Germany a team on the rise, with room for improvement

Over the weekend, I managed to take in Germany’s final preparation game, against Bosnia-Herzegovina, ahead of our Group D opener in Durban on Monday morning. The obvious conclusion to draw from the 3-1 come from behind victory is that Die Mannschaft are primed – a team on the rise, with very few weaknesses and plenty of room for improvement.

Not only did the Germans reinforce the famous stereotype about mental strength by reversing a deficit, but, as in the World Cup four years ago, they indicated that they will play an attractive brand, with playmaker Mesut Ozil influential. But more on him later.

I’ll start between the sticks, and while Manuel Neuer was caught off his line for the Bosnian goal, he was otherwise untroubled as the Bosnians were forced back onto their 18 yard box by Germany’s control.

In front of him, it looks like Joachim Loew will go for the experienced pair of Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich in the centre of defence, after Heiko Westermann succumbed to injury.

It looks a formidable pairing, but there were a couple of early moments where Mertesacker was dragged a little forward, into midfield, and there was some space in behind. Edin Dzeko profited from one such moment, getting beyond him for the opener.

Someone like Tim Cahill, driving beyond the Germany backline, from the second line of attack, might be able to profit, but the delivery from behind will need to be spot on.

Otherwise, the central defenders looked assured enough, and improved as the match went on.

So dominant were the Germans in possession that Friedrich was often able to step up, into midfield, and add an extra number on the ball.

The fullbacks were Philipp Lahm on the right and Holger Badstuber on the left. While Lahm was partly to blame for Dzeko’s goal, he was otherwise his usual composed self. Nothing seems to faze him, a temperament which has undoubtedly led to him getting the captains armband in the absence of injured Michael Ballack.

Truth be told, Germany have captains everywhere. Per Mertesacker or Bastian Schweinsteiger could do the job just as comfortably, while Sami Khedira appears a skipper for the future.

Where Germany struggled in the early going was out wide, in behind the fullbacks, during defensive transition, especially out on the left. Twice Bosnia managed to get in behind Badstuber, who was somewhere up the pitch. Both times Germany recovered, but not before a couple of dicey moments.

The key message here, for the Socceroos, was that you must counter quickly, and with absolute precision in passing.

It remains unclear if Badstuber will get a start against the Roos. After a nervy start, he improved, but the temptation might be for Lahm to revert to left back, and for Jerome Boateng, half-brother of Ghana’s Kevin-Prince (he of the Ballack FA Cup tackle), to play on the right.

Germany are obsessed with controlling the ball and the game, and getting forward, and might occasionally be hurt the other way, but opportunities must be taken.

Passing from the midfield, out to the flanks, must be crisp and accurate, with Australia’s wide men high, available and ready to pounce.

Admittedly though, Germany got to grips with this soon enough, keeping the ball, remaining patient, and then working the Bosnians over, time and time again, until they cracked.

They are a study in how to control a game and stick to a game-plan.

While others may have been tempted to go long, Loew’s men kept chipping away.

For this they can thank the new central midfield pairing of Schweinsteiger and Khedira, who bossed the match with their physical and composed work. Nothing seemed to faze them.

On the evidence of this match and the one prior, against Hungary, Khedira is up for the job vacated by Ballack.

Playing slightly advanced of Schweinsteiger, Khedira not only won the ball, but knew how to use it, whether a short ball to his partner, a long diagonal switch out the Lucas Podolski on the left, or a forward ball into the feet of the astute Mesut Ozil.

An imposing presence, Khedira pressured high up the pitch, and wasn’t happy to simply start the play. On a number of occasions he got into the box, on the end of things, and was unlucky not the hit the back of the net.

Schweinsteiger, meanwhile, was happy to sit off, play the anchor role, and keep the team moving. Again, some of his delivery was perfectly weighted. It is some right foot, and his decision making was first-class.

He didn’t over-play. He just played.

Schweinsteiger and Khedira’s battle with Vince Grella, Jason Culina and Tim Cahill will be intense, and Socceroos trio must remain disciplined. The Germans won’t be pulling out of anything, and it appears unlikely they will lose their cool.

It will be a physical and mental test, and the Socceroos can’t afford to switch off for a second.

In order to ensure they had enough numbers in central midfield, you would often see right midfielder Piotr Trochowski drifting infield. He is a sharp player and likes to drift across the midfield, linking as he goes.

What this did is allow Lahm to press on, or Ozil to drift out to the right, where he likes to forage.

There he likes to duck inside, onto his left foot, and either whip in an inswinger or dribble infield.

Other times he would drop off the forward line, into central midfield, where he would meet the ball, spin and hone in on goal. What was so impressive about Ozil was that he can play both in front of a defence, where he can unleash a ferocious shot or link, or get in behind with a neat one-two and some explosive acceleration.

It was fascinating seeing him play as a second striker. He might have the number eight jersey, but he is a number 10, in so many ways. To my view he looms as the Socceroos’ main threat.

How Lucas Neill and Craig Moore deal with him, if they can get close enough, is likely to be the key.

The miracle is he didn’t find the back of the net here, or against Hungary, but it appears a matter of time.

On the evidence of these two games, he could live up to the hype and emerge as one of the players of the tournament.

The only issue is who Loew decides to partner him with. Miroslav Klose had the nod from the start in both these preparation games, but was largely anonymous against Bosnia-Herzegovina, so much so he was replaced by livewire Cacau at the break.

Whereas Klose likes to stay high and play off the last defender, looking for tap-ins, Cacau likes to drop off and contribute to the build up. He prefers to face goal and is happy to shoot from distance, or link with team-mates.

He did it to devastating effect against Bosnia and is now said to be right in the mix for a start on Monday. Pim Verbeek’s men can’t rest if he doesn’t.

It is a measure of the quality at Loew’s disposal that he could bring Cacau, Thomas Muller, Marko Marin and Toni Kroos off the bench here.

Muller, while he plays as second striker for Bayern Munich, was used as right midfielder here, and while Trochowski likes to duck infield, Muller stayed wide, and proved a handy outlet. He might also be considered for a start.

Marin, meanwhile, came on for the impressive Podolski, and made an immediate impact, winning a penalty. Marin is another German youngster blessed with quality technique. He likes to get the ball down, dribble, play one-twos, and get into the box.

If Luke Wilkshire has his hands full with Podolski, he will get no rest with Marin.

It is one thing to have options off the bench, but the beauty for Germany is that they were able to contribute. Cacau and Muller combined with Ozil for the second penalty as the Bosnians succumbed to wave after wave of attack.

That’s the thing about the three time world champions. They are not only blessed with supreme technique, and this appears to be a special generation, but they have the strength, both physically and mentally, to deal with most scenarios.

What’s worse, they are a team on the rise, with room for improvement.