able to click.
Expected lineups
Germany
Manuel Neuer
Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Howedes
Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil
Miroslav Klose
Key Player – Toni Kroos
Argentina
Sergio Romero
Pablo Zabaleta, Martín Demichelis, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo
Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez, Enzo Perez
Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain
Key Player – Lionel Messi
Prediction
Whilst Germany will find it much hard to break down a Argentina defence in comparison to Brazil they should still have too much for an Argentina side who seems to have fatigued drastically as the tournament has progressed.
Germany to win 2 – 0
The World Cup final will be shown LIVE on SBS One with pre match coverage starting at 3 am before the much anticipated kickoff at 5 am.
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