Mission to Grab No. 3 !

Quiet disappointing with the performance..we only manage to overcome Spain possession after Toni Kroos was introduced to the game..Jensen march forward is good addition and another good sub by Jogi..Spain is level with us..but Puyol header widen the gap...one lucky strike..bring them to the final..good performance by Neuer..

Ichighost, you a german ?

well, a header from Puyol from outside the box without anyone marking him is lucky? hmm

Lol those are sore losers ... Concede goals from corner means poor defending

Luck is a subjective word..so..for me YES!

DAM i lost a lot of money in this bet =.= !

octopus interferance on german world cup dream

this team..should win next EURO...hehehehhe

Germany did very well, it's not easy to be consistent at this level, but they have been very consistent for the past few tournaments, i.e. Runners-up in 2002, 3rd 2006, 3rd 2010. They'd be one of the favourites for Euro 2012 and WC 2014, with the likes of Mueller, Badstuber, Aogo, Boateng, Ozil, Kiessling, Neuer, Kroos, et al providing the backbone in addition to more youngsters coming in then.

Losing to Spain was hard to take, especially when they were doing great v the likes of England, Argentina, Australia, etc. You can see from the off that they were too scared of the occasion and did not do much to overcome that fear. Burden of expectation was heavy on the young shoulders, and the loss of Mueller was not helping as the team had already grew used to him darting from the right with his runs. However, having said that, I'd expect this crop of youngsters to shine even more in Euro 2012 if not WC 2014, especially if they keep performing to the highest level at their respective clubs. We'd need another top striker though, and Kiessling looks set to lead the line for Germany now, ably supported by the likes of Bastian, Mueller, Kroos, etc.

Definitely a team to look out for, especially for the next 2 tournaments.

Having said that, congratulations to Mueller for scooping the Best Young Player and Golden Boot awards, one of the more deserving recipient of these 2 awards.

I hope Gomez can find his true form within this two years period so that he can be the man for EURO...Bender brothers should break into the senior squad..Howeides and Wagner should push into the Die Mannschaft...

looking at the team and number of young talent they have i think spain and germany will be huge rival during the next two euro and world cup.

true but with the correct method England can be one of the powerhouses in the future their under17 already proven good at European level...

the problem of youth development by EPL have been must discussed since the failure of the current england squad, changing the system would not be easy and fast, so i dont think much will be change in time to challenge 2012 euro, maybe they can look forward to 2014 if youth development be given priority and field a very young team in 2012 to gain experience.

yap but they rarely taking any risk in the major tournament...

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Added on July 14, 2010, 2:27 pmWe might look like this for 2014 World Cup Brazil..

GERMANY 2014

Germany may have been dark horses at the 2010 World Cup, but make no mistake: they will surely be among the top contenders for 2014. With only Miroslav Klose, Arne Friedrich, and reserve goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt likely to have retired from international competition, the core of the 2010 Germany squad will return a much more experienced team.

Depending on form, Manuel Neuer or Rene Adler will start in goal. Tim Wiese and newcomer Tobias Sippel should round off the backups, with Roman Wiedenfeller being a suitable reserve in the event of a major injury crisis.

In defense, Philipp Lahm is, and will always be, a shoe-in. The other three defensive positions are very much up in the air. Mats Hummels, who was arguably the Bundesliga's best defender in 2009-10, should break into the first team within the next four years. He will compete with Per Mertesacker, as well as youngsters Holger Badstuber, Benedikt Hoewedes, and, assuming he plays club football in his natural central position, Jerome Boateng. Aside from Lahm, the other natural fullback options will be Marcell Jansen, Marcell Schaefer, and Andreas Beck. Rising star Christopher Buchtmann, who will be 22 by the start of the next World Cup, is an outside contender.

Like Lahm, 81-times capped midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is irreplaceable, and will be first choice in the centre of the park. His partner, however, is anything but certain. Sami Khedira had a good tournament, but Simon Rolfes is more than capable competition. Youngsters Sven and Lars Bender also have a chance, as does natural playmaker Toni Kroos, who could take a role similar to that which Khedira played in 2010.

As of now, the four attacking positions (three midfield, one centre forward) are completely undecided. Thomas Mueller, who had five goals and three assists in 2010, should earn a starting berth, and can play in any attacking position. Lukas Podolski, who has the undying support of coach Jogi Loew (who is likely to extend his stay with Germany in the next few weeks), also has an advantage and can play either on the left flank or as the lone centre forward. Other options in the position of striker are youngsters Richard Sukuta-Pasu and Lennart Thy, as well as the more established Mario Gomez and Stefan Kiessling.


Oezil & Mueller¦ World class duo in 2014

After being shortlisted for the golden ball award in 2010, Mesut Oezil might be considered a shoe in for the playmaker role, but if he does not improve his fitness, Loew will be concerned about his ability to complete an entire tournament. Look out for Mario Goetze, who at 18, is widely regarded as the World's best footballer at his age. If he does not come to fruition in time for 2014, any of Toni Kroos, Marko Marin, and a host of others may earn a starting role.

Below are the options for attacking midfield and centre forward, in decreasing order of the probability of their inclusion in the starting lineup.

Attacking midfielders (pick three): Mueller, Oezil, Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos, Marko Marin, Kevin Grosskreutz, Marco Reus, Lewis Holtby, Sebastian Rudy, Timo Gebhart, Savio Nsereko, Deniz Naki, Florian Trinks

Strikers (pick one): Mueller, Podolski, Sukuta-Pasu, Gomez, Kiessling, Thy

(4-2-3-1)

Neuer (28)

Lahm (30) – Boateng (25) – Hummels (25) – Jansen (28)

Rolfes (32) – Schweinsteiger (29)

Mueller (24) – Oezil (25) – Goetze (22)

Podolski (29)


Subs: Adler (29), Badstuber (25), Hoewedes (26), Kroos (24), Marin (25), Sukuta-Pasu (24), Gomez (29)

World Cup 2014 Objective: Winners

This post has been edited by Ichighost: Jul 14 2010, 02:27 PM

read this:

Ballack warns Lahm over Germany captaincy

imo, with die mannschaft has many young players, do they need ballack? (since he will be 34 in september)

if he plays, what formation will die mannschaft use?

and who will be on the bench? ozil? khedira?

This post has been edited by effhedge: Jul 15 2010, 12:11 PM

Khedira...Ballack willn partner with Bastian in the deep midfielder roles...

Ballack will likely slow down the play if he is inserted back to the team

agreed...i dont think he will be in the 1st 11..maybe bench if he dont mind...cuz sometimes...we need experiences...

that would depend on if he could accept the fact he is most likely not going to start and lahm will be the captain, if he cannot get over it, it will be a source of tension in the team.

We already got one midfielder that play just like Ballack during his young days...Toni Kroos...so he look like surplus now...