Germany supremely confident they can beat Argentina

Saturday, 12 July 2014 01:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Germany's national soccer team player Philipp Lahm (C) and his teammates run during a training session in the village of Santo Andre north of Porto Seguro 10 July, 2014 – REUTERS

SANTO ANDRE Brazi (Reuters): Germany captain Philipp Lahm and forward Thomas Mueller sounded supremely confident on Friday that their team will be able to neutralize Argentina’s Lionel Messi and win the World Cup on Sunday. Sounding at times as if they had already won the match, the two players told reporters at their team base that Germany have more talent, more experience, an extra day’s rest and more than enough confidence to beat Argentina the way they did in the 1990 final and the quarter-finals in 2006 and 2010. “We’re here to win the World Cup,” said Lahm. “We all enjoyed watching the (Argentina-Netherlands) semi-final on TV and it didn’t matter to us at all who we’d play in the final.” Lahm said Germany players not only have more experience in the latter rounds of the World Cup that will help on Sunday but also every player on the team has played in the finals of the Champions League, German Cup or cup final in England. “The experience we’ve got all the way through our team is definitely an edge for us,” he said. “A lot of our players have experience in important final matches with their clubs and it doesn’t always matter if they won or lost. I think that deep experience everyone on our team has is definitely important for a tournament like this.” Mueller and Lahm even answered questions at times about how they planned to celebrate the victory on Sunday. Mueller said that there was an abundance of confidence on the team with its “golden generation” that has made it to at least the semi-finals of the last four World Cups and the last three European championship tournaments. “I’ve been telling friends back in Germany on the phone that we’re going all out here so that you can keep having those big barbecue parties in Germany to celebrate during the best time of the year in Germany,” said Mueller, who also had no doubt about the outcome on Sunday. “I’m not expecting that we’ll be ahead 5-0 at half time again like against Brazil even though that would be nice,” Mueller said, reflecting a growing smugness and optimism back home in Germany that it’s no longer a question of “If” but only a matter of “by how many goals” they’ll win. “It could end up being a tight match like against Algeria or France. But it doesn’t matter. We know what we have to do.” Mueller said the team are looking forward to returning to Rio de Janeiro for the final after beating France there in the quarter-final 1-0 but said they’re not going to see the tourist attractions. “Unfortunately we won’t be going to Rio to take a guided tour or to get to know the magic of the city,” he said. “There’s only one reason to go there: to pick up the World Cup trophy. We know what we have to do.” Mueller, who has five World Cup goals here, said scoring again in the final would help the team beat Argentina as well as help him win a second Golden Boot for most goals scored after he won it in 2010 with five goals. “If I score that’ll help in both competitions,” he said, but added winning the World Cup was more important to him. Mueller offered his ideas on how to stop four-time World Footballer Messi. “We’ve all got to stay on his heels and try to keep disrupting him. As soon as he gets away from one of us, the next guy has to jump in and be on him and so on until we get the ball back. It’s important to defend collectively as a team against him but without losing sight of the other Argentina players.”

Neymar to cheer for Argentina in World Cup final

REUTERS: Brazil forward Neymar has done the unpredictable once again by revealing he will support Brazil’s biggest rivals Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final against Germany. Neymar said he wanted Barcelona team mates Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano to win football’s biggest prize, even if many of his compatriots will be surprised at his open support for their neighbours. “I always said I wanted Argentina to get to the final because Brazil would be there but it never worked out like that,” Neymar told reporters on Thursday. “I still want them there because my two team mates are there, Messi and Mascherano, and I hope they win.” Argentina will play Germany, who handed Brazil their heaviest ever World Cup defeat in Tuesday’s 7-1 semi-final thrashing, at the Maracana on Sunday. Brazil will play the Netherlands in the third-place playoff match on Saturday but Neymar will miss the game, as he did the semi-final, because of a back injury. Neymar singled out Messi for special praise and said the World Cup trophy would be a fitting addition to his bulging trophy cabinet. “He’s won almost everything and I think he deserves to be champion and I am cheering for him to be champion,” Neymar said. “He is my team mate and my friend.” Brazil and Argentina have long been the biggest rivals in South America. Brazil have won the World Cup five times and Argentina two.

Argentina ‘not intimidated’ by Germany, says Higuain

Jubilation: Lionel Messi celebrates Argentina's win over the Netherlands

Reuters: Argentina are not intimidated by facing Germany in the World Cup final despite seeing them tear hosts Brazil to shreds in the semis, striker Gonzalo Higuain said on Wednesday. “There’s no intimidation, not at all. There is respect. They will also be worried that Argentina is in the final,” Higuain told reporters after his side beat the Netherlands 4-2 in a penalty shootout to book a place in the final. Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 on Tuesday in one of the most shocking results in soccer history, but Higuain said Argentina had no reason to fear anyone. “We’re in the final and the other stuff doesn’t matter. Everyone who plays struggles and fights to the death.” Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time in their semi-final on Wednesday.

Scoring kings Klose, Mueller eye more German goals

REUTERS: Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller will bring a grand total of 26 World Cup goals to the final on Sunday, a staggering tally for two of the most prolific strikers in the tournament’s history. Klose is the World Cup’s all-time record goal scorer with 16 in four tournaments, while Mueller has 10 in two editions. But the German duo’s fearsome reputation on the field masks a good-natured and soft-spoken demeanour off it. Both are consummate team players who altruistically express due appreciation to the fine assists they get from a superb pack of midfielders. They might be famous around the world for their World Cup heroics but in Germany they’re just two ordinary guys on Joachim Loew’s team desperate for a first World Cup title since 1990. “The only thing that matters to me is that the team is successful and we’ll finally be able to lift the damn thing on Sunday,” Klose told reporters on Thursday. “I’m just savouring every moment that I’m on the pitch,” added the 36-year-old, who has started Germany’s last two games after playing a reserve role before that. “I’m soaking up all the emotions. Those are my special moments.” Klose moved past former Brazil striker Ronaldo on the World Cup’s all-time scorer’s list with his 16th goal on Tuesday in the 7-1 demolition of the hosts. Ronaldo, who scored his 15th and last in the 2002 final against Klose’s Germany, watched on in Belo Horizonte as his record mark was surpassed. A humble man standing 1.82 meters tall, Klose plays for Lazio after spells at Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich. He was born in Poland and moved to West Germany as an eight-year-old in 1986. Klose is Germany’s all-time scoring leader with 71 goals for Germany in 136 appearances and he has no plans to stop no matter what happens on Sunday. “Unfortunately,” he said with a smile. “I feel like I can still keep going on. I feel like I can drag my corpse around for quite some time. I’ll probably make a spontaneous decision at some point (to retire) but I’m not there yet.” Klose won the Golden Boot for most goals at the 2006 World Cup with five. He said he hopes Mueller will win the award for a second time after getting it in 2010 with his five goals. Mueller, who is one shy of Colombian James Rodriguez’s mark of six in the top scorer charts in Brazil, is slightly taller than Klose at 1.86 meters and a renowned light-hearted prankster. Even though he is only 24, Mueller already has 22 goals in 55 caps for Germany and his 10 World Cup goals leave him well set to one day catch Klose’s mark.