Another classic England vs Germany match looms

When it comes to football in general and the World Cup in particular, a match between England and Germany is generally considered as big as they come. Well, the big game is scheduled to take place at Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein on June 27 as Germany won Group D with two wins and a loss and England took second spot in Group C with a win and two draws.

Germany certainly looked the better of the two sides in the group stage with wins over Australia and Ghana. They even looked strong in their 1-0 loss to Serbia, playing with 10 men. England played relatively well against the USA and other than a goaltending mistake by Robert Green weren’t really tested. However, they took a step backwards in a truly dreadful 0-0 draw with Algeria. But as the English do, which is basically only play well when they have to, they picked up the pace a bit in their 1-0 win over Slovenia to make it to the knockout stage.

Germany has a few minor injuries as defender Jerome Boateng (calf strain) and midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger (hamstring) and Mesut Oezil (ankle) were all aching after Germany’s 1-0 win over Ghana. But you can bet if they can walk they will all be playing against England. Schweinsteiger’s injury looks to be the most serious and if he can’t play then Toni Kroos might replace him. The Germans will also have striker Miroslav Klose back in the lineup after he was red carded against Serbia.

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England will likely be missing central defender Ledley King with a groin injury, but his replacement Jamie Carragher is back after sitting out the game against Slovenia due to two yellow cards. It’ll be interesting to see if manager Fabio Capello goes back to the slow-footed Carragher or sticks with his replacement, Matthew Upson. Wayne Rooney has a minor ankle injury and was substituted in the last game, while midfielders Aaron Lennon and Michael Carrick reportedly also have minor ankle problems.

Germany has been playing with pace and conviction while England have basically just looked plain lazy. The English midfield appears to be congested most of the time and fans are wondering if Capello will employ wingers, such as Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon, or perhaps use James Milner and Joe Cole in the midfield.

Team captain Steven Gerrard and former captain John Terry showed a lot of heart and effort against Slovenia and Capello will be hoping their habits spread throughout the squad. England can’t afford to sit back and wait for chances against Germany, they have to go out and create them. It’s plain and simple. They need to play with the speed and energy of a Saturday afternoon Premier League game, not at a slow and methodical pace.

Germany doesn’t really have to alter their game much at all as they’ve been quite effective, especially midfielder Mesut Oezil, who looks better with each outing. The strike force of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose will be hard for the English defenders to handle and Cacau is a fine third striker if needed.

England has the edge in experience, but that’s about all at this stage. However, they always seem to play to the level of the opposition and this match should bring the best out of them. The two teams have played some classic games in the past, with England beating West Germany 4-2 in extra time at home in 1966 for their one and only World Cup triumph. They also had memorable encounters in 1970 and 1990, with Germany coming out on top, the last time on penalty kicks. In all, they’ve played each other 27 times in the past with England winning 12, losing 10 and drawing five.

England v Germany Odds and Predictions

This game has all the makings of another classic only if the English play up to their potential and show the heart and effort that has made past England teams so admirable. If they do, England has the talent to pull out a 2-1 win. An England win gives you 2.65 (+165, 33/20) at Sportsbook.com

This game is very hard to predict and it shows in the betting odds as William Hill has a German victory listed at 9/5 and an England win at 7/4. The odds of the game being tied after 90 minutes are 41/20.

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