The Boys "mannschaft" in Brazil

We have already had one European clash of the titans (or 2 if you include England V Italy) when Holland arguably provided the result of the tournament so far against Spain. Today, (16/6 16.00 GMT) we have Ronaldo and 10 others against the NationalMannschaft, aka Germany.

Both of these games could be considered North verses South clashes. It was related to me by a colleague, that this group could be considered the proverbial group of death of which there is one in every tournament   (the other 2 teams are Ghana and the USA). This is a shame for Germany because they have been trying to shake off that association for the last 70 years.

Portugal unlike Spain, have still never fulfilled the potential, that the talent at their disposal has suggested is present. The temperament of the side has always been suspect, and it can not be denied that this current side rely heavily on the mercurial skills of Christian Ronaldo, Many people believe, stop him and you stop Portugal.

In the play-off game between Sweden and Portugal, to qualify for Brazil, the Swedes were found wanting. In the clip below we can see the hat-trick by Ronaldo, but the real star is the Portuguese commentary, you don't have to understand it to enjoy it. worth watching to the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB1CCbmwhlk



The Germans on the other hand are efficiency personified with  touches of flair thrown in. The basis of  this side has risen up together via the U19 and U21 sides and is maturing nicely, whether they are ready to take the whole tournament is another question though. This is a mouth watering clash, let's hope it lives up to the billing and doesn't disappoint.

prediction Germany to Win

The 2nd game (16/6 22.00 GMT) features Ghana and the US of A. These 2 teams met in S Africa in 2010 and were seperated by the following goal scored in extra time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkVmIJM2ISc

The Ghanians went on to the edge of being the 1st African team to reach a world cup semi-final until this incident, at first disgraceful and then heartbreaking, where the hero of the previious clip went to being a zero in this clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcQkwxEGRYc

An American friend of mine told me, the problem the USA had agianst Ghana is that usually the Americans relied on their superior physical abilities to keep them in games against opposition who were more technically gifted. This advantage is not apparent against the Ghanians who are as big and fit as the Yanks. One other thing the Yanks have a German manager, that is always worth something.

Prediction Ghana to win