If a time traveler were to travel back in time from July to May and tell me, a self-confessed football geek, that Germany would face France in the quarterfinals, I’d be licking my lips with anticipation. A great match for the neutrals, but especially awesome for a Germany supporter like myself, because Germany had a brilliant WC 2010, and a fantastic qualification performance for WC 2014. And France, well, how they performed in the qualifiers is irrelevant because of their often-derided national debacle four years ago. Germany’s FIFA ranking : 2. France’s ranking: 17. All in all, it would be a match that loyal fans of Die Mannschaft would expect to win comfortably, right?
Ah well. This World Cup has thrown many surprises our way so far, and I’m willing to bet that it’s not done doing that just yet. Who would’ve guessed that Germany’s ninth consecutive entry to the third round would be marred by disappointing performances against teams like Ghana, USA and Algeria? Loew’s team has come under heavy fire from previous captains and German legends like Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack for a “woeful display, lacking passion, flair and commitment”.
On the other hand, a resurgent French team, under WC 1998 winning captain Didier Deschamps, has proven their detractors wrong. Two three-goal margin victories and a draw in the group stage, and an impressive performance against Nigeria in the Round of 16 has seen them emerge as one of the teams to look out for.
To add to their woes, latest reports from the German camp say that “Seven of the squad players are experiencing symptoms of mild flu”, but refuse to name specific players. Hummels, who had the flu earlier this week and missed the clash with Algeria due to it, is fit and is expected to play this game. To make a guess regarding the lineup before we know which players have been hit by the flu bug, and to what degree, would be premature. But assuming the symptoms really are as minor as the German spokesperson says, this is what the lineup could end up looking like:
Podolski is fit again following his thigh strain, and I expect him to start ahead of the struggling Ozil. However, Loew has been giving Ozil too many chances, and he might end up doing so for this game as well.
As far as France are concerned, Varane spent the night in hospital due to dehydration after their game against Nigeria, but no official statement has been released yet by the team. Sakho, however, is fit again following his knee problems, and he could potentially start ahead of Varane. This is what the French team is expected to look like:
The first thing that one notices is the weakness in the left back position for Germany. Howedes isn’t a natural left back, and Mustafi’s wing-back instincts could have proved instrumental in stopping the French attack from that flank, but he’s out with a hamstring problem. Benzema, Cabaye and co. could potentially exploit this flank and make life very difficult for the Germans.
Predicting tomorrow’s outcome is beyond me, primarily because the German team hasn’t played to half the potential it demands when the individual talent it consists of is displayed on paper. Meanwhile, the French are on a rampage. It all depends on which German team shows up tomorrow – the one that pundits placed among the top two contenders of the Cup before the tournament began, or the one that has been disappointing these pundits since the Ghana game. Germany fans and neutrals, let’s hope it is the former.
