Hey guys! Check out our preview for the second of today’s games right here!
Germany:
How they’ve done so far:
Germany 4 – 0 Portugal, Germany 2 – 2 Ghana, Germany 1 – 0 USA.
What they’ve done well so far:
Everything we expected; they’ve sauntered through a pretty difficult group creating chances in abundance. Even with only one recognised striker (two if you count Müller, who isn’t an out-and-out striker) they’ve had no trouble scoring. One thing we pointed out that might be an issue back before the tournament began was that without Gomez, Reus or any other recognised goal-scorers in the squad they might struggle to put chances away but Müller seems to have found that form that he reserves specifically for World Cups and has carried them through so far.
Where they’ve struggled so far:
They’ve been shown to lack a bit of pace at the back so far in this tournament. It didn’t trouble them too much against Portugal for a few reasons: Ronaldo wasn’t fit, the runs Ronaldo was still able to make weren’t being picked out because of the woeful final balls being played into him, and Boateng was tightly man-marking Ronaldo for most of the match. In the other two games though, they have looked a bit sluggish at times. Also, playing Müller as a false nine at times has had its problems. In the USA game for example, he kept having to drop deep to get involved in the play and this was hindering them a bit in front of goal as he wasn’t always back in position to finish off chances. These are minor problems though, we’ll see how they get on!
Key Player:
All of the players play a big role in this team. Lahm and Müller are probably of equal importance to this side right now though. Lahm for the reassurance he brings sitting in front of the defence reading and dictating the game and Müller for the pure goal-scoring output! Nine goals and four assists in nine World Cup games at the age of 24 is something pretty special; Germany will need that clinical ability at some point!
Will they progress?:
All things considered, they should do! They’ve looked pretty good on the whole so far in this tournament and they’ve already come up and against and beaten opposition of a fairly high standard in the group stages. I don’t think they’ll have it all their own way but they should win the game.
Algeria:
How they’ve done so far:
Algeria 1 – 2 Belgium, Algeria 4 – 2 South Korea, Algeria 1 – 1 Russia.
What they’ve done well so far:
Like their opponents in this fixture, they’ve had no problem creating chances and scoring goals. Like a lot of the African teams, their game is very quick and powerful and, sat in a 4-3-3, those attributes allow them to stretch a lot of teams and create the openings that the above scores prove they’ve been able to take. We said earlier in this piece that Germany’s back four have looked a bit slow at times – rest assured these guys will put that to the test.
Where they’ve struggled so far:
Scoring heavily and creating a lot of chances has been a feature of quite a lot of teams so far in this tournament; equally though there have been a lot of teams who have shipped a few goals that they probably shouldn’t have – Algeria fall into this category. Conceding five goals in a pretty weak group, weak compared to teams like Germany at least, will be a concern for Algeria and is something they’ll have to sort out if they’re to stand a chance of progressing.
Key Player:
Again, also our pick for key player in the group stages, Sofiane Feghouli is going to be absolutely crucial to Algeria. Operating in a creative role out wide for this side, he’s been involved in a lot of their good play, putting in a few key passes but equally he’s got on the score-sheet a couple of times. His and Slimani’s form will be crucial to Algeria’s prospects here.
Will they progress?:
We’ll definitely see them make a good go of it! The Germans should have too much for them in terms of squad depth, should this game be dragged out to extra-time and penalties but then again the conditions could favour the Africans. Logic tells you that the Germans are most likely to progress from this one but given the way the tournament’s gone so far, would we be surprised if they didn’t?