Brazil vs Germany - World Cup 2014 Semi Final - Stats and Facts

• Brazil have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 2002, a year that they went on to lift the trophy.
• The Seleção have lost none of their last six semi-final matches, winning five and drawing the other.
• As such, Brazil have advanced through to the final in each of their last six appearances in the final four; needing penalties just once (versus Netherlands in 1998).
• Germany are the first country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in four consecutive tournaments.
• However, they have reached the final just once (2002) in their previous three appearances at this stage.
• This will be only the second meeting between these two nations at the World Cup.
• The first clash came in the 2002 final when Brazil won 2-0; with Ronaldo scoring both goals.
• Since that 2002 final the two teams have met three times in all competitions, including in the 2005 Confederations Cup. They have won one match each with the other ending in a draw.
• Their last meeting came in August 2011. Goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze helped Germany to a 3-2 win. Neymar and Robinho netted for Brazil.
• Brazil have scored in each of their last 10 clashes with Germany, averaging 2.2 goals per game.
• Neymar has scored four goals and assisted another in the 2014 World Cup; but will miss the rest of the tournament through injury.
• The Barcelona forward has played a hand in 50% of Brazil’s 10 goals so far in the tournament.
• Brazil’s captain Thiago Silva will miss the semi-final through suspension. Brazil have lost none of their last 10 matches that he has featured in (W8 D2).
• Silva’s replacement in the Brazil team is likely to be Bayern Munich defender Dante. The defender has played 151 times in the German Bundesliga for FC Bayern and Borussia Monchengladbach.
• Dante is one of four players (two of which are goalkeepers) in the Brazil squad yet to play a minute at the 2014 World Cup.
• No side have kept more clean sheets in the 2014 World Cup than Germany (3), while Brazil have only kept one in their five matches.
• Brazil have won just one of their last four World Cup matches against UEFA opposition. That victory came in the Group Stages of this tournament against Croatia (D1 L2).
• Germany’s only defeat in their last nine matches against South American opposition at the World Cup came in the 2002 final versus Brazil. They have won six and drawn two of the other eight.
• Germany’s last six goals in the competition have been netted by six different players.
• Only Thomas Muller (4) has scored more goals for Germany in this competition than centre-back Mats Hummels (2).
• Both teams had to rely on goals from centre-halves to win their quarter-final match (Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Mats Hummels).
• Against Colombia, Brazil conceded 31 fouls; more than the Seleção have conceded in any single World Cup game from 1966 onwards.
• Miroslav Klose needs one goal to be the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. He is currently joint-top with Ronaldo (15 goals).
• The Lazio forward is the only player from either squad that was part of the 2002 final. 

Germany leaps over Argentina, while Spain crashes out

Brazil remains the favorites of Punters even after their surprising draw against Mexico.
But after their impressive display against Ronaldo's Portugal, Germany leaps over Messi inspired Argentina to be the 2nd favorites.

Hosts Brazil vs Hottest Argentina - Arch Rivals tops Odds

Top Bookies rate Hosts Brazil as the hot favorites to win #WorldCup2014 as the greatest sporting event starts today.
Lionel Messi's Argentina closely follows the Seleção and Defending Champions Spain are third on the list.

Brazil faces Croatia in the first match tonight.

Hosts Brazil - Hot Favorites - FIFA World Cup 2014

Hosts Brazil are the hot favorites to win the World Cup which starts in 20 days.

Their arch rivals and another Latin American power house Argentina is in the close 2nd place and Germany is the 3rd favorites.

Defending champions Spain are in 4th place according to leading Betting syndicates.

This is the latest combined odds of favorites to win the coveted FIFA World Cup 2014.

Golden Ball for Forlan and Mueller takes Young player Award

Following Spain's 2010 World Cup final triumph over the Netherlands, Uruguay striker Diego Forlan picked up the Golden Ball award while young Germany forward Thomas Mueller took the Best Young Player accolade as well as the Golden Boot.

Atletico Madrid striker Forlan proved to be one of the star performers in South Africa, beating off competition from the likes of Wesley Sneijder and Spain hitman David Villa to be crowned the tournament's best player - as voted for by the media.

Forlan was, however, pipped to the post when it came to the Golden Boot, with Thomas Mueller's five goals and three assists for Germany edging him ahead of Silver Boot winner Villa and Holland playmaker Sneijder who picked up the bronze award.

Mueller also claimed the Best Young Player gong for his impressive performances in South Africa, beating both Ghana's Andre Ayew and Mexico's Giovanni Dos Santos to claim the prize.


Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who made a string of impressive saves in Spain's final triumph over the Netherlands, claimed the Golden Glove while Vicente del Bosque's side were also recognised with the Fair Play Award.

Ten World Cup Teams Influenced By One Club

1950 Italy - The Tragedy Of Il Grande Torino

The most poignant and tragic inclusion on the list is that of the 1950 Italy team. The Azzurri performed well below their World Cup pedigree in Brazil, being eliminated at the first group stage, but circumstances beyond their control dictated that the side was to be weakened. Il Grande Torino had won four Serie A titles on the trot in the years preceding 1949 and were in the clear to do so again, and also provided as many as 10 national squad members. However, Torino perished in May 1949 in the Superga Air Disaster on their return home from a match in Portugal. As a result it was a depleted Nazionale that travelled to Brazil. 

1954 Hungary - Military Service

Hungary's Golden Squad of 1954 was based almost exclusively around Honved, a small club from the village of Kispest, now a suburb of the capital. The coach, Gusztav Sebes, was allegedly able to persuade the authorities that players should be allowed to play there instead of performing active military service. It proved to be the breeding ground for Sebes' idea to have a deep-lying forward - a tactical innovation that was a key contributor in their demolishing of the English. Goalkeeper Grosics, Jozsef Boszik, Sandor Kocsis, Ferenc Puskas and Zoltan Czibor all played at Honved. The Magic Magyars were ousted in the final against West Germany. 

1966 England - West Ham 4-2 West Germany

Any old school Hammers fan will tell you that West Ham, and not just England, won the 1966 World Cup. The east London side provided the captain and the goalscorers in the final against West Germany. Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and the hat-trick hero, Geoff Hurst, were all graduates of the world renowned Academy of Football between 1958 and 1959. They were key components in Sir Alf Ramsey's team, even though the latter duo were very much newcomers to the international scene, with less than 10 caps between them heading into the finals. 

1974 West Germany - Bayern Munich; The Joy Of Six

Bayern provided the backbone for West Germany's 1974 success with no fewer than six players from the club appearing in the final. Sepp Meier, Paul Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Mueller and Uli Hoeness all started for the Germans in their home city as they beat off the Dutch challenge. It was a golden era for that set of players, who won the European Cup and Bundesliga earlier that same season. Having six players from a single club in a final is still a World Cup record.


1982 Italy - ItaloJuve I

There is a saying in Italy that "a successful Juventus team makes a successful Italy team" and that was certainly true in 1982. The Bianconeri had just won yet another Scudetto to continue their dominance under Giovanni Trapattoni and provided six of the first choice starting XI of Italy's World Cup winners in Spain. Dino Zoff captained the Azzurri, hardman Claudio Gentile famously man marked Zico and Diego Maradona, libero Gaetano Scirea oozed class, midfielder Marco Tardelli performed the most famous World Cup celebration by scoring the second goal in the final, left back Antonio Cabrini had the looks, the brilliance to erase his penalty miss at 0-0 in the final, and of course striker Paolo Rossi was the ultimate hero after finishing the Mundial as top scorer with six goals in his final three games including an unforgettable hat-trick against Brazil and the opener in the final win over West Germany.

1986 Soviet Union - The Appliance Of Science Fails Lobanovsky

Valeri Lobanovsky was in charge of both USSR and Dynamo Kyiv at the time of the Mexico tournament and brought along no fewer than 12 of his club charges. The tactician received a lot of criticism for choosing his favourites from club level and as it transpired, the Soviet Union fared pretty poorly. Lobanovsky was renowned for his complex, methodical approach and stated that the non-Dynamo members of the squad were unable to produce his desired results. Igor Belanov's competiton was notable in that he scored a hat-trick in the second round defeat to Belgium and still ended up on the losing side. His club? Yes, you guessed it. 

1990 West Germany v Netherlands - The Milan Derby

One of the most fascinating club v club, country v country clashes in World Cup history occurred in San Siro in 1990. West Germany met Holland in the second round with a fascinating subplot. Inter's Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthaeus and Juergen Klinsmann lined up for the Germans against Milan's Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit. Goals from Brehme and Klinsmann helped decide a bad tempered tie between two of international football's greatest rivals. Rijkaard and Rudi Voeller saw red for fighting after only 20 minutes, with Rijkaard disgracing himself by aiming two wads of spit on his opponent's perm. 

2002 Germany - The Curse Of Neverkusen

The Werkself may not have supplied many German representatives in the squad as a whole but members of the Bayer side played a vital role for the Nationalmannschaft in the far east. With a former Leverkusen striker as coach, Voeller, the Germans lined up with Carsten Ramelow, Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider and Oliver Neuville in key positions. That quartet, along with their club-mates had just come off a hugely bittersweet season after losing out on the Bundesliga title, the DFB Pokal and the Champions League at the final hurdle. There was more anguish in store as the Nationalelf lost in the final to Brazil.

2006 Italy - ItaloJuve II

The lead-up to the 2006 World Cup provided Italian football with some of its blackest days. Calciopoli engulfed the peninsula with Juventus among those clubs hardest hit with punishments. The Old Lady was sent down to Serie B for her part in the scandal but the Turin club still played a huge role in helping the Azzurri claim the world title. Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Mauro Camoranesi and Alessandro Del Piero all appeared in the final against France and another Juventino, David Trezeguet, missed the vital penalty kick for Les Bleus.

2010 Spain - Barcelona's Tiki-Tactics

This edition of the Spain squad sees a large chunk of the current Barcelona side transplanted into the red of the national team. Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Pedro Rodriguez and David Villa have all played an integral part in getting la Furia Roja to the final. Indeed, a non-Barcelona player has yet to score for Spain in these championships. This is all the more remarkable considering that Spain do not play with a Barca blueprint; Vicente Del Bosque has his own way of doing things with the players at his disposal. That is a testament to the adaptability of the Blaugrana representatives in his panel.

Germany goes home winning 4th 3rd place

18:30 GMT, July 10, 2010
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa





Uruguay
2 - 3
Germany

Germany secured third place in the World Cup courtesy of an entertaining 3-2 win over Uruguay in Port Elizabeth. A Sami Khedira header settled a game that saw both Thomas Muller and Diego Forlan move onto five goals for the tournament.


Muller currently leads the race after his fifth goal of the tournament - the same as Diego Forlan, David Villa and Wesley Sneijder but with more assists. Villa and Sneijder play in Sunday's final but Muller, the outstanding young player of the tournament, set the target in only his eighth appearance for Germany.

Muller opened the scoring in a rain-soaked Port Elizabeth before Edinson Cavani equalised for Uruguay, then Diego Forlan volleyed the South Americans in front before a goalkeeping error allowed Marcell Jansen to equalise.

A thrilling game - the most open contest of the World Cup - was finally decided when Sami Khedira headed home to give Germany their second third-place finish in consecutive tournaments.

Germany's hopes had looked dented when Miroslav Klose - who could have broken Ronaldo's all-time scoring record of 15 World Cup goals - was ruled out by a back injury. Muller was back from suspension however, as was Luis Suarez, the man whose controversial handball prevented Ghana from reaching the semi-finals.

It was Germany who seized control of the match in the opening exchanges with Cacau having a goal ruled out and Arne Friedrich thumping a header against the crossbar.

Germany made their dominance tell in the 19th minute when Bastian Schweinsteiger let fly from 30 yards and Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera misjudged the shot, allowing Muller to tuck home the loose ball with a minimum of fuss.

That should have been the cue for Joachim Low's side to impose their game on the South Americans but instead Schweinsteiger, their skipper and inspiration all tournament, allowed himself to be caught in possession by Diego Perez and suddenly it was the Germans being hit on the break.

Suarez's perfectly-timed pass put Cavani through on the left and he finished expertly low into the far corner to put Uruguay on level terms in the 28th minute.

Suarez, the striker who has been so deadly for Ajax, spurned an excellent chance to seize the lead when he fired wide late in the first half. The same player was denied again in the second by a reaction block from Hans-Jorg Butt, seconds after he had thwarted Cavani, but Germany's keeper could do nothing when Forlan's first-time shot from the edge of the box.

Egidio Arevalo muscled his way down the right and Forlan met his cross on the volley, the ball bouncing down into the ground and whistling into the net with Butt helpless.

But just when Uruguay looked on top another goalkeeping blunder allowed Germany back into the game. Muslera came for Jerome Boateng's cross but missed it completely, allowing Jansen to head into an empty net.

Butt kept Forlan at bay while at the other end substitute Stefan Kiessling twice came close to restoring Germany's lead.

With eight minutes left Mesut Ozil's corner caused chaos in the Uruguay area and Khedira looped a header into the corner to make it 3-2.

Kiessling scooped over from a great position before, with the very last kick of the game, Forlan blasted a free-kick against the frame of the goal.

Scoring Summary

Uruguay	Germany
Edinson Cavani (28')	Thomas Müller (19')
Diego Forlán (51')	Marcell Jansen (56')
	Sami Khedira (82')

Match Stats

Uruguay

Germany

16(7)	Shots (on Goal)	18(7)
13	Fouls	11
6	Corner Kicks	12
2	Offsides	3
47%	Time of Possession	53%
1	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
4	Saves	4

Match Information

Stadium:	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Attendance:
Match Time:	18:30 GMT
Official(s):	Benito Archundia Tellez

MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match: Sami Khedira - The holding midfielder scored the winning goal but it was an all-round performance of real energy and verve that sees him given this honour ahead of Diego Forlan. Khedira was his usual bustling presence alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger but also contributed to Germany's attacking thrusts and his headed goal was just reward for a tournament in which his reputation has grown immeasurably.

Uruguay verdict: Oscar Tabarez's side demonstrated the spirit and determination that took them to the semi-finals when responding to Thomas Muller's opener, but, like their campaign in South Africa, they just fell short. Forlan was masterful in attack, rounding off a tremendous tournament for the Atletico Madrid striker, but goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was culpable for two Germany goals.

Germany verdict: Third place is the least that Germany deserve after lighting up the tournament with the quality of their play. With Thomas Muller back on the right side of the attack following his suspension against Spain, Joachim Low's side once again hit their stride and played a full part in an entertaining contest. They undoubtedly missed Miroslav Klose as well as flu-hit captain Philipp Lahm though, with Cacau disappointing and Dennis Aogo lucky not to be dismissed for a horrible challenge on Diego Perez.

Could do better: Cacau - Miroslav Klose's injury gifted the Brazilian-born striker the chance to make his mark on the World Cup, but Cacau failed miserably to do so. Isolated, listless and wayward in his shooting, this was a performance in total contrast to the general excellence of Klose. His night came to a premature end when replaced by Stefan Kiessling, who immediately looked a much more dangerous presence in the Germany attack.

Stat attack: The last seven third-place play-offs matches have been won by European teams.