2010 FIFA World Cup: Germany thrash Australia
The Germans went into the Group of Death with their youngest ever squad since 1974, twenty five years and seventy six days, and without their successful captain Micheal Ballack. Yet that did not stop the Germans from blitzing past the Socceroos from Down Under by four goals to nil.
The average age for the Australian team is thirty one years and seventy six days, but on the night of the match even all their experience could not help prevent the onslaught. The Germans showed their dominance till the final whistle, which was evident in the fact that they already had twelve shots on goal before they surged ahead and netted the third and fourth. The Australians on the other hand never seemed to get over the early blows, propelling Germany to the top of the group.
This victory proves the strength of this German side, but it also takes into account the nature of the controversial ball that is being used in the World Cup this year. The Adidas Jambulani Ball has attracted much controversy from other participating teams, but for Germany it seems to be their trump card. The reserve goal keeper from the United States has complained about the erratic movement of the ball, whereas Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra attributed the goal his team conceded to the bad bounce of this Adidas ball.
And its not just the losing teams that are complaining, even Slovenia, who scored a goal admit to the oddity of this ball. Slovenian captain Robert Koren said each player in his team can vow that this ball is something that no team has been used to playing with. What is worse is that it this Adidas ball has become a nightmare for the goalkeepers. Its wayward bounce prevents the goalkeeper from judging where the ball might land.
But the Germans do not seem to mind the ball, which Adidas claims is the most perfect ball the have ever produced. The reason being that Adidas had earlier in the season provided the Adidas Jambulani ball to the Bundesliga, thus every German player has adapted to the peculiarities of the ball and their goalkeepers have enough practice to predict where the ball is going to land. This seems to be an advantage the German team would like to capitalize on. They have already made it evident that the more the ball is kept on the ground, the smoother the route to the goal post and in order to successfully net the ball into the goal players should be able to keep over the ball. Thus it seems as if the Germans have read the ball well and would want to excel even further before other teams start to figure out how to deal with the oddities of this new ball.
Australia up till now conceded the highest number of goals in the tournament. All the action took place on the opening day of matches taking place in Durban at the Moses Mohibda stadium. Before going into the match there were apprehensions about Germany’s strikers and goalkeeper, but they were all dispelled in the eighth minute of the match, with Podolski being on target. Following in his footsteps in the twenty seventh minute was Klose giving Germany a two goal lead.
It got worse for Australia in the second half with Australian hope Tim Cahill being sent off for lunging towards Schweinsteiger. And then the final nail in the coffin was the back to back goals in the sixty eighth and sixty ninth minute by Thomas Muller and Cacau.
While Germany opened the sluice gates of goals, as only eight goals were scored in the first six matches of the tournament, Australia were down and out. The Germans opened their campaign in a swashbuckling fashion, it would be interesting to see how they use the knowledge of the Adidas Jumbalani ball to further cement their strong position in the World Cup.
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