Germany is aiming to open its World Cup campaign with an emphatic win over Australia to prove that its young team is a legitimate title challenger in South Africa even without influential captain Michael Ballack.
The Chelsea midfielder is out after injuring his right ankle in Chelsea’s FA Cup victory over Portsmouth, but coach Joachim Loew still has a wealth of talent at his disposal for tomorrow’s match in Durban as Germany seeks its fourth World Cup title, and first for 20 years.
“We want to start with a win, to give the team another shot of confidence,” Germany captain Philipp Lahm said. “It’s a young team and the players are hungry.”
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Australia is appearing in only its third World Cup, but Loew is taking nothing for granted when the teams meet at the majestic Moses Mabhida Stadium on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
“We can go in with confidence, but we have respect for Australia,” Loew said. “It’s a well-rganized team. Not spectacular, but they work hard, they have exceptional organization, good passing, they are incredible physically and they have almost perfect defence organisation.”
Even so, Loew added, “We want to be able to embarrass opponents with our playing skills.”
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Loew’s praise for Australia sounded a lot like a description of his own team, and Australia forward Harry Kewell concedes that facing Germany on the first weekend will be an uphill battle for the Socceroos.
“Let’s face it, we’ve probably hit the hardest team in the World Cup to come up against, especially first off the bat,” Kewell said.
Australia and Germany also face tough opposition in the form of Ghana and Serbia in their other two Group D matches.
Australia’s Dutch coach Pim Verbeek has built his squad around a nucleus of stars from the 2006 World Cup - goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Kewell and his Galatasary teammate Lucas Neill and Everton midfielder Tim Cahill.
In a significant boost for Australia, Cahill looks to be fit again after recovering from a neck injury.
Kewell, one of Australia’s most experienced players, is recovering from a groin injury and may not start the match.
“The medical staff are happy the way I’m traveling. Pim is very happy with the way things are going,” he said. “I can’t make his mind up for him. He is the one that has to make a final decision on who plays and what happens, so all I can be is 100 percent ready, the same as every other player.”
Loew has reshaped Germany since it lost 1-0 to Spain in the final of the 2008 European Championship and he now leads the second youngest German World Cup squad ever. Six of his players have progressed from the team that won the European under-21 title last year.
Lahm, who took over the captaincy after Ballack was sidelined, thinks this is the best German team he’s played in.
The Germans will pay close attention to Australia danger man Cahill, who has a prolific strike rate for a midfielder of 20 goals in 40 internationals.
While the whole team had a video session to study the Australian team, the defenders also had their own session focussed solely on Cahill, who burst onto the World Cup stage in 2006 by coming on as a substitute and scoring twice in the dying minutes as Australia rallied from 1-0 down to beat Japan 3-1.
“We studied his running patterns, the way he moves in the penalty box,” assistant coach Hansi Flick said of Cahill.
Germany forward Lukas Podolski expects Australia to play a defensive game and attack on the break. He believes he could be the man to exploit any breaches in the Socceroos’ defense, despite scoring only two Bundesliga goals this season.
“I played a good tournament the last time and the last few games for Germany were good for me. I hope to pick up where I left off,” said Podolski, who was named young player of the 2006 World Cup. “I’ve been training well, I feel good.”
Cahill, meanwhile, said that at least Australia is getting its toughest test out of the way early.
“I suppose if you’re going to play some of the best teams in the world, why not play them first,” he said.