Germany vs. England at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa at 10 AM EST Sunday June 27, 2010 on ESPN
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Germany 2.65 / England 2.65 / Draw 3.20
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Germany +165 / England +165 / Draw +210
In the opening playoff match for each team Germany faces England. While it is no surprise these teams made the round of 16 it is a little bit of a surprise that they are playing each other so early. The reason they are is that the USA won Group C while England came in second. Germany won Group D, but they did not look great doing it besides crushing Australia in their first group match.
Obviously this match is a huge one, but may be bigger for the English who had a ton of pressure to perform coming into this World Cup. They have not advanced past the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 1990 and they will be lambasted back home if they lose this match.
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Both Germany and England were a little lucky in their last group matches as both Ghana and Slovenia had some great chances to score, but could not do so. Neither team can afford to make any mistakes in this HUGE match.
In their last 2 group matches both teams struggled on offense, as each only scored one goal. This will be a tight battle and one that will likely not see many goals.
In their last group match against Ghana the Germans had several chances to score, but only netted one goal. They will have to take advantage of scoring opportunities they get against a solid English defense.
Germany Recent Form:
6/23/2010 Germany 1 Ghana 0 (World Cup)
6/18/2010 Germany 0 Serbia 1 (World Cup)
6/13/2010 Germany 4 Australia 0 (World Cup)
England Recent Form:
6/23/2010 England 1 Slovenia 0 (World Cup)
6/18/2010 England 0 Algeria 0 (World Cup)
612/2010 England 1 USA 1 (World Cup)
Germany will get back Miroslav Klose after missing the last group match because of a suspension. The Germans are a little banged up with Jerome Boateng and midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Oezil nursing minor injuries. Schweinsteiger's injury may be the most serious and his loss will hurt and if he can't go Toni Kroos will replace him.
For England defender Ledley King will likely miss this match with a groin injury and Rooney has a minor ankle injury, but he will start.
Klose will be the lone striker for the Germans and will be counted on to pressure the English defense.
Rooney is one of the best strikers in the World, but he has yet to find the back of the net in South Africa. He has looked a little out of sync and that will continue in this match, as he will not score.
Both teams will be cautious in this match, especially in the first half, and each will be looking to take advantage of counter-attacking chances. Even though the odds are not great for it a 0-0 halftime score is a distinct possibility.
England has looked pretty lazy in their group matches and has not played with much pace. England head coach may play wingers Shaun Wright Phillips and Aaron Lennon to jump-start their offense.
Steven Gerrard and John Terry did play solid against Slovenia and each will have to play well in this match.
Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose have to give the Germans some offense, but neither will score in this match.
England has the team to create chances and they will have to do that in this match. They have not done so far in the World Cup, but they can't sit back and wait for chances to score they will have to create some.
Jason's Pick to Win: England has been practicing penalty kicks for the last few days, which points they will be playing for the draw, but I think not. For some reason I think England will come out as a different team they showed in group play. They will play with more pace and win this match by a score of 1-0 advancing to the quarterfinals.
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