Well, here they come. Two giants of world soccer, the contest that always guarantees entertainment, excitement, goals, controversies, penalties and English defeat. In this world cup both England and Germany entered as favorites. After the first game, everybody started talking about the new-look, youthful Germany as potential winners. But their loss against Serbia and their unconvincing display against Ghana has shown that they are vulnerable at the back and that they heavily depend on Podolsky, Schweinsteiger, Klose and Ozil. This German outfit has some resemblance to the team of Bayern Munich of this year. They both know their weaknesses in defense and that's why they attack in order to defend. Mesut Özil has been a revelation and Miorslav Klose has been very effective in the very first game. While he was absent, after he was shown the red card against Serbia and consequently missed the next game, Germany looked a different outfit. Podolsky is their leader in the attack but his form has been very inconsistent in last three games.
On the other end, England looked tired and clueless against USA and Algeria. After the second game John Terry led a failed coup against dictator-like coaching style of Manager Fabio Capello, which Capello in a dictator-like style handled successfully. Against Slovenia, in the must-win game Fabio Capello did some changes and somehow England looked a far better team. I don't know if it's because they now know what to do of whether Slovenia was not as good an outfit as everybody thought it to be. Introduction of Jeramine Defoe and James Milner especially worked wonderfully. Milner was especially effective on the right flank and if Rooney finds his mojo, Milner can be a great support on the right flank. Apart from that, England has looked ineffective in retaining possession, making passes and creating chances. They sorely miss David Beckham in set-pieces.
So, given the inconsistency shown by both the teams so far, it's difficult to predict what might happen today. Both teams are rather cautious and we might not see too many goals. But surely the match will be one with lot of excitement. Both teams are afraid of going all the way upto penalties but if the match goes into Penalties, nobody should be surprised.
Verdict : Given the nature of these teams and the way they have evolved in this competition so far, I think England have a slight advantage. If the game doesn't go into penalties, England might win, 1-0.
Players to watch: James Milner (England) and Mesut Ozil (Germany). If Germany wins, Özil for sure, will have played a key role.
