This World Cup is about to end and two recent semi-final matches had very interesting outcomes; Germany mercilessly destroyed Brazil 7-1 while Argentina defeated Netherlands through penalty shoot outs (4-2). Now, Argentina and Germany will face each other in finals to win the World Cup. This finals show down is pretty interesting because Argentina and Germany had faced each other in quarterfinals during 2006 and 2010 World Cups and now they are fighting over the first place. Although Argentina lost both games against Germany in previous World Cups, they are eager to get a revenge against Germany.
The biggest challenge that Germany will face is; can they become the first European team to win the World Cup in South America? Throughout the history of soccer, South America hosted 1930 (Uruguay), 1950 (Brazil), 1962 (Chile), and 1978 (Argentina) World Cups. And no single European teams won the World Cup in South America. But can Germany break that jinx that European teams failed to break over the past century? Seeing how powerful jinx was to other European teams in previous World Cups, it will be fun to see if Germany can break that curse.
But, before getting all started about Germany’s success, I must say that I received a jolt when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1. Nobody expected Brazil to get completely destroyed. I mean nobody as nobody. Many expected that Brazil would lose this game because they didn’t have Neymar (broken vertebra) and Thiago Silva (yellow card) for this game but nobody knew they would play this badly! Conceding 5 goals in less than 30 minutes is just unbelievable. One minute you are in a bathroom and then when you come out, you see Miraslov Klose scoring his 16th goal for World Cup. Bye Ronaldo, your record is now officially broken by Klose (cheap shots, cough cough). But this game really showed how different Brazil was when they did not have Neymar and Silva playing for them.
Nevertheless,Germany won this game was because they took an advantage of Brazil’s disorganized defense. They knew that Brazil would forget about the defense when they tried to press on earlier. And it seemed like Brazil was pulling offensive their strategy off well as they were able to pressure Germany’s defense during first 10 minutes. However, everything fell apart as Germany scored in the set piece as David Luiz failed to mark Mueller on time, conceding a goal in 11′. Seriously David Luiz? Luiz, the most expensive defender in the history of soccer ($91 million transfer deal from Chelsea to PSG) and the captain of Brazil’s squad, clearly messed this game up. He was not a leader at all. He failed to rally the team from a goal deficit. Instead, he made a matter worse by letting Germany score four more goals during the first half. This was just a major disappointment for Luiz as he was praised for his work in both defense and offense throughout past 5 matches.
Secondly, Germany took advantage of Brazil’s mediocre offense throughout the game. Neymar’s injury severely crippled Brazil’s offense. His exceptional dribbling, tactful passing, and powerful shots were reasons why Brazil was able to advance to semifinals. Hulk and Fred were supposed to fill in the void that Neymar left but their inconsistencies throughout the game brought everything down. I didn’t even see Fred doing anything throughout the game, forcing Oscar to do everything by himself. They failed to create chances during the second half and had a terrible passing completion. Subbing in Paulinho and Ramires definitely had made Brazil’s attack more sharp but they couldn’t connect passes well at all. Although Oscar scored an only goal for Brazil at the end, it was too late for Brazil to change the tide.
Germany clearly showed to the world that they are a better team than Brazil. They proved how powerful they are when everyone plays as a team. Their perfect counter attacks against Brazil were just amazing. They did not lose a single moment when Brazil messed up their plays. Taking an advantage in set pieces and domination in midfield with Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Kroos, and Kheidra, and Mueller showed how unstoppable they are when they are on the roll. They truly proved themselves that they are the best midfielders in the world.
But I would like to raise a question for Germany. Can they continue this momentum against Argentina in the finals? In previous World Cups, Argentina was criticized for poor defense and heavily relying on Lionel Messi all the time. But now, Argentina showed to others that they have players like Higuain and Di Maria who can support Messi’s plays. Also, Argentina showed more cohesion and more improvement in their defense throughout this World Cup. Now, Argentina is playing more as a team and Messi has been perfectly executing his role as a captain. Messi also was able to prove that he can score in the World Cup by scoring 4 goals in past 6 matches. With much more creativity coming from Argentina, Germany will definitely feel that their finals game is not going to be as smooth as their past game against Brazil.
La Albiceleste has put up a tough fight against Oranje in their semifinals, defeating them in penalty shoot out (4-2). This was probably the most frustrating game as both teams failed to score even during extensions. Although they remained scoreless until penalty shoot outs, Argentina successfully crippled Robben and RVP from penetrating their defense. Argentina knew that Netherlands would use long passes to both Robben and RVP and they perfectly stopped Oranje’s duo from scoring.
The Player that Germany needs to watch out against Argentina is Mascherano. Throughout the game, Mascherano ran at least 10 km as he tried to intercept passes from Netherlands’s counter attacks. He was in the midfield and was flying around the penalty box. He was busy running around to harass Robben from getting successful passes. It was Mascherano who saved Argentina from almost letting Robben score in the very end of second half. His tackle successfully stopped Robben from scoring. Even during extensions, Mascherano ran behind Robben and made sure Robben couldn’t threaten the defense.
Although La Albiceleste was able to win their semifinals through penalty shoot outs, they really need to work more on their offense. Argentina put Higuain, Messi, and Lavezzi to spearhead the offense against Netherlands. Although Messi couldn’t move around the field freely because of Netherlands’s defense, he was still able to make quality passes to other players throughout the game. But that’s not a problem. Problem is that Higuain failed to finish Messi’s passes during crucial moments. Unfortunately for him, his goal in second half was considered offside. Also, the absence of Di Maria was huge for Argentina as Messi did not have anyone who could support him. Plus, Aguero was too stiff as he came off from injury during the World Cup. If Argentina wants to win against Germany, Higuain, Aguero, and Lavezzi must be able to complete passes from Messi and connect them into goals.
This finals game will be a challenge for both teams. Can Argentina finally get a revenge against Germany? Or can Germany finally become the first European team to win the World Cup in South America? I seriously hope that both teams don’t drag this game until penalty shoot outs because that would be too agonizing for everyone to watch. But overall, this is going to be an interesting game to watch as both teams have their own strengths to boast.