Germany v Spain
Football : FIFA World Cup 2010 : Semi Final
Wednesday, 7th July 2010 – kickoff 20:30

Germany

Germany national team played perfectly in the round of 16 and in the quarter final where they nailed both England and Argentina which makes them red hot favorites to go all the way in this tournament. Interesting fact is that Germany have scored four goals in three out of their five matches played so far at the World Cup, which speaks enough for the strength of this young team.

Germany team coach Joachim Loew took risk after the Euro 2008 to change the squad and bring new young players which pays off now and this team will get even stronger in the following years since the majority of the players are still in their early 20s.

Miroslav Klose in on verge of making history having scored 14 goals at the World Cups so far and needs only one goal to be level with Ronaldo. Although he struggled during the last season being mostly at the bench in Bayern Munich, now he is close to be top striker in this tournament. His place in the attack as only striker is once again guaranteed.

Bad news is that Thomas Muller will have to miss this match due to his second yellow card which he had picked up in the match against Argentina and probably Piotr Trochowski will take his place as offensive midfielder.
Probable Germany line-up :
Neuer ,
Lahm ,Mertesacker, A. Friedrich , Boateng ,
Khedira, Schweinsteiger , Trochowski ,
Özil , Podolski,
Klose

Spain

Spanish national team struggled throughout the group stage with their poor start and the loss of Switzerland, but recovered quickly with two victories which put them in pole position in their group. In the matches against Portugal and Paraguay they did not impress at all and were a bit fortunate to get into this semifinal. This would be the first time for Spain to play in the semifinals at a World Cup.

Torres is out of form failing to score in all of the matches so far, but Villa is top striker at the tournament with five goals and those two will be once again partnered in the attack.

The defender Raul Albiol has returned to training after being out of the squad for two weeks but he is unlikely to play from the beginning of this match. Cesc Fabregas will also be at the bench although Spain played more fluid and better football last time when Torres was taken out and Fabregas got in, but that is Del Bosque`s decision.

Del Bosque does not have any other problems with suspended or injured players for this match.

Probable Spain line-up :
Casillas,
Sergio Ramos, Piqué, Puyol , Capdevila,
Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi , Iniesta ,
Torres, Villa

The Betting Verdict

This will be an interesting match in which i give advantage to the Germans. Their attacking style of play, combined with the team discipline and devotion will probably once again bring success. Also good tactic is that the German players often switch places at the pitch which makes them hard to keep.

Spain managed to win their matches, but their way of playing is a bit different from two years ago when they became European champions. I think something is missing in this squad in order for them to become World Champions and probably Torres` poor form has something to do with it.

These two teams played in the Final of Euro 2008 and this is a good chance for the Germans to take revenge for that defeat. Both sides know each other very well and this match will probably not end like the last couple of matches when Germany scored lots of goals, but they will probably find a way for a close win.

The Pick :

Germany 2-1 Spain

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Germany to win this match and reach the Final.