Vol.3(4)

Germany will play against England at the Wembley stadium in London later tonight. As a hard core supporter of die Nationalmannschaft, I would like to comment a bit about the supposed-to-be highlight friendly of the evening. To the frustation of mine as well as of the other football fans, the injury lists for both teams are too long and with the absence of stars/regulars/experienced, the game could lose its motivation and spark.

From the starting lineup, England seems to have more depth than Germany. Although the news claimed that England is lacking options at the back, they have just enough players to fill in the back four: with Terry and Rio as the center back, and the new "Wunderkind" Micah Richards and Ashley Cole covering the flanks. Germany will have their usual "steady" back four, though it would be delighted to see Jansen adding some impulse down the left flank.

The midfield is where England has the upper hand against Germany, and I think this is the deciding factor for the prediction of a final score of 1-0 in favour of England. In parallel to the German absentees that include Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Frings, and Borowski, England will be without Gerard and Hargreaves. However, it is not as equal as it looks, since Carrick will be able to fill in the role of Hargreaves, while Lampard will "reasonably" spearhead the attack, with Joe Cole ready to reinforce Lampard's duty, if he is not delivering "again", who knows? Besides, they have effective subs like Wright-Phillips and Beckham. What about Germany?! Schneider, Hitzlsperger, Odonkor? That's all?! I have watched Hilbert playing before: he is just too inexperienced.

While England has lost Rooney, Germany will be missing both Podolski and Klose. Luckily, the most effective striker in Germany's recent games is Kuranyi. However, he needs de facto a provider like Schweinsteiger or Lahm, and screener like Klose. On the other hand, Owen could prove to be a lethal sub in this game. In conclusion, this German lineup will find it very difficult to gain possession and deliver crosses into the box; while England will see their chances of scoring but fail to score plenty against the German defense and upbeat keeper.

Verdict - Eng:Ger = 1:0