Brazil 2014: Germany Halts France’s Unbeaten Run to Qualify for Semi-finals
By Opeyemi Oladunjoye
Germany has become the first nation to reach four consecutive World Cup semi-finals after Mats Hummels’ early header proved enough to see the team past France at the Maracana.
The three-time champions needed extra time to beat Algeria in the last 16 and suffered a bout of illness in midweek, but they were comfortable victors over a disappointing France in Rio de Janeiro.
Hummels got the better of Raphael Varane to score the winning goal – his second at this World Cup – and Germany will now prepare for a meeting with Brazil or Colombia in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.
Although Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer gave another faultless performance, Joachim Low’s men deserved their win against the French side who failed to match the the standards they had shown earlier in the tournament.
Germany, though with doubts over their health, played with greater experience and again showed their international pedigree. Hummels returned to central defence after a bout of “flu-like symptoms”, with Per Mertesacker on the bench. Philipp Lahm moved from midfield to right-back in place of Shkodran Mustafi, Sami Khedira was back in midfield, and there was a surprise start for 36-year-old Miroslav Klose in attack.
Les Blues were struggled to find rhythm as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Khedira and Kroos excellently ruled the midfield, but they soon began to expose Germany’s dangerously high defensive line.
France had only five shots on target, but could not find a way past Neuer. Their best chance came from Karim Benzema towards the end of the second half with his first shot on target.
Germany have now kept a clean sheet in three of their last four World Cup quarter-finals as Hummels’ header took Germany’s tally of headed goals to 15 since the 2002 World Cup, seven more than any other side in that period.