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2010 World Cup: Germany 4-0 Australia – Review

Angela Asante, June 13 2010,
Germany creamed Australia 4-0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday night. There were two goals in each half as Joachim Lowe’s side mounted to the top of Group D.

German players deligted
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German Delight

No Michael Ballack or Robert Enke, but the Germans still proved how united they are as a team. They were the better team from A to Z and their dominance didn’t fail to transform itself into goals. Podolski was the man to watch and he indeed lived up to expectations. The Bayern Munich striker had earlier boasted about Germany’s talented squad and status as favorites.

Those who might have hoped for a reverse of his predicted win against Australia certainly made sad faces at the end of the 90 minutes. Podolski, who complained about Michael Ballack’s commanding attitude in the German squad before the World Cup, displayed a fine performance and was always present to destabilize Australia’s poor defense. The striker put his side in front after only 8 minutes with a blistering shot that almost got saved by Australia’s keeper Schwarzer.

 

But replays confirmed that Muller was effectively offside in the build up to this opener as the Socceroos defenders suggested. The score line stood anyways; 1-0 to Germany. Klose, meanwhile, had a nervous time trying to put his name on the score sheet inside the first 25 minutes.

The Polish-born player had a good opportunity to double the Germans’ lead from close range but he blasted his shot wide. Finally, his moment arrived. Klose beat the offside trap and knocked the ball into the back of the net with his head. It was sure that the Socceroos would not find a way out at this point in the game.

Germany maintained their attacking flow in the second period and substitute Cacau got a fourth goal at the 70th minute after Muller had made it 3-0 three minutes earlier. Joachim Lowe’s men had a host of chances to create a more emphatic score line. But in the end, a 4-0 win was more than satisfactory for the Germans to be assured of qualifying for the last sixteen. They will face Serbia on June 18 with a good chance of finishing the job they started.

Australia’s FrustrationAustralia's Pim Verbeek thinking.

Pim Verbeek, meanwhile, is a manager that will have a lot to think about after seeing his men being crashed 4-0 by their German counterparts. The Australian side that featured on Sunday night was far from being the one that people saw against Japan in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where a spirited comeback saw them shock the Japanese 3-1.

Against Germany, Australia weren’t the better side despite being offered the first chance to break the deadlock. That was inside the 3rd minute of the game when the captain of the side, Neill, should have drove the ball across Germany’s goal line instead of knocking it behind at the frustration of his team mates.

In fact, Australia never deserved to win the match. If they might complain about the controversy surrounding Germany’s first goal, the referee on the night could also remind them of the series of unprofessional tackles on their opponents. Tim Cahill even got penalized and eventually sent off after 56 minutes for a harsh foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger. All these incidents during the match just humiliated Australia who must imperatively bounce back or start packing their bags on their way home.

Australia will face Ghana in a must win game next up. They’ll have to hope that the Black Stars don’t perform as well as they did against Serbia; otherwise, the Socceroos will certainly have to wave goodbye to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

 

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