Germany put on masterclass to obliterate Argentina 4-0
Published:Germany dismissed Argentina 4-0 to swagger their way into the last four of the World Cup for the 11th time in the last 15 tournaments.
It was the biggest ever margin of victory in a match between the sides and the display was so emphatic that Joachim Low’s side are now considered favourites to lift the trophy, at 7/4.
Miroslav Klose bagged a brace to go joint top of the scorers chart with four goals, as well as move to one strike behind Brazil’s Ronaldo on the overall goal-getters table, with 14 World Cup goals. He is now 9/4 second-favourite to win the Golden Shoe – he would be the first person to claim it more than once.
Thomas Muller opened the scoring after just two minutes with a glancing header from an excellent Bastian Schweinsteiger free-kick. It was the 20-year-old’s fourth goal at the World Cup, putting him joint top of the race for the Golden Shoe alongside Klose.
The Bayern Munich forward was later booked, though, and will miss the semi-final, demonstrating his rather lengthy 10/1 price tag.
Schweinsteiger’s contribution to the goal set the marker for a dominant performance from the player and he was at the centre of nearly everything for the Germans.
After Klose had added a second from a Lukas Podolski pass with 20 minutes to go, Schweinsteiger dribbled past four Argentine players to lay it on a plate for Arne Friedrich, who tapped in his first goal for Germany.
The run was something we might have expected to see from Lionel Messi, but he was largely anonymous for Argentina, brilliantly shackled by a tactically astute German defence. Like Wayne Rooney and Kaka before him, the world’s best player goes home without scoring a goal.
As Diego Maradona’s team pushed for some kind of consolation, Germany counter-attacked – as they had done against England – and Mesut Ozil chipped a superb ball through to Klose who volleyed in a deserved fourth. He’s 3/1 to be Europe’s top scorer at this tournament.
It was the third time Germany have notched four goals in a match at this tournament and takes their total to 13 overall.
The match perhaps puts England’s exit into context, but what’s clear is that Germany will exploit any defensive weaknesses ruthlessly. Spain or Paraguay are up next and both should beware Low’s young guns.
How far can this breath-taking Germany side go? It’s 3/1 for Klose to finish top scorer and for Germany to win the World Cup. See the full Tournament betting market.
