Scouting Germany

England have just managed to squeeze through to the last sixteen, but the news that they will be facing Germany, especially after their history as two football teams playing together, will not be welcomed as such good news.

Germany have looked impressive in two of their games so far but as evidence that England could most definitely get one over on their sausage loving enemies, one only needs to look as far as their 1-0 loss to Serbia. Whilst Serbia are considered to be a formidable side, they did not manage to get out of their group and undoubtedly benefited from a soft red card for Miroslav Klose. A more sobering thought is the memory of Germany's 4-0 win over Australia and 1-0 win over Ghana both of which were convincing and demonstrated that Germany are very dangerous.

Their coaching team, the two most senior of which seem to insist upon wearing 'trendy' matching outfits, is not as prestigious as in the past. No national heroes like Klinsmann or Beckenbauer this time, instead the job is held by the previously little known Joachim Loew. He had a very modest career as a player but seems to have forged himself an impressive career as a manager. Working his way up through German and Austrian teams, he earned himself a job as assistant manager of the national side in 2004. After Klinsmann grabbed the third place spot in 2004, Loew became the manager and in the 2008 European Championships, he was able to guide his team to the final. So far he has been able to craft this, the youngest German side since 1934, into a formidable outfit. So who are their key players?

For me the most dangerous man, and most probable to be a future star, is Mesut Oezil. The attacking midfielder has looked very impressive so far and if he continues to be a similar force throughout the latter stages of the tournament and against bigger opposition, I wouldn't be surprised if some premiership teams had a look at bringing him to England. Other names, probably more familiar to many fans, are Miroslav Klose and Lucas Podolski. Klose will be back from suspension against England and, despite his age, will need to be closely watched by the likes of Terry and Carragher. Podolski, who is yet to really take off in this tournament, will be dangerous especially if he plays on the left and faces Glenn Johnson whose pace is somewhat less than Podolski's. The ever present and ever threatening Bastian Schweinsteiger will undoubtedly cause problems and whether or not he starts, Sami Khedira's pace could also cause England's defence difficulties.

Personally, I can't see England being able to cope with Podolski if he is on form and the pace of the German team in general. For that reason the defence will probably have to play quite deep which of course has repercussions elsewhere on the field. Barry will have to play slightly deeper as well but if he can use his playmaking skills to their fullest then this won't necessarily be a bad place for him to play. Arguably the most important thing for England to do is keep the ball and play patiently across the back. It would be a bad move for them to, as Beckenbauer has said, to revert back to 'kick and rush' football. Play it slowly and patiently and one or two goals may be enough. Let's hope that Cole can keep up his reasonably good form up to date and let's hope even more that Rooney is able to find his form for his contribution will be key if England are to have any chance of winning this World Cup.