2014 World Cup Quarterfinals
France vs Germany
Estadio Jornalista Mário Filho (Maracanã) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Friday, July 4, 2014, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2, Univision
Money Line: Germany +150 / France +215 / Draw +205
Point Line: Germany -0.5 +150 / France +0.5 -175
Total: under 2.5 -142 / over 2.5 +122
Odds to advance to semifinals: Germany -145 / France +125
All odds courtesy of Bookmaker
All eight group winners won their round of 16 and advanced to the quarters in the 2014 World Cup. The quarters get underway Friday with a pair of matches featuring confederation rivals. France and Germany meet in Rio de Janeiro with the winner facing either Brazil or Colombia in the semifinals next week.
France leads the series against Germany 11-8-6. Germany is 2-1 in the World Cup losing in 1958, but winning in 1982 and 1986. Germany won the last meeting in a friendly in February of last year in Paris 2-1. These teams have played 25 times in history and Germany has scored 42 goals while France has scored 41.
France is making their 15th appearance in the World Cup. They won it in 1998 in their home country, and were the runner ups to Italy in 2006 in Germany. France was drawn into Group E along with Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras. France opened with convincing wins over Honduras 3-0 and Switzerland 5-2 to clinch a spot in the knockout round. They only needed a point against Ecuador last Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro to secure first place in the group, and they played to a scoreless draw. France rested a lot of starters as they had pretty much wrapped up the group title.
France returns to the quarterfinals after being eliminated in the Group Stage in 2010. France played Nigeria in the round of 16 Monday in Brasilia. The game was scoreless until Paul Pogba scored a header to give France a 1-0 lead at 79 minutes. Nigeria would score an own goal in stoppage time to make the final 2-0. France became the first team to ever benefit from two own goals in the same World Cup as Honduras also scored an own goal.
Against Nigeria, France had 15 shots including 9 on goal. Nigeria had 8 and 6. Nigeria had 15 fouls to 12 from France. Possession was almost even with Nigeria holding a slim 51%-49% edge. France had 12 corners to 9 for Nigeria. France had 3 offisides to 2 for Nigeria.
Germany is making their 18th trip to the World Cup, and they have won it three times the last in 1990. They have also been the runner-up four times. Germany was placed in the Group G with Portugal, Ghana and the United States, widely considered the so called group of death. Germany opened with a 4-0 smashing of Portugal and then played Ghana to a 2-2 draw. Germany would clinch first place in the group with a 1-0 win against the United States.
Germany advanced to quarterfinals for the ninth straight time with a 2-1 win in extra time over Algeria Monday in Porto Alegre. Germany seeks to become the first ever team to advance to the semifinals of four straight World Cups with a win over France. Germany finished fourth in 2002, and third in both 2006 and 2010.
Germany and Algeria were scoreless after 90 minutes and went into extra time. Andre Schurrle gave Germany a 1-0 lead two minutes into extra time. Mesut Ozil added another goal at 120 minutes to make it 2-0 Germany. Algeria’s Abdelmoumene Djabou scored a cosmetic goal in stoppage time to make the final 2-1.
Germany had 29 shots including 22 on goal. Algeria had 11 and 7. Algeria had 20 fouls to 11 for Germany. Germany dominated time of possession 63%-37% Germany had 10 corners to 4 for Algeria. Each team had 4 offsides.
France is coached by Didier Deschamps who captained the team that won the 1998 World Cup. France will use a 4-3-3 formation. Forward Karim Benzema has 3 goals and 2 assists so far for France. All three goals came against Honduras. Olivier Giroud has a goal and an assist. Still Antoine Griezmann could start in place of Giroud. Forward Mathieu Valbuena also has a goal and an assist. Defender Mamadou Sakho looks to return to the line-up after missing the Nigeria game with a thigh injury. Keeper Hugo Lloris has allowed 2 goals in four games.
France is outscoring teams 10-2 in the World Cup so far. France has 8 open play goals and 2 set piece goals. All 8 France goals have come inside the box. France has attempted a staggering 77 shots with 48 on target. They have completed 34 of 114 crosses and been flagged for offsides 7 times. France has 12 blocks and 8 saves. They have won 20 of 57 tackles. France has completed 1,807 passes.
Germany is coached by Joachim Low. Germany will use a 4-3-3 formation. Forward Thomas Muller has 4 goals and one assist in the World Cup. Only Colombia’s James Rodriguez has more goals with 5. Muller won the Golden Boot Award at the 2010 World Cup given to the top goal scorer. Forward Mario Gotze came off the bench against the US but is expected to start against Algeria. Midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm are also quality scorers. Miroslav Klose will come off the bench, and needs one more goal to become the career leader in World Cup goals with 16. He is tied with Brazil’s Ronaldo right now with 15. Defender Shkodran Mustafi is doubtful after coming out of the Algeria game with an injury. Keeper Manuel Neuer allowed 2 goals against Ghana and the late goal against Algeria, but kept clean sheets against Portugal and the US.
Germany is outscoring teams 9-3 in the World Cup. They have 7 open play and 2 set piece goals. Germany has 65 shots including 45 on target. They have completed 26 of 97 crosses and have been called offsides 14 times. Germany has 11 blocks and 13 saves. The Germans have won 23 of 70 tackles. Germany has completed 2,560 passes.
After a 4-0 win over Portugal, Germany has struggled against Ghana, the USA and Algeria. France has been a lot more impressive, but Germany certainly has the depth to impress. These teams are very evenly matched and I think it goes to penalties after a 1-1 score.
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