Germany vs Portugal FIFA World Cup Group G - June 16, 2014

Germany vs Portugal - Competition: FIFA World Cup, Group G
 

Germany and Portugal will go head-to-head at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, on what will be the most anticipated match of the World Cup Group G. 

At the last World Cup 2010 Germany made it to the semi-finals with a young side, this players are much more experienced now and want to win the title this time. Especially the German midfield is considered to be very strong, with Thomas Müller and Miroslav Klose they have the top scorers of the last two World Cups on board. Another plus is the high quality they have on the bench, which makes them very flexible and could become a real advantage later in the tournament. It is therefore not easy to know which formation coach Joachim Löw will play on Monday, but it looks like a 4-5-1 with Philip Lahm in midfield instead of his normal position as right-back. The 35-year-old Klose is the only striker in the squad, but probably Thomas Müller will play up front against Portugal. Left-winger Marco Reus got heavily injured in Germany’s last test match against Armenia (6:1), he will miss the World Cup. But as said above, Germany have strong substitutes, players like Podolski or Schürrle can replace him.

Also the team from Portugal is largely identical with the side that had already played at the last World Cup in South Africa. 2010 the ‘Selecção’ got knocked out by later World Champions Spain in the Round of 16, two years later they lost on penalties against the Spanish in the semi-finals of the EURO 2012. Outstanding star of the team is Cristiano Ronaldo, but with Nani, creative midfielder Moutinho or the Real Madrid defenders Fábio Coentrão and Pepe they have other high class players available. Though Portugal can act with their two strong wingers Ronaldo and Nani, they miss a real good striker. Hugo Almeira scored at least twice when the Portuguese beat Ireland 5:1 in their last test on Tuesday. In this match Ronaldo, Pepe and Raul Meireles were playing, but all three had been injured before and there are serious doubts about their fitness.

Germany last 5 matches:
19/11/13 England 0 – 1 Germany
05/03/14 Germany 1 – 0 Chile
13/05/14 Germany 0 – 0 Poland
01/06/14 Germany 2 – 2 Cameroon
06/06/14 Germany 6 – 1 Armenia

Portugal last 5 matches:
19/11/13 Sweden 2 – 3 Portugal
05/03/14 Portugal 5 – 1 Cameroon
31/05/14 Portugal 0 – 0 Greece
07/06/14 Mexico 0 – 1 Portugal
10/06/14 Republic of Ireland – Portugal

 

Match date: 16 June 2014 - Kick Off Time: 17:00 BST
Venue: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]