Sick as a parrot...literally!

So the third/fourth place play-off is on today, and did you know that the last 7 of these games have averaged more than 4 goals a game!? Maybe it is worth watching? And besides my pet octopus told me this morning that we're going to get a 5-4 thriller.

Now I don't know Miroslav Klose, but I bet he's distraught to miss out today. The 32-year-old international football German goal fiend needs only one goal to draw level with Ronaldo on 15 World Cup goals and become the joint leading all time scorer in World Cup final, and this was probably his last chance. Right now, he’s level on 14 with Gerd Muller, one ahead of Just Fontaine and two ahead of some dude called Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele.  But he has a bad back and a case of the flu, so he starts on the bench...let's see if he gets the chance...Germany get a penalty, will they sub him on??

Uruguay make two changes to the side beaten by the Netherlands as captain Diego Lugano recovers from a knee injury to replace Mauricio Victorino and, having served his suspensio, Luis Suarez comes in for Walter Gargano.  Diego Forlan will be trying to score a few to have a chance of getting his hands on the Golden Boot.

Germany ring the changes following their defeat at the hands of Spain as Miroslav Klose, who needs one goal to equal Ronaldo's all-time World Cup record of 15, drops to the bench alongside first-choice keeper Manuel Neuer, captain Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski and Piotr Trochowski.  Hans-Jorg Butt will play his first match for the German national team since 1 June 2003, ending a wait of seven years and 39 days.  Any chance of a Robert Green moment??

C'mon Uruguay!

Germans - With just a touch of English!

The German national team coach Joachim Low has revealed that he picked the best bits of English, Spanish and Italian football to create Germany's impressive new style of free flowing counter attack football. I couldn't tell you which bit was the English influence as the Germans have yet to look inept, old, sluggish and passionless...maybe that all happened in the defeat to Serbia earlier in the competition - I didn't see that game.

Low said "I've seen a lot of international football, I have soaked it all up and taken away many aspects. In England the tempo is incredible and something to be emulated. In Spain, there is the free-flowing style, technique and skill and you can see that's something that is second nature to them, even to their youth teams."

"In Spain the game is not just played or worked at, but celebrated. It impresses me how easy it looks even though, of course, it isn't easy at all. I like combination passing football and that is what I work towards. Italy won the World Cup in 2006 with perfect defensive play but the game has moved on in the last four years. The teams in the final four have solid defences but you have to have a more than that, a more versatile style of play," Low added.

Interesting that tempo was the thing he highlighted from England - you might be able to win a world cup with good defence - Italy did - and you certainly can with free-flowing style, good technique and skill - just ask many a Brazil team in years gone by - but I don't think you could ever win a World Cup with good 'tempo'! Perhaps that is another reason why it could be another 44 years before England wins another World Cup!  

On Germany's chances of gaining revenge for their Euro 2008 final defeat to Spain in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final and then going on to meet the Dutch in the World Cup Final, Low said: "In 2008, there is no doubt that Spain were the best team at the tournament. They were also very good in the final. But now the situation is different. We too have a good team and we have every reason to believe that we can succeed."

What price a repeat then of the 1974 World Cup Final between Germany and Holland?  I can't make my mind up on picking a winner - sometimes I think that Germany can't possibly play as well again, but then I also think that Spain have yet to hit top gear and yet they are in the semi-final. Spain were my pre-tournament pick, so I'm going to stick with them...which has pretty much just guaranteed a German victory!  Although Paul the psychic octopus has also picked Spain, so maybe I'm onto something??

 

England v Germany...

So it had to happen didn't it!  England will play Germany on Sunday in the last 16 of the World Cup for the priviledge of playing Argentina or Mexico in the Quarter Finals. 

England last played Germany in a friendly in Berlin in November 2008 (England won 2-1) and the last competitive match (i.e. not a friendly) was in Munich in 2001 (England won that one 5-1).

Here's a short look at the heritage of this classic encounter shown by ITV before that last friendly in 08'