2010 FIFA World Cup

[Who]

Great to see Ghana get a win. I was worried about the strength of the African teams.

Nice to see one of them looks capable of getting out of the group phase.

[Casperian]

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Keep dreaming. 

Seriously, the german staff has a lot of respect for the australian team. They always say stuff like "Let´s not underestimate our opponent" or "There are no small football nations anymore", but you can see this time, they really mean it.

Coach Löw had nothing but praise for the physicality, mentality and defensive organisation of the aussie team, which he called one of the best in the world. All you have to do is look at the last WC and how they had just bad luck (and referees) in their loss against Italy to see what this team is capable of.

And, I`ll always have a soft spot for Mark Schwarzer, who was the third goalie for my favorite team when he was 19.
Let´s hope for a great game and may the better (german) team win. 

[twinbree]

Great to see Ghana get a win. I was worried about the strength of the African teams.

Nice to see one of them looks capable of getting out of the group phase.

Yeah I was really impressed with their showing in the U-20 World Cup and they seem to have a few of the guys from that team playing but I don't know how far they can go without Essien. When they busted out the dance moves I LOL'd so hard. It was only a penalty but sometimes it's just great to see the emotion in soccer instead of the overly sanitized NBA.

[Who]

I only caught the tail end of the first half but Germany's passing was hugely impressive. Both in terms of retention of possession + moving the ball side to side and overall movement + through balls in the final third to create goal scoring chances. They have been the best passing team I have seen so far.

Germany could be a top four team in this tournament. Spain, England and Brazil would be my other top sides.

[Who]

Germany are irresistible going forward. Absolutely lovely ball + player movement.

Not liking the midfield's defensive play. Not closing down hard enough and not winning the ball back often enough for my liking. The two center backs look dodgy too.

So, Germany does not appear to be solid enough defensively to win the tournament ... but their quality going forward should see them go far in this tournament. A team you'd want to avoid, for sure, because they're a major goal-threat.

[jolly_roger]

I never saw Germany that dominating on a technical level in any major tournament I watched so far. It's not too long ago that ugly would have been a nice description after a game.

That aside, the red card was crap. Even the german tv-commentator acknowledged that. And the 2 dives of Özil and Cacau were pretty [dang] stupid.

[Edgar]

I never saw Germany that dominating on a technical level in any major tournament I watched so far. It's not too long ago that ugly would have been a nice description after a game.

That aside, the red card was crap. Even the german tv-commentator acknowledged that. And the 2 dives of Özil and Cacau were pretty [dang] stupid.

Refferees were crezy

that mexican ref really stinked this game

hope he never wistles again this worldcup

that was a penalty kick (hand) too.

[misha]

I agree, that wasn't a red card, and the hand in the beginning of the second half was a clear penalty.

Germany also looked impressive in 2006 till they met the tough Italian team in the semis. Australia is not good enough opponent to diagnose Germany's true strength, though I enjoed seeing them today.

[Casperian]

Great game, I´m still amazed how well we played. If this is any indication of what to expect from this group, I´ll be a ery happy football fan for the next years.

The best thing is how young our team is. The whole creative department is 20-22.
Lahm, Schweinsteiger and Podolski are all in their mid-20´s, and have 70-80 caps already.

The spacing could´ve been better, Özil plays a bit too fancy for my taste, he could be a bit more straight-forward, Kedhira has to step it up and the defense wasn´t really tested, but overall I like what I saw from this team.

Anyway, now that this game is behind me, I can concentrate on a far more important sports event tonight.

GO CELTICS!

[ederson]

I`d like to see another game before i get excited by germany. Today they looked realy impressive, great passing and movement , many through balls but it seemed like the Aussies did their best to help them.   Ballack`s injury did more good than harm.

In any case germany won`t be an easy opponent to anyone (like always)

[celticmaestro]

Scintillating and exhilarating performance from Die Nationalmannschaft last night; I told you guys to keep and eye out for Ozil.

I'm torn on the Italy-Paraguay game today. Paraguay could shock everyone and get a solid win, or Italy could wipe the floor with them if Marchisio is firing on all cylinders. I saw whispers of him not starting and if that's the case Lippi is on crack.

[aporel#18]

Mesut Ozil, remember the name.

TP for your knowledge, great player at only 22

[ACF]

Kom så, Danmark!

[Who]

Not sure about the Dutch without Arjen Robben.

I think Denmark will make their life difficult today.

[kw10]

I`d like to see another game before i get excited by germany. Today they looked realy impressive, great passing and movement , many through balls but it seemed like the Aussies did their best to help them.   Ballack`s injury did more good than harm.

In any case germany won`t be an easy opponent to anyone (like always)

I didn't watch the game but yea, the Aussies were a real disappointment and Germany looked brilliant.

I'm sure Germany will make a good run and make semis.

Hope Australia plays better, I had hopes they were going to make to the next round, but if they keep playing like they do, they might just be wooden spooners