Germany v Spain

Germany and Spain battle for a place in the World Cup final when they lock horns at Durban Stadium today and whilst Spain were antepost favourites to lift the trophy, few expected Germany to reach this stage of the competition.

Germany have arguably been the most impressive side uin the tournament, heading into the semi-final tie having scored eight goals in their past two matches to trounce England and Argentina, but Spain will represent a much sterner test.

The Spanish were a little unconvincing as they reached the last four by seeing off Portugal before stuttering their way past a resilient Paraguay outfit, but they still look the team to beat.

This is a repeat of the Euro 2008 final that saw Spain claim a 1-0 victory thanks to Fernando Torres. A repeat of that scoreline would not be a major surprise.

For all that Germany have scored four goals in each of their last two games, they will not get the same opportunities to counter attack against Spain as they did against both England and Argentina.

Spain are quite happy to play slow, possession based football that could frustrate Germany. At 6/4 generally, Spain look a good bet to win in 90 minutes and claim their place in the final alongside Holland.

Published 07-07-2010

< return to the home page