World Cup 2010: Germany 4-0 Argentina what went wrong
Germany thrashed Argentina 4-0 to book their place in the semi-finals of this year's World Cup. The result shocked the world of football, since after the elimination of Brazil, Argentina were firm favourites to take the trophy home. The Germans, however, have proved that they are, by far, the most in form team in the tournament at this moment and it looks like no team will be able to stop them from taking the trophy.
The match had an explosive beginning as the German number 13 Thomas Mueller put his team in front in only the 4th minute. Mueller has had an excellent tournament so far and maintained his form in this game to end the Argentinean hopes of progressing to the semi-finals. The goal came after a free-kick was awarded to the Germans on the edge of the Argentinean penalty area. Bastian Schweinsteiger's delivery into the penalty area was perfect and it caused confusion in the Argentinean ranks. The lack of marking meant that Mueller just had to get a small touch on it to score, and that is exactly what he did. A glance off his head was enough to beat the Argentinean goalkeeper, Romero.
The Argentineans thought they had equalized in the 37th minute, when Higuain rolled the ball into the net after slick piece of passing football, but the referee's assistant raised his flag for off-side and correctly so, as about half of the Argentinean team was offside.
It stayed 1-0 at half time, which meant that Argentina still had a great chance of coming back into the game. It was only a matter of scoring once and then the game would be in their hands again but the Germans looked very solid at the back and were constantly a threat on the counter.
In the end, it was the counter-attacking football of the Europeans that dominated the second half and the Argentinean forwards could not find a way past the resolute German Defenders. The German Captain, Lahm, was at his supreme best as he defended expertly and also went forward when his team required him to do so.
The second goal of the game was always going to be crucial and when it went the way of the Germans, the game looked all but over. The young Bayern Munich man, Mueller, was once again at the heart of things as he hooked the ball while lying down on the grass towards Podolski who squared it to Klose who made no mistake with the finish, as Argentina Coach Diego Maradona watched on in disbelief. The goal, in the 68th minute, meant that Argentina had to go all out looking for an equalizer and this left their defence horribly exposed to the German counter-attack.
The third goal of the game was all down to the work of Schweinsteiger. The German midfielder has been immense in this World Cup and this goal showed just why he is rated as one of the best midfielders in Europe right now. The Bayern Munich man went past two Argentinean men before squaring the ball for Friedrich to poke in the back of the net and make it 3-0 to Germany.
Argentina tried their best to salvage some pride, bringing on Kun Aguero but it had no effect whatsoever. The Germans still looked more likely to score and they did in the 88th minute to round-off an amazing victory over the South Americans. It was Klose and Podolski again who did the damage in almost a mirror image of the 2nd goal. With the goal, Germany have now scored 8 times in the last 2 matches in the tournament, and have scored 4 goals on three separate occasions.
It is difficult to see how any team will stop the German march to the trophy after seeing them dismantle Argentina. The South Americans were given a real footballing lesson and their star player, Lionel Messi, was unable to live up to the hype due to comparisons with his coach, Maradona. It would appear that, at least for now, the debate has been settled. Messi may be the best player in the world right now, but he has failed to accomplish what the true greats of the games have i.e. winning the World Cup.
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