It is a very wet afternoon on Brazil’s north-eastern coast, with the city of Recife being hit by a massive rainstorm that has brought widespread flooding to the area. Reports and images coming in before the match have shown flooded
It happens nearly every time we watch a major international tournament. The first four group games are over, the final two remain, and we all run away back to the classroom and a subject many of us hated – numbers,
We’re well into the group stage of the World Cup now, and already we have had a number of shocks. Holders Spain and former champions England are both already out, and Costa Rica have beaten Italy, a feat no German
It’s a hot afternoon in Fortaleza on Brazil’s north-eastern coast, with temperatures hovering around thirty degrees Celsius at around sixty percent humidity – perfect energy-sapping conditions. Having come through his final pre-match training session centre-back Mats Hummels has managed to
Franz Beckenbauer. Lothar Matthäus. Jürgen Klinsmann. Jürgen Kohler. Thomas Häßler. Miroslav Klose. Lukas Podolski. Philipp Lahm. Bastian Schweinsteiger. A mix of legends and, potentially, legends-in-waiting. Nine names to have graced the Nationalmannschaft. But can you guess who comes next in
Time now for video blog number three, having given myself a few days to sober up and calm down after the fantastic 4-0 thrashing of Portugal to get the the Nationalmannschaft’s World Cup off to a cracking start. A Thomas
In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, the mood in Germany and among supporters of the Nationalmannschaft would be laced with the usual dose of pre-tournament pessimism. In recent campaigns there would be always be at least one
So finally, the show begins with the opening match against Portugal. It’s a bright afternoon in Salvador, the port city in north-east of Brazil and capital of the Bahia region. It is the second game to be played at the
Finally, after all the pre-tournament hype, we have seen some football. The opening game would see the hosts Brazil record a 3-1 win over Croatia, but the score would not really reflect what had happened over the ninety minutes. Two
Yes, it’s getting a little boring now. While some seeded teams would get away with some really easy groups – I’m looking at you, Argentina and Belgium – Germany would again end up with a stinker. In short, yet another
Time for the second video blog, and what should have been just a simple review of the final warmup game against Armenia in Mainz. Instead, the news of the Mannschaft’s (in the end) emphatic 6-1 win and Miroslav Klose’s goalscoring
The somewhat disappointing 2-2 draw with Cameroon in Mönchengladbach would put plenty of pressure on the team and coach Joachim Löw to deliver in their final match before the World Cup, and after a rather testing first half they wouldn’t