Germany Vs. Spain 07/07/10 Kamal’s Free Pick and Preview: FIFA World Cup 2010 2:30PM ET (CBC and ESPN)
The FIFA World Cup is now in its Semifinal stages, as European powerhouses Germany and Spain battle for a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.
Germany beat Argentina in their last match to the tune of 4-0, and looked unstoppable doing so. The first goal was scored in only the 3rd min through Thomas Mueller; they dominated possession and centered their attacks through Bastian Schweinsteiger. The second half proved to be even better as Miroslav Klose scored two goals on his 100th cap (appearance) for the German national team, this was truly the Germans day because even central defender Arne Friederich scored his first ever international goal. Now they turn their focus to Spain, the last major tournament these two teams meet in was the European Championships in 2008. The Germans will look to exact some revenge as they lost that game to a Fernando Torres goal. However, they will have to do this without Thomas Mueller due to card accumulation. Although he is important, this won’t hurt the Germans as much as first thought. This team is so versatile that they can go four or five different ways, the easiest of them being that they move Lukas Podolski from the left side to the right that is vacated by Mueller, then put left sided attacker Mark Marin in the open spot on the left. He will provide the same width and speed, just without the goal scoring pedigree.
As for Spain, they beat Paraguay 1-0, but it wasn’t as easy as most were thinking it would be. Spain spent the whole game trying to break down the Paraguayans team defensive concept, and was actually put on the back foot a few times. Both teams could have taken the advantage through penalty shots in the second half, but both keepers were up to the task. It took a David Villa goal in the 83rd min for Spain to advance, the pass from Andres Iniesta was exquisite and really set up the goal. Now they will play Germany for a chance to make the World Cup Final, the Spanish have been the least penalized team in the tournament and as a result won’t be missing anyone for this critical game. However, a few players have bumps and bruises, mainly Fernando Torres who has not been his regular goal scoring self. This is where experience has to come to the forefront, players like Carles Pryol, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos will have to lead this team through what looks to be some rough waters.
Kamal’s Prediction: This will be a really good battle, both have meet before but this is different because this is a World Cup Semifinal. I think the difference between the two teams is balance, and I think the Germans are the most balanced team in the competition. They have youth and experience, offence and defense, and can tailor their approach to their opponents instead of jamming a square peg into a round hole. I’m predicting a 2-1 win for the Germans and a place in the World Cup Finals.
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