FIFA World Cup 2010: Spain Vs Germany, Match Analysis
Spain has for the first time in the country’s history managed to qualify for the World Cup final. Spain booked their place in the final after displaying a cool, patient and tactically sound performance.
The victory over Germany was secured by defender Carlos Puyol. But it was an end result of some consistent passing, tantalizing movement and constant pressure on their opponents.
Germany had the youngest World Cup side that they have had over the past seventy five years. This young blooded team had been the shining light of the tournament with their attacking play, but the Spanish defence turned out to be too much for them to handle.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was the key figure in Germany’s four nil win over the Argentineans, was merely a shadow of himself after spending most of the game just chasing the ball as the Spanish midfield dominated possession.
When Germany did manage to win the ball back, their passing was poor and inaccurate which resulted in the Spanish winning back possession and re launching another attack.
Mesut Ozil, who was the architect to Australia’s four nil destruction, looked tired and not half as good as everyone has expected him to be over the course of the tournament. The suspended Thomas Mueller was clearly missed by the German squad and the team equally, his pace and constant hard work down the right wing was lacking for the German squad throughout the match.
After Xabi Alonso started taking long range shots towards the German goal, a couple of minutes later Joachim Loew, the German coach decided to replace Boateng and bring on, Marcell Jansen. This was only due to the fact that Jansen was a better attacking threat then Boateng.
The Spanish then immediately switched their attacks and decided to attack, German captain Phillip Lahm’s wing. This proved to be very effective since, Lahm who had spent a good portion of the match attacking the Spanish was forced to retreat back and along him the entire time the German squad was forced to move back into their own half for defensive cover.
There was only one thing that the Spanish lacked in the game and that was the final touch. The Spaniards have lacked the final touch throughout the tournament, but their consistent attacks and technical awareness of the game has managed to help them overcome this factor so far.
The final blow to the Germans didn’t come through a deft flick, intricate passing, a solo run from a forward or a long range strike but in fact it came of the head of a defender and that to from a corner. The fact that they managed to score off a corner can only mean that the Spanish still have a trick or two left up their sleeves. This extra offensive threat will only add to the Dutch’s worries ahead of their final match with the Spanish, which will be taking place on Sunday, the eleventh of July 2010.
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