Second Round: Germany vs England

This is an epic clash of the titans between one side that thinks it is a great football nation and another that actually is. Germany have made 13 major finals, England just the one against Germany in 1966 which they won. Germany made it through Group D as winners despite losing to Serbia in a shock result. In typical German fashion however, they managed to eventually break down a stubborn Ghana side with a beautiful strike by Mesut Ozil. They will welcome back Miroslav Klose from suspension and he is likely to renew his prolific partnership with Lukas Podolski.

Despite Fabio Capello’s assertions, England were as poor against Slovenia as they were in their opening two matches and can count themselves lucky that they were playing a poor side. Even then they were hanging on at the death. By refusing to play Joe Cole and free up Steven Gerrard to play behind Wayne Rooney, England are depriving themselves of a genuinely creative axis and are likely to stick to their usual gameplan which will result in yet another sterile game.

England may be a little more free now that they scraped through the group phase, but don’t expect the shackles to be released. After two years in charge, Capello is not going to change his plans and Germany will know exactly what to expect. The Germans will be hopeful that Bastian Schweinsteiger recovers from his knock in time to face their old foes. You can get $2.90 on a German win with England somehow deemed favourites at $2.70. Yet given their rivalry, familiarity and the high stakes, this is likely to be a tight affair with the draw available at $3.20. Given the fact that Germany have a much stronger mental approach, the rigours of extra time will suit them better and they are $12 to be victors after 120 minutes and the same price on penalties as Capello’s refusal to let his side off the leash comes back to haunt them.