At the moment the football world is divided into two sides: South America and Europe as two nations each from those two continents have booked their places in the final four of this engrossing edition of World Cup in Brazil. The first face-off of the continental supremacy will take place between the hosts Brazil and Germany, the European powerhouse at the Stadium Mineirao in Belo Horizonte today.
Any duel between Brazil, five times world champion and Germany, three times world champion, needs no elaboration of its depth, level of prestige and the thirst for success it warrants. On top of that, if the duel is of as high magnitude as a World Cup semifinal, every single atom of prestige, rivalry, success and tension intensifies.
Brazil is larger than Neymar and football is not a one man show, that’s the message Brazilian people have conveyed to the Brazilian team and it is a fact duly realized by none but Joachim Loew, the German coach. “No Neymar, but Brazil will be a harder opponent than the team when he was with them,” opined the coach while explaining his point of view. “Of course he is a player of exceptional talent, but his teammates after this tragedy will be more united and put their best for success.”
Luiz Felipe Scolari, on the other hand, has been trying to gear his team up with a refreshed approach without the suspended Silva and injured Neymar. However, Scolari has the history on his side as his previous Brazil side brought Brazil their last World Cup success in 2002 with a 2-0 victory over Germany in the final in Yokohama, which surprisingly, happens to be the lone duel between the two giants in World Cup history. Interestingly, Germany is ahead of Brazil in terms of consistency as today’s semifinal will be Germany’s fourth consecutive World Cup semifinal while it is Brazils first since 2002.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men have been tested thoroughly throughout the group stage and again in the knockout matches against stubborn South American opponents like Chile and Colombia, but they have stood tall and have been able to come out on top although not in a convincing fashion which we normally associate with a Brazil team. However, the hosts firmly believe they are just 180 minutes away from their sixth world championship and an astonishing fact worth mentioning here is, Brazil have not lost any of their 41 matches in Brazil since 2002.
Joachim Low’s Germany will surely have something up their sleeves to counteract whatever Big Phil throws at them. This German team have conceded only one goal in their last three matches and that also in the dying moments of extra time against Algeria. Combined with Neymar’s absence and such a solid display of German defense with three of the four being tall and magnificently complementing each other, Germany surely have a significant advantage backed up by the excellent Manuel Nuer in goal who has never been afraid to come out of his box to help out his defenders.
It will be a “physical” match as Loew says the hosts will not play in the the typical Brazilian way. Brazil now play a more robust and hard game, trying first to destroy the opponents and only from there trying to attack. Till date they have committed 96 fouls and received 10 yellow cards in this edition.
Brazil’s defense, has more attacking flair than solidity. Germany’s excellent runners led by Muller, Ozil and Goetze will be trying to find and exploit the gaps, and cause trouble.
However, Germany can’t help but encounter another enemy – the vociferous Brazilian fans at the 58 thousand capacity stadium in Belo Horizonte. Germany, as ever, will surely be hungry for their first title in 24 years while Brazil have been equally hungry for 12 years. Only perfect teamwork, availing the chances, a little touch of luck will see either of the team emerge as the victors.
