Pre-Tournament Favorites vs. Current Tournament Favorites
How foolish were those who counted Germany out as contenders in the World Cup? Well, those look extremely foolish now as the three-time champions have emerged as the favorites to win it all.
Spain, meanwhile, were penciled in as favorites at the beginning of the tournament and as football experts who were Europe’s best hope of winning the World Cup. Now, they seem like a team who have drawn some favorable opponents and have been carried by one man, David Villa.
The Germans came into this tournament as a young and inexperienced team, missing their captain, Michel Ballack. It also seemed that legendary striker Miroslav Klose would no longer be a factor for the team. He only scored three goals with Bayern Munich this past season and appeared as if he would not close in on the World Cup record for goals. He is now one shy of Ronaldo’s record of 15.
Germany has proven that experience doesn’t necessarily mean success. They came into the tournament with a young team and few players with World Cup experience, but they have learned quickly. They made a splash in their very first match beating Australia 4-0. The only hiccup Germany suffered in this tournament was a 1-0 loss to Serbia in their second group game.
The scary thing also about this team is that they have outsmarted all of their opponents. Besides their stunning attacking play, they have shut down some of the world’s best players. Germany has been dominant from both ends of the pitch. They have scored a tournament-high 13 goals and they have only conceded twice.
The young Germans have not only dominated, but they’ve outclassed very worthy, talented teams. They stormed past England and Argentina, whose teams included Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Gonzalo Higuain and Lionel Messi. On paper, Germany doesn’t look like the most dangerous team, but they certainly are on the pitch.
Now on to the team who was a popular pick before the tournament began, the Euro 2008 Champions Spain. Everyone loved the Spaniards because of their creative play and the mixture of youth and experience. So far, they have been tough to figure out. They started their World Cup journey with a shocking loss to Switzerland, but bounced back to win their group. They then knocked off Portugal and Paraguay in two tight games to reach the final four.
Spain’s defence has been rather impressive as they themselves have only conceded two goals in this tournament, both in group play. That is really what has salvaged their World Cup hopes up to this point as their offence has been rather one-dimensional. Fernando Torres has still not scored a goal, but one man has made up for that. David Villa has been sensational and is a shoe-in for the Golden Ball award should Spain win the World Cup.
Just as he did two years ago, Villa has led the Spanish attack. He has scored five of Spain’s six goals and should be Germany’s main defensive concern. Germany should be looking to control the middle again as they did with Argentina’s attack and will likely play some aggressive football. Look for Spain to weather an early storm and try to counter attack with Villa leading the way.
Some good news for Spain and bad news for Germany is that Germany’s Thomas Muller is serving a one-game suspension following his second yellow card in the quarter-finals. Muller is Germany’s leading scorer and it’s a huge blow for the team.
Spain is only suffering from minor injuries. A couple of their players, defender Gerard Piqué and midfielder Sergio Busquets, have received yellow cards so they must play with caution or risk missing the final should Spain make it there.
Now it’s time to determine who the better team truly is. If Spain is as good as everyone says they are then this is the game when they must show it. They won’t get it done with Davis Villa alone this time though. They’ll need the best from all 11 men on the pitch to finally make it to their first World Cup final. As for Germany, they just have to keep doing what they’re doing. So, who’s the real favorite of the 2010 World Cup?
Tags: