Germany kicked off their World Cup campaign with the best display of the tournament so far as they smashed four past hapless Australia.
Joachim Low’s men looked assured in the Group D clash and unlike German sides of the past showed plenty of attacking flair. Goals from strikers Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Muller and Cacau condemned the 10-man Socceroos to a 4-0 thrashing and saw Germany slashed from 14/1 to 9/1 to win the tournament outright. World cup last 16 betting virtually guarantees them progression from their group too.
The German performance has certainly made the rest of the world take notice and they look primed for a good tournament even without injured skipper Michael Ballack.
Low is also without several other big names through injury but the XI he fielded on Sunday night looked like a solid unit and their attacking play was fluid. Both starting strikers Klose and Podolski have had poor seasons in the Bundesliga but both came alive in Durban and supplied by star man Mesut Ozil they both had plenty of chances.
Werder Bremen midfielder Ozil ran the show and he will be a key man for Low for the remainder of the tournament. The former Germany Under-21 ace has a terrific range of passing and is able to beat players at close quarters and Australia simply were not able to keep track of his movement.
He certainly is the fulcrum for Germany and one player they must definitely keep fit if they are to have designs on this year’s trophy. However, they do face a tough draw if they, as expected, win Group D with the runners-up in Group C – which could be England – lying in wait.
Germany and England would much rather avoid each other in the round of 16, but Germany are still in line to face Argentina in World cup quarter-finals betting and that’s probably the reason why Low’s men are still a generous price.
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