Germany vs Australia - Preview

Group D, 18:30 GMT, June 13, 2010
Durban Stadium, Durban, South Africa

Germany player in focus: Mesut Ozil. The loss of Michael Ballack to injury means Ozil will come into the side and get the chance to make his mark on the World Cup earlier than he would have expected. The Werder Bremen midfielder was a central figure in the Germany team which won the European Under-21 Championships last year and, with just 10 international caps to his name, now gets the chance on the biggest of stages. A player with a cultured left foot, his lack of consistency could be Germany's downfall.

Australia player in focus: Tim Cahill. While it might be obvious to say that the threat of Cahill from set-pieces will be no surprise to the German defence, his ability to lose his marker time and again in the Premier League proves that even the best prepared teams struggle to deal with his threat. With a dearth of attacking options open to Pim Verbeek, he will rely on Cahill's heading prowess to help power the Socceroos through to the Second Round for the second successive finals. With 20 goals in 40 international appearances, Cahill is more prolific than any of the nation's current strikers.

Key battle: Lucas Neill v Miroslav Klose. Klose may only be behind Gerd Muller in goalscoring for Germany, but the 2009-10 season was one to forget for the Bayern Munich striker. After scoring only three goals all season, Klose was woeful in Germany's warm-up games. But coach Joachim Low has thrown his support behind Klose, a proven and dangerous tournament performance. Despite his recent woes, his bustling style will mean Lucas Neill will need to be on his toes at the heart of the Australia defence. An out-of-sorts Klose is still more troublesome than most of the strikers at the World Cup.

Trivia: Australia scored the most goals in any World Cup qualifier after beating American Samoa 31-0 in 2001.

Stats: Germany's Miroslav Klose has scored 48 goals in 96 games for Germany, but he managed just three in the league for his club this seasaon.

Odds: Germany (1.50), the draw (4.20), Australia (7.00) with Bet365. Tim Cahill to score the last goal at 13.00 is a tempting offer.

Prediction: Australia may not have strength in depth and little to offer up front, but this Ballack-less Germany side still has plenty of questions to answer. Germany should win, but it won't be as straight forward as the odds suggest.