Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, 13.06.2010
4-0 (2-0)
Podolski 8., Klose 26., Müller 68., Cacau 70. / –
All had not been well in the German camp in the weeks leading up to the tournament however: a catalogue of injuries had arguably weakened the squad, and despite some good results in the warm-up matches hopes were not high for what would be one of the youngest German squads ever assembled for a major international tournament.
With the talismanic skipper Michael Ballack among those having to sit out the tournament at home, Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw would turn to a number of less experienced players, and many in Germany thought this would be a gamble too far with a quarter-final exit being predicted by many pundits.
The team would kick off the tournament at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, a custom-built venue in the city of Durban on South Africa’s east coast. Their opponents would be Australia, an unheralded but hard-working and competitive side that was not to be underestimated: it would be the perfect opportunity for Löw’s young side to make their mark.
Aussie ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer is left helpless as substitute Cacau scores the Mannschaft’s fourth goal two minutes after coming on
Germany: Neuer – Lahm (c), Mertesacker, Friedrich, Badstuber – Schweinsteiger, Khedira – Müller, Özil (74. Gomez), Podolski (81. Marin) – Klose (68. Cacau)
Australia: Schwarzer – Wilkshire, Moore, Neill, Chipperfield – Valeri, Grella (46. Holman) – Emerton (74. Jedinak), Culina, Garcia (64. Rukavytsya) – Cahill
Referee: Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico)
Assistants: José Luis Camargo (Mexico), Alberto Morín (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
Fifth Official: Henrik Andrén (Sweden)
Yellow Cards: Özil, Cacau / Moore, Neill, Valeri
Red Cards: – / Cahill 56.
Attendance: 62,660