[Subliminal]

Germany Trounce Liechtenstein

Germany got off to a good start in their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, comfortably defeating Liechtenstein 6-0 in Vaduz. A brace from Lukas Podolski and goals from Simon Rolfes, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Heiko Westermann sealed defeat for the home side.

FIRST HALF:

German coach Joachim Loew opted to field a surprisingly conservative line up for the first half, with Simon Rolfes and Thomas Hitzlsperger starting in the central midfield and Piotr Trochowski and Bastian Schweinsteiger on the flanks. Two somewhat surprising omissions were Christoph Metzelder and Mario Gomez, who were replaced by Heiko Westermann and Lukas Podolski, respectively.

Not surprisingly, the first half involved mostly sloppy performances from both sides, although Germany were clearly in control of the match. Despite winning possession 55-45% during this time, Liechtenstein managed just four shots, none of which was on target. Perhaps their best chance came on ten minutes, when Benjamin Fischer’s shot from the left corner of the penalty area went just wide.

The visitors had the majority of the opportunities early, as Philipp Lahm, Trochowski and Lukas Podolski repeatedly linked on the left side, overlapping and creating plenty of space for one another. After just four minutes, Trochowski played a 1-2 with Podolski that resulted in a good save of Trochowski’s effort. Eight minutes later, Peter Jehle made another great save, this time following a low Bastian Schweinsteiger drive. The deadlock did not hold, however, as Trochowski selflessly laid the ball off to Hitzlsperger, who found Podolski open for the opener.

In spite of their relative dominance, the Germans failed to double the advantage before the break, most likely due to their playing a very different style of football. Given much space to work with, the Germans tried to pull their best South American impression with impressive back-heels and inventive passing. The result was a host of cheap turnovers and generally sloppy play from the Germans, who have historically been known for their efficiency.

SECOND HALF:

Minutes after the break, Trochowski was given room to foray to the 18-yard box, wherefrom he laid the ball off for Podolski’s second goal. Still, Germany remained sloppy and did not convert again until the 65th minute, when Schweinsteiger forced Jehle to weakly punch the ball away following a set piece. The ball fell to Rolfes, who tapped the ball in from just outside the six-yard box. Things got worse for the home side just seconds later, as Bastian Schweinsteiger drilled a low shot into the net from 12 yards out.

The home side stepped up their offensive pressure in pursuit of a consolation goal, but were unsuccessful. Close-range efforts from Thomas Beck, Benjamin Fischer and Mathias Christen rather unluckily missed the target.

Luck was with the visitors, however, as in the 76 minutes, Thomas Hitzlsperger’s free kick was deflected into the net by Liechtenstein forward Mario Frick. The icing on the cake came on 87 minutes, when Heiko Westermann headed home Marko Marin’s outswinging corner kick.

In spite of the large margin of victory, both teams have a lot to take from today’s match. Liechtenstein can be pleased with their ability to hold the visitors to just one goal in the first half, but will have to work on their defense if they are to take points in their group. Germany, on the other hand, are surely glad to have revealed Trochowski and Westermann as potentially huge contributors to their cause, although they will have to work on passing ahead of their next match.

Goals:

0-1 Lukas Podolski (21’)

0-2 Lukas Podolski (48’)

0-3 Simon Rolfes (65’)

0-4 Bastian Schweinsteiger (66’)

0-5 Thomas Hitzlsperger (76’)

0-6 Heiko Westermann (87’)

Germany: Enke - Lahm, Westermann, Tasci, Fritz - Trochowski, Hitzlsperger, Rolfes (Marin, 69'), Schweinsteiger - Podolski (Kuranyi, 76'), Klose (Gomez, 64')

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