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Tough match as Germany takes on Argentina
The first quarterfinal is a match both teams believe they just cannot afford to lose, given the tradition of rivalry between Germany and Argentina.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:35 AM IST
Read Time: 2 min
Berlin:
The first quarterfinal is a match both teams believe they just cannot afford to lose, given the tradition of rivalry between Germany and Argentina.
The two sides were also involved in what many believe was the worst World Cup finals ever played when they last met in 1990 in Rome.
Sixteen years on two youngest and attacking teams will be looking to erase those memories when they clash again in the quarterfinals later in the day.
In their most recent encounter, the teams drew two-all in the confederations cup last year but that fixture did not feature either Michael Ballack or Mirosolav Klose.
The south Americans are considered a lot quicker than the Germans.
Argentines believe their best lies in playing along the ground in traditional style, rather than playing long balls into the box against the towering German centre-backs Mertesacker and Metzelder.
Long history
It's a rivalry with a long history, 16 clashes between the two have resulted in seven wins for the Argentina while Germany have won five with four draws.
At the world cup stage it's a slight edge for Germany, two wins as opposed to Argentina's one and two of those meetings have come in the final.
Argentina and Maradona emerged champions in 1986 while the erstwhile West Germany returned the favour in the next edition. But on Friday, all these stats will be relegated to the history books.
"All these things make us feel proud of being Argentinean. Whether we win or lose the game, we give it our all, for our families, for the people who have come here from our country," said Javier Saviola, Betis Sevilla and Argentina.
"And beating a strong rival like Germany would give us a lot of confidence for the games we have left to play," he added.
Confidence is something the German public didn't have in their team.
However, all that has changed after four wins in as many matches. Klinsmann's side has been inspired by forwards Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski who've now scored seven goals between them.
Klose is currently leading the goal scorers' tally at this world cup with four of his own. History also favours Germany, with the hosts having won six out of the previous 17 editions.
That's not likely to worry the Argentinians, who have by far looked the most impressive side in the tournament.
Whatever the outcome, if this match matches up to the two previous world cup encounters between these two soccer powerhouses, fans across the world will certainly be in for a real treat.
Topics mentioned in this article
Football
Germany
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