ANALYSIS: Germany looking for greatness

DOMINANCE.

That is the best word to describe Germany’s performance against Brazil with an astounding 7-1 victory. With golden boy Neymar out and Captain Thiago Silva on the sidelines for taking a foolish penalty in the last match, Brazil still had a chance with many weapons in their arsenal.

Unfortunately, those weapons failed. As the hearts of the host nation sank so did many around the world as Germany proved to be just too much for Brazil. They recorded five goals in less than 20 minutes, while some teams didn’t score five goals during the group stage.

Miroslav Klose was one of the hero’s as he passed Brazil’s Ronaldo to become the all-time leader in goals scored at the World Cup with 16. Klose has been a consistent threat as he has now scored in every World Cup since his international debut in 2001. He is just one example of the depth and excellence on this year’s squad that also includes Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller, who has 5 goals in 6 games so far.

For the past 14 years Germany has been a true power house on the international stage and at the World Cup. The only thing is, they have yet to win a World Cup Championship in this millennium with their closest attempt coming in 2002 when they lost in the finals to Brazil.

It’s hard to fathom Germany actually losing now but it’s true, they have come third in the last two World Cups but this year looks to be a culmination of a hungry squad and a great national developmental program. The German Football Association has taken incredible steps in the last 11 years to change the way they develop homegrown talent from a young age. It has shown in an enormous way with having just three players over the age of 30 on their squad but yet the youthfulness doesn’t show.

As they get set for their biggest match in nearly two decades, they have to be looked at as the favourite no matter who they face in Argentina or the Netherlands. It will no doubt be a tougher test Sunday with the possibility of having to face a Lionel Messi who is looking to add the one thing missing from his trophy case or a Dutch team that is solid across the pitch.

Either way, it promises to be a great end to a great World Cup.

 

BY NICK BASRAN

CFL SPORTS NICK