Deutschland on the Bandarqqbrink

Germany have excelled on and off the field. While almost no one dared tip the hosts as potential champions in the run up to the tournament, Jurgen Klinsmann’s men have defied the doubters to run in four straight wins and claim a place in the last eight. Madhur matka

Now the test really begins with South American giants Argentina between the Germans and a place in the semi finals.

Should the hosts lose then people will forget their impressive form to date and return to calling them not good enough and an unworthy heir to the champions of 1954, 1974 and 1990.

What might make the difference is the national fervour the Bandarqqteam has engendered. Anyone present in Germany has witnessed the extraordinary celebrations up and down the land following each German victory.

The home crowd has effectively become worth a goal start for the National Mannschaft and rode the tide of emotion Klinsmann’s team has brought to the nation.Madhur matka

Should they win again today it is hard to see them losing at all in the competition but if the South Americans emerge triumphant, the remarkable wave of German patriotism, one of the greatest one could hope to see in a lifetime, will be a mere memory in a few days.

Long Road Ahead For Asia

Asia should be thankful for Australia – though Japan may find it difficult to find any gratitude – and the fact that the newest member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was the only one of the five representatives to progress past the knockout stage.

Suspicions in Europe and elsewhere that Japan and South Korea’s 2002 success was helped hugely by home advantage will not have been allayed by the fact that the traditional big four Asian nations, were, as the saying goes, “home before the postcards”.

More serious is the fact that even with Australia’s presence in the last sixteen, there is sure to be at least some pressure from other confederations to reduce Asia’s current World Cup allocation of 4.5 spots. Any decision to do so would be have a profound effect on the continent’s football scene and with Australia looking strong, one or more of the traditional powers will miss out in 2010.

It is natural that there will be postmortems as to why Asia’s traditional ‘big four’ didn’t make it to the second round and earlier this week, the AFC’s President, Mohamed bin Hamman, pointed the finger at the standard of the continent’s domestic leagues.

It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Asian domestic leagues have to improve and not just for the sake of future World Cups. However, nobody should forget that European nations have long and rich football traditions and it is only relatively recently that leagues such as Korea’s and Japan’s became professional – Korea was the first in 1983.