With the help of a controversial call, Germany bounced England from the 2010 World Cup after a 4-1 drubbing in a Round of 16 match at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa on Sunday. The Germans will now face the winner of the Mexico vs. Argentina in a July 3 quarterfinal.
While it represented the worst loss ever for England in a World Cup, Germany maintained their streak of advancing to the quarterfinals of every World Cup since 1954.
In the first half Germany’s Miroslav Klose matched the legendary Pele for fourth place all-time with his 12th career World Cup goal and Lukas Podolski netted his team’s second. Although England would pull one back through a Matthew Upson header, a double by Germany’s Thomas Müller put the game out of reach in the second half.
However, the match result will forever be mired in controversy after England scored a first-half equalizer which the officiating crew did not validate. Frank Lampard lofted a shot which struck the underside of the crossbar in the 38th minute and replays showed the ball crossed the goal line by a foot. It would have represented a 2-2 equalizer.
The play was reminiscent of the goal by England’s Geoff Hurst against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. That goal counted as England went on to win their only World Cup.
Joachim Loew’s men exhibited much of the same attacking soccer that left an impression during the group stage. Klose gave them a 20th minute lead when a long Manuel Neuer goal kick drifted over the heads of England’s central defenders. It bounced perfectly for Klose, who held off Upson before lunging to beat onrushing goalkeeper David James.
The Germans’ crisp passing game allowed them to weave through the English back line at will and another strong build-up led them to a second in the 32nd minute. Klose turned provider and put Müller through and into the box. Müller lifted a cross to Podolski, who followed the play on the left and rifled home a left-footed drive from a tight angle inside the far right post for his fifth career World Cup goal.
Facing a 2-0 deficit and with Germany dominating the proceedings, the English reacted and finally pulled one back in the 37th minute through an Upson header. The German goalkeeper was an accomplice on the goal as he went flailing after mistiming a Steven Gerrard cross from the right.
England thought they had equalized one minute later on the controversial play of the game when Lampard struck the underside of the crossbar. The English midfielder once again struck the crossbar seven minutes after the break on a free kick. That effort bounced away from goal.
The second half was an end-to-end affair but the Germans, who have the second youngest team in the 2010 World Cup, proved deadly on the counter.
After an England free kick on the German end in the 67th minute, Müller started a counter which he would later finish. His blast was deflected by James but still made its way inside the right post.
Three minutes later it was Mesut Ozil’s turn to guide the counter, running onto a long ball down the left flank. He beat Gareth Barry in a foot race before entering the box and serving Müller, who easily deposited the ball into the back of the net to round out the 4-1 final score line.
Scoring Summary:
GER – Klose 20’
GER – Podolski 32’
ENG – Upson 37’
GER – Muller 67’
GER – Muller 70’
Lineups (right to left):
Germany (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neueur – Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Arne Friedrich, Jerome Boateng – Bastian Schweinsteiger (83’ Kiessling), Sami Khedira – Thomas Müller (72’ Piotr Trochowski), Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski – Miroslav Klose (72’ Mario Gomez)
England (4-4-2): David James – Glen Johnson (87’ Wright-Phillips), John Terry, Matthew Upson, Ashley Cole – James Milner (64’ Joe Cole), Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard – Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe (72’ Emile Heskey)
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)
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