If the 2010 World Cup was looking for a team to make a preliminary statement of intent, look no further than Germany.
The three-time winners put on by far and away the best performance through three days of competition by utterly obliterating Australia 4–0 at Moses Mabida Stadium in Durban on Sunday. Germany moved to the top of Group D with a goal differential advantage over Ghana.
Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose may have had seasons to forget at their respective club teams but when they put on the German national team jersey, everything changes.
Podolski put Germany on the board in the eighth minute as he blasted in a left-footer that Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer could only get a right palm on. This came as a result of a nice pull back pass from Thomas Muller, who timed his run perfectly when he received a clever pass from Mezut Ozil.
Klose got Germany’s second in typical fashion—with a brave header off a Philipp Lahm cross in the 26th minute.
The German youth movement is in full effect and this bodes well for many years to come. With eight of the starting 11 under the age of 25, no lack of experience was in evidence. By contrast, Australia has several players in their 30s.
Sami Khedira, 23, played his first competitive international match for Germany in place of the injured Michael Ballack. Along with Ozil, 21, and Muller, 20, the German midfield cut through the Australian defense at will.
Great credit must be given to German coach Joachim Low for integrating the youth movement so effectively and not having his team’s performance suffer in any way under the pressure of the World Cup and the expectations of a very proud nation.
Even the German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, is only 24. This match was only his sixth cap—a far cry when one thinks of the experience of Germany’s last two World Cup goalies Jens Lehmann in 2006 and Oliver Kahn in 2002.
The Germans were very intelligent with their movement off the ball and their passing was very accurate. The score could have been much worse than 4–0.
Klose missed a sitter off a nice low cross from Podolski in the 24th minute. Earlier he fired straight at Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer as the Australian defense completely broke down and let him in. Ozil had a chip shot cleared off the line by Australian captain Lucas Neill just after the half hour mark.
Things really went sour for Australia early in the second half when Tim Cahill picked up the first straight red card of the tournament for a clumsy foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger. He seemed to fall into the legs of the German midfielder who was uninjured. This was a harsh call by the Mexican referee who tolerated very little nonsense.
The Germans weren’t prepared to settle for a two-goal win. In fact this match became the first one at the 2010 World Cup to have more than two goals in it.
Muller scored with a precise right foot shot off the far post after Podolski cut through the Australian midfield to set him up in the 67th minute. Shortly thereafter, another run that beat the offside trap from Ozil led to Cacau’s goal and Germany’s fourth.
Australia faces an uphill battle now without Cahill in their next match against Ghana on Saturday. With a rusty Harry Kewell on the bench, Australia will miss Cahill’s proven Premier League class in attack. But their bigger problem will be defending fast, incisive attacks from the Ghanaians.
Germany will be up against a desperate Serbia in their next match but should have no reason to worry if they play like they did today.
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