Another fearless display of power and and ruthless precision was more than enough to see Germany continue their startling progress. Maradona’s Argentina were simply swept aside by a German side who successfully jailed the talents of Messi and Tevez, whilst somehow finding the industry and flair to relentlessly threaten the South American’s goal. Joachim Löw’s outfit will now meet Spain in the last four who in contrast, stumbled past a determined Paraguay courtesy of a late David Villa goal. While the Spanish continue to struggle to unlock their true potential in this tournament, Germany and their sprinkling of starlets continue to surpass all expectations…
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira again provided the formidable platform in central midfield. Schweinsteiger, surely the most complete midfieder on show in the Finals, produced two assists on the day to fetch his biggest fantasy haul so far. A timely reminder of his talents as we take stock of our midfield options ahead of the last four. Mesut Özil, previously identified as the darling in the hole behind the strikers was overshadowed here then but still did enough to keep his stock on the rise for the semi-finals with the assist for the fourth goal. Both Özil and Schweinsteiger will surely see considerable investment over the next few days.
There’s plenty of talent elsewhere in this German side. The irrepressible Miroslav Klose recorded his fourth goal of the tournament with a brace providing a handy differential for the round – just as Andy suggested in his recent article. He is joined on four goals by the precocious talents of Thomas Muller who glanced in Germany’s opening strike from Schweinsteiger’s free-kick.
In a cruel twist, Muller’s owners will be denied his availability for the semi-final after the Bayern man picked up a needless booking for handball. Perhaps Lukas Podolski, who has been frighteningly consistent in his scoring throughout the Finals, will benefit from some additional Fantasy suitors as a result. He currently ranks third in the McFIFA “Transferred In” tables for the round – behind Arjen Robben and Klose.
Defensively Philipp Lahm again picked up bonus at both ends. With six attacking bonus points in the tournament, the savvy money will be directed in Lahm’s direction when it comes to defensive investment. Arne Friedrich’s goal will earn him plenty of attention but without bonus point potential, you have to question the wisdom of a move for the centre-back, or indeed any central defender in the last four.
Can we expect clean sheets with all to play for in the semi-finals? Perhaps from Holland against a Uruguay side without Luis Suarez but Germany will clearly face a task to keep a blazing David Villa at bay. Given Germany’s current form and the protection provided by the energy and efficiency of the central midfield barrier, a semi-final shut-out against an out-of-sorts Spain is not out of the question. I still see the majority of defensive cash going the way of the Dutch though, with Lahm and Spain’s Sergio Ramos looking essential with their attacking bonus potential. Both, not surprisingly, currently top the “Transferred In” rankings.
Ramos remains a key figure down the right flank in a Spanish side who are still struggling to click into the form that established them as tournament favourites. Once again they turned to David Villa’s goal sniffing skills to provide the passport for progression against Paraguay. Villa’s fifth strike of the tournament put him on target for the Golden Boot and confirmed him as the most coveted striker in our Fantasy Games.
Andres Iniesta provided artful support, buzzing around behind Villa but his spark aside, Spain struggled to impose themselves against Paraguay. So much so that coach Vicente del Bosque was forced to introduce Cesc Fabregas as an extra body in midfield, sacrificing the ineffectual Fernando Torres. His star continues to fade as the tournament goes on and it remains to be seen if the Liverpool striker can maintain his starting role against the Germans.
On paper Wednesday’s semi-final looks a classic but, like Germany, Spain will likely go into the game with two anchoring midfielders in Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso. Del Bosque may even flood things further with the inclusion of Fabregas, a potential Fantasy differential, as the link to Villa up front. A tight encounter with Barcelona’s new asset again the decisive factor looks to be the favoured prediction but we’ve underestimated this audacious German side throughout; it’s surely dangerous to do so again.