Germany 0 Spain 1
Puyol 73
Xavi was magnificent, Puyol scored the goal, and Spain started with seven Barcelona players, if you include the newly-acquired David Villa.
They dropped Fernando Torres to play Pedro, the speedy young winger from Tenerife.
It’s a very, very big call to give a 22-year old his first start in the national team when the game is the first World Cup semi-final in Spain\’s history.
If the kid played for another club and had the same fine season, he would not have been picked last night. But since Pedro is an academy product, and has played all season with Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol and Pique, you could start him in the biggest game the Spanish national team has ever played.
It’s been a coach-dominated World Cup and this was a coach-dominated semi-final.
The Germans played the solidly-based counter-attacking style that Joachim Low has evolved, and Spain trusted the Pep Guardiola possession game.
As it turned out, the European champions were far superior to any of the teams the Germans had played. Spain had 13 shots compared to Germany\’s five. Their level of craft, resilience and sophistication was something that Germany just could not handle.
The Germans had very few promising moments in attack, mainly because they missed the pace and skills of Thomas Muller. When we were told before kick-off that Muller had contributed to seven of Germany\’s 13 goals, scoring four and providing assists on three, I decided not to bet on Germany.
I thought Pedro was a risky selection, even though I\’ve become a big Pedro fan this season
In general, Spain dominated possession and their tactical nous made the pitch too small for the Germans, who struggled to dig the ball out from under their feet and find the passes to start their moves. Still, they scrapped well and that’s why it took Spain 73 minutes to score the only goal.
When Xavi aimed a dipping left wing corner towards the penalty spot, the unmarked Puyol threw himself in front of Pique to connect with a colossal header which no goalkeeper in history could have saved.
A thunderous header, a sledgehammer header, a winning header, a heavyweight warrior\’s knock-out punch.
Puyol has missed the best chance of the first half with a miscued diving header that went over the bar.
The team that plays about 600 passes in every match had scored by heading in a corner from ten yards.
Spain laboured at times but did not tire noticeably, except for Iniesta, who faded in the last half hour and kept losing the ball.
In 81 minutes, Xavi, in the left half position, released Pedro into acres of space on the right and Pedro had only centreback Friedrich between him and the goal. Pedro should have passed square for the unmarked Torres to make it 2-0.
Torres had just come on and might have muffed it, might have fluffed it, might have scuffed it.
But it was adolescent stupidity by the lad. Replays showed he was clipped by Friedrich but he stayed on his feet and then lost the ball to a covering defender. An exciting novice made a grandstand play, went for glory, and messed it up. That stupidity could have cost Spain the game.
Del Bosque yanked Pedro off three minutes later to teach him a lesson.
It’s OK to do what he did at the Nou Camp when you\’re 4-0 up, but not when you\’re 1-0 up in a World Cup semi-final. Pedro needs to learn that lesson : always, always play for the team.
Sub Tony Kroos, who came on for Muller\’s deputy Trochowski, had their best chance in 69 when Ozil gave Podolski a chance to cross accurately. Kroos should have smashed his volley but sidefooted almost straight at Casillas, who saved comfortably.
As I say, Germany missed Thomas Muller, who had provided half his team\’s goals. I don\’t care if you\’re Inter Milan or Manchester United or Shakhtar bloody Donetsk, if you lose the guy who supplies half your goals, you will not be as effective. Without Muller, Ozil found no space on the break, Klose got no service, and Germany were comprehensively outplayed.
Should Pedro start the final?
Yes. Pace is a big weapon. David Villa is a very lively sharpshooter who does not have breakaway pace. He’s mustard over 10 or 20 yards.
VERDICT ON LAST NIGHT ?
Barcelona can win the World Cup without Messi.
But Holland are unbeaten in 25 matches and managed by a bloke called Bert, who has given his players two days off before they prepare for Sunday\’s big game.
Holland v Barcelona is a World Cup final I didn\’t expect to see
Joachim Low said, “We lost the ball too quickly, particularly in the first half, and didn’t have the 100 per cent confidence to complete an action or a run. I don’t quite know why that happened. It’s extremely difficult to win the ball back from them. That’s what makes them so strong.”
GERMANY (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Lahm, Mertesacker, Friedrich, Boateng (Jansen, 52); Schweinsteiger, Khedira (Gomez, 80); Trochowski (Kroos, 62), Ozil, Podolski; Klose.
SPAIN (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Ramos, Piqué, Puyol, Capdevila; Busquets, Alonso (Marchena, 90); Iniesta, Xavi, Pedro (Silva, 85); Villa (Torres, 81).
Referee : Viktor Kassai (Hungary).