Deutschland to the final

Lahm delivers Deutschland a spot in the Vienna final with his 90th minute strike

It was a dramatic semi final match but a good chunk of its broadcast was marred by power failures. As a result, fans around the world lost the sight of 2 goals during live broadcast but fortunately managed to catch the last goal.

Loew kept the same team which won against Portugal but I really question the way he places his players. Klose plays as a solo striker upfront, Podolski on the left and Hitzlsperger at the center. The results of such a screwed up positioning was apparent during the first half. It looked like a repeat of the Croatian match. Passing was bad, slow to close down, defence all over the place and attack was just toothless. Bear in mind that Turkey was severely crippled with suspensions and injury problems that they are contemplating to even field their 2nd Goalkeeper as an outfield player. Instead of rampaging through Turkey's B team, the Germans are having trouble (again) dealing with fast and pacy Turkish peeps that seem to slip past the defensive lines all the time. Phillip Lahm in particular was having a hell of a time trying to contain Kazim-Richards.

First of all, Podolski on the left again! Seriously, when will Loew learn? Klose can't play as a single striker really as he's no van Nisterooy. He may be good with the head but he needs support. He doesn't have the physical strength or the ball skill to push off defenders on ground play. Hitzlsperger and Rolfes were just redundant in the middle. They made absolutely no impact at all and I thought that Hitzlsperger would be better utilised on the left so as to allow Podolski to move upfront to partner Klose. As I've said before, the weak link of the Germans is the goalkeeper. Lehmann has not been getting the regular games at Arsenal and his rustiness is showing very clearly. The first goal by Turkey was a big boo boo from him. The shot went through his legs as he fumbled with a ball that was directed right at him. Next, a seemingly routine basic goalkeeping catch during a free kick turned into some panicky punch by Lehmann.

Fortunately for Deutschland, they equalised within seven minutes when a break allowed Podolski to race down the left to pass the ball to Schweinsteiger. It was another masterful finish from Schweini as he flicked the ball into the net without even looking at it. The first half was a very nervous affair for the Germans. Rolfes got cut while jumping and he was replaced by the half-injured Frings in the second half. The midfield improved a little with the introduction of Frings. Even so, there's a level of frustration because the Germans don't seem to put in some urgency to score another goal. At the 72nd minute, Klose put the Germans on the lead when he beat Ruustu and a Turkish defender in the air from a Lahm's cross to nod the ball into an empty net. Bad call by the Turkish goalie since he should have just stand there where he could have saved the header. Perhaps he thought that he could catch the cross easily with his hands. It was thought that Klose's goal would be the winner but the Turkish don't say die and looked as if they are riding on their luck again when they equalise it to 2-2 from one Deutschland's defences lapses. However, at the 90th minute, Lahm played a long distance one two with one of his teammates and then coolly rams the winner's ball into the net. Turkey had a taste of their own medicine as what they had done to Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia. The Germans were through to the final with a 3-2 win and Turkey's fairy tale run ends at the semis.

Despite Deutschland's win, I have to say it is a bad performance on the pitch. A huge part of the reason for the victory was due to Turkey's poor finishing in front of goal and some unlucky crossbar deflection. Deutschland on the other hand had less chances but they make their chances count. Deutschland's control of the game was generally poor. If David Villa and Torres had been the strikers instead, the Germans would have been pounded and Lehmann would look very silly indeed. Up till now, Deutschland still has no confirmed and consistent starting eleven and Loew's positioning tactics always places players at their unnatural areas. Whether it is Russia or Spain in the final, they are going to have lots of problems containing these attacking teams if they don't get their positioning right. On a positive note, being a Deutschland Mannschaft fan, I'm definitely delighted that they have reached the final :)