Two arch-rivals of world football, Germany and England, are going to take on each other today (19 November 2008, Wednesday) at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin in a much-awaiting friendly match. Both sides will go into the match on the back of some inspirational results they achieved in their recent world cup qualifying matches. Whenever England and Germany face each other, it becomes a big match, considering their traditional football rivalry dating back to 1966 world cup where England claimed their first and only world cup title till date, defeating Germany in the final. Germany avenged that defeat by knocking out England at the semi final of 1990 world cup. This healthy rivalry still continues. So, though is just a friendly match, there will be no less excitement among the football fans and players.
Match: Germany vs England, Friendly 2008
Date: 19 November 2008, Wednesday
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Kick off: 19:45 BST (British Standard Time)
Live TV and Radio: ITV 1, BBC Radio Five Live
England has been in an excellent form of recent as they won 4 out of their all 4 world cup qualifying matches so far. They are leading the Group 6 of world cup qualifying with 12 points from 4 outings. In their recent fixture, England defeated Belarus 3-1 on the road with Wayne Rooney striking twice and Steven Gerrard scoring once. Before that, England demolished Kazakhstan 5-1 at home.
However, England perhaps achieved the most inspiring result in September when they pulled off a 4-1 away victory over Croatia, who defeated England in Euro 2008 qualifying round, leading England to narrowly missing out on the qualification to Euro 2008. Theo Walcott was the star against Croatia as they Arsenal winger scored a hat-trick. Germany, similarly, has also been in an excellent form in world cup qualifying campaign with leading the Group 4 with 10 points from 4 matches. Germany defeated Wales 1-0 at home in their recent world cup qualifying fixture. Before that, Germany staved off the challenge of Russia, picking up a 2-1 victory at home.
So, both sides are now confident enough to face each other. However, both sides have some injury woes. In fact, both England and Germany will not get the service of their regular captains. English captain John Terry has recently pulled himself out of today’s friendly match, while German captain is now recovering from a foot surgery and has been out of action for a number of weeks now.
Steven Gerrard has also pulled himself out of the friendly match citing his adductor complaint. There are seven first team English players who pulled out of the match and thus making coach Fabio Capello angry. Capello has recently warned these players saying that their place in England team for the world cup 2010 squad is now at stake. In fact, the England coach is now left with only 4 first team players.
Goal.com reported:
Steven Gerrard's adductor complaint was questioned and the influential midfielder was ordered to report to Soho Square to undergo medical checks by England's own physios. It turned out he was injured, but Capello issued a warning that any absentees are jeopardising their World Cup places, should the lions tally up enough points in qualifying to ensure they make the South Africa trip.
Germany Squad
Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen); Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen).
Defence: Marvin Compper (Hoffenheim); Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin); Andreas Hinkel (Celtic); Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen); Marcel Schaefer (VfL Wolfsburg); Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart); Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04).
Midfield: Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart); Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04); Marko Marin (Borussia Moenchengladbach); Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich); Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg SV); Tobias Weis (Hoffenheim).
Attack: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart); Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen); Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich); Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich).
England Squad
Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth); Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion); Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers).
Defence: Glen Johnson (Portsmouth); Micah Richards (Manchester City); Matthew Upson (West Ham United); John Terry (Chelsea); Michael Mancienne (Chelsea); Curtis Davies (Aston Villa); Joleon Lescott (Everton); Wayne Bridge (Chelsea).
Midfield: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City); Theo Walcott (Arsenal); Gareth Barry (Aston Villa); Michael Carrick (Manchester United); Scott Parker (West Ham United); Jimmy Bullard (Fulham); Ashley Young (Aston Villa);
Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough).
Attack: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa); Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth); Peter Crouch (Portsmouth); Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur).
Online Live Score and Updates
A match between England and Germany is always something special to the football fans. No matter, if it is a friendly or a match of knockout stage in a tournament. So, many fans are eagerly waiting for the kick off of the match in Berlin. ITV 1 television channel will telecast the match live and BBC Radio 5 Live air the live commentary of the match from Berlin. Well, I wish you would be able to manage your time to enjoy the live action of the match on television. However, if you can manage your time to stick to your TV set, then you can visit the following website for the live score and updates of the match:
Live Score
Footiescorez
Goal.com
Goalzz
ESPN Soccernet
Goonersguide
Sportpress
I will not pick up any side as favorite for the match, but I predict a hard-fought clash between England and Germany. So do many football fans too. Though the match will not feature a number of star players like Michael Ballack, John Terry, I think, it would not affect the excitement of the match.
No comments:
Post a Comment