Bayern team-mates Martin Demichelis and the Germany contingent of Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Müller, Mario Gomez, Holger Badstuber and Jörg Butt will cross swords in the World Cup quarter-finals after their respective countries powered into the last eight on Sunday night.
The Germans maintained their psychological edge over England in major tournaments since 1966 with a fully merited 4-1 victory at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. The 40,510 crowd saw Klose open the scoring on 20 minutes with his 50th senior international goal, before ex-FCB striker Lukas Podolski doubled the advantage 12 minutes later.
Man of the match Müller laid on that strike, later sealing Germany’s commanding victory with two superbly-worked goals on the break in a three-minute burst midway through the second half. Matthew Upson had pulled one back for England in the Three Lions’ best spell following Podolski’s strike, and there was controversy too when the Uruguayan match officials failed to spot Frank Lampard’s dipping shot clearly bounce down over the line after hitting the crossbar.
Clash on Saturday
Schweinsteiger, a fitness doubt until the morning of the match, again played a pivotal role in front of the German back four. “Our tactics were good today, and everyone did his job. Our marking was excellent too. We won a lot of possession in midfield and we created decent chances. We’re obviously confident about the next match now,“ the 25-year-old said.
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