Rio de Janeiro: Elephant oracle Nelly has predicted a win for Germany against France in the first quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup on Friday. Had the pachyderm watched Germany’s performance in the previous round, it would surely have plumped for Les Bleus. Joachim Loew’s team have elephantine scope for improvement ahead of the most intriguing match in the last eight.
The expectation among Europhiles is the winners of the France-Germany clash would gather enough tail wind to win the trophy here. Given the all-round balance of the two teams, it’s easy to buy the argument that doesn’t give much of a chance to Argentina and Brazil.
At the moment, though, title talks are far off for Loew. His team’s progress has been decidedly unGerman here. German teams are known to improve with each match but the three-time champions are going in the opposite direction after a whirlwind start against Portugal.
Lahm & Co. hit the nadir against Algeria in the Round of 16 and they would be thinking that the worst phase is over for them in Brazil.
Germany’s travails have mainly stemmed from the shocking loss in form of Mario Goetze and Mesut Ozil, the team’s best creative players. Both have a goal each from four matches, but nothing else. The less said about Goetze’s display against Algeria the better.
He was so anonymous that it appeared Germany had been plodding along with 10 players. Loew was right to take him off at half-time. Goetze has the talent to make the World Cup his own but he has only been a shadow of his Bayern Munich self here.
Ozil continues to be polarising figure. Even though the Arsenal midfielder enjoys Loew’s trust, his lethargy on the field baffles experts. Losing the ball frequently and not fighting to reclaim it also undermine Ozil, who has one of the sweetest left feet in the game today.
In the end, Ozil may keep his place in the XI while Goetze is all set to lose his to Andre Schuerrle.
Another tactical decision Loew will have to make is the deployment of captain Philipp Lahm. The Bayern Munich star looks better at home in his natural right-back position, even though he has started here in central midfield.
Loew may have to jettison Bayern coach Pep Guardiola’s pet idea and restore Lahm to his original position and fill in his central role with the dynamic Sami Khedira.
Mats Hummels should partner Per Mertesacker in the heart of defence as he has recovered from a knock. Jerome Boateng can play as left-back.
The biggest plus for Germany is the tireless work of Thomas Muller up front. By reaching the quarters, France have already overachieved. Low expectations back home have allowed Les Bleus to flourish in Brazil.
Didier Deschamps has strength in depth in all departments. He will bank on midfield enforcer Paul Pogba and forward Karim Benzema to reach the last four.
Prediction: Germany will beat France in a tight match.
