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Germany and France clash in Friday's quarterfinals
By: Brian Graham - StatFox
Published: 7/4/2014  at  5:04:00 AM
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2014 WORLD CUP SOCCER

FRANCE


vs. GERMANY


Kickoff: Monday, 12:00 p.m. EDT
Estadio Do Maracana – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Line:
Germany +130, France +210, Tie after Regulation +230
Over/Under: 2.5 Goals (Over +125, Under -153)

Two of the traditional European soccer powerhouses collide in Friday's quarterfinal match when Germany takes on France.

Germany started off its World Cup with 4-0 victory against Portugal, but have been a bit shaky since that opener. After a 2-2 draw with heavy underdog Ghana, they barely topped the United States by a 1-0 score, and failed to score in regulation during a 2-1 win over Algeria in the Round of 16. France took a while to score against Nigeria in the knockout round, but tallied goals in the 79th minute and 92nd minute to outlast their opponent and pitch their third shutout in four World Cup matches. Les Blues other results were an easy 3-0 win over Honduras, a 5-2 pummeling of Switzerland and a 0-0 draw versus Ecuador. The Germans are the favorite on Friday, and should have the services of defender Mats Hummels, who missed the Round of 16 with an illness. These countries have met six times over the past 18 years with France prevailing in four of those contests.

France star forward Karim Benzema has three of his team's 10 goals so far in the World Cup, but it was mercurial 21-year-old midfielder Paul Pogba who played the hero in the Round of 16 with a goal in the 79th minute. Germany will have major trouble dealing with Pogba's strength on Friday, and their midfielders are smaller finesse players. But they are also much more experienced. Les Blues has been fortunate with tallies coming off two own goals, and no France player other than Benzema has more than one goal in this World Cup, as forwards Olivier Giroud and Moussa Sissoko, and midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Mathieu Valbuena have one goal apiece. Other stars for Les Blues in this tournament include midfielders Yohan Cabay and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who has surrendered only two goals total in the four matches combined, both coming against Switzerland after his club staked him to a 5-0 lead. Possession hasn't been a huge key for France in this tournament, as they held the ball for only 43% versus Switzerland and 49% versus Nigeria, but they still won those games by a combined 7-2 score. For the tournament, Les Blues has attempted 77 shots, with 48 of those (62%) winding up on goal. After France committed 29 fouls with four yellow cards during their first two matches, they were whistled for only 18 fouls with one yellow card (Matuidi) over the most recent two contests.

Thomas Muller has four of the nine Germany goals in this tournament, giving him nine goals in nine career World Cup matches. His play will go a long way in determining whether his country reaches the semifinal round for the fourth consecutive World Cup. Andre Schurrle, Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels, Mario Gotze and Miroslav Klose have the other tallies for the Germans, with Klose's tally marking his 15th career World Cup goal, which ties Ronaldo for the all-time record. Although Germany hasn't played up to its capabilities since its opening match, they have held possession advantages in all three of their matches, with 59% versus Portugal, 54% facing Ghana and a whopping 63% possession time versus both USA and Algeria. For the tournament, they hold a 24-15 edge in corner kicks on their opponents. But after Germany was outshot by a hefty 34-24 margin (19-15 in shots on goal) in the first two matches in the World Cup, they have fired 42 total shots (31 on goal, 74%) in the past two contests combined. The players tasked with feeding the goal-scoring stars are midfielders Toni Kroos and Lukas Podolski, who has 47 goals in his 116 caps. Germany has allowed only three goals over four matches in this tournament thanks to the stellar play of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, but there have been some defensive breakdowns that simply cannot happen versus a team as skilled as France.


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