Mueller magic

Mueller magic

GROUP G

GERMANY 4

(Thomas Mueller 12-pen, 45+1, 78, Mats Hummels 32)

PORTUGAL 0

Portugal were supposed to be one of the outsiders for this World Cup, but a hideous afternoon of self-inflicted misery has put even their progression to the next stage in jeopardy.

Crushed 4-0 by a rampant Germany, they only had themselves to blame.

Portugal had no coherent gameplan from the start, short of knocking it long for an uncomfortable-looking Cristiano Ronaldo. On the other flank, Luis Nani was a huge disappointment, wasting possession and spurning chances.

Behind them, Portugal's distribution was desperately poor. And then there was Pepe.

Already two goals down, Portugal needed cool heads.

What they got was a head so hot it could melt steel.

Having already caught Thomas Mueller in the mouth with an outstretched hand, Pepe followed up the offence by forcing his head into the German's face.

Mueller's reaction to the initial contact was poor, he made the most of the offence, but Pepe has been at the top level of football long enough to know what happens when you rise to the bait.

Referee Milorad Mazic had no choice but to show him a straight red card.

The warning signs had been there from the start.

Germany lined up with four centre-backs and no striker, with manager Joachim Loew preferring to use Philipp Lahm in midfield and Jerome Boateng at right back.

But if there were fears that they would lack width or support for false No. 9 Mueller, they were profoundly misplaced.

Germany started with the fluency of a team not playing their first game, but deep into a tournament.

There was no rustiness, no unfamiliarity. They attacked and defended as a unit and Portugal didn't know what to do with them. By contrast, Portugal's plan of getting the ball to Ronaldo went unrewarded.

The Real Madrid star spurned two early opportunities, smashing one high and wide from 30 metres and driving another into Manuel Neuer from a narrow angle.

There was a fear that Germany had wasted a gift of a chance to take the lead when Sami Khedira smashed wide after goalkeeper Rui Patricio found him with a weak clearance and offering an open goal.

But Portugal weren't finished handing out presents.

After 12 minutes, Portugal gave Germany an even better chance and this time they took it.

Joao Perreira pulled down Mario Goetze in the penalty area and Mueller calmly smashed home the spot-kick.

Perreira was perhaps a little fortunate to avoid a red card.

After half an hour, Mats Hummels doubled the advantage, a powerful header from Toni Kroos' corner.

Both Bruno Alves and Pepe, Portugal's two centre-backs, rose to meet the ball, but Hummels was not to be denied.

Portugal had three golden chances to get back into the game.

POOR PASS

Nani broke, leaving the Germans exposed for the first time, but his lay off to Ronaldo was dreadful.

Fabio Coentrao found himself clear, but scuffed his shot. Eder powered a header over the bar from the resultant corner. And then Portugal aimed at their own feet and fired both barrels.

With 11 men, they would have found it hard. With 10, they had no chance.

Mueller added a third before the break, striking from within the penalty area after Bruno Alves cleared Kroos' fine ball straight to his instep. Portugal's afternoon worsened further when Coentrao pulled up after the hour with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. With Hugo Almeida removed with a similar problem in the first half, it's hard to see either of them returning in this tournament.

Mazic's refusal to award them what certainly appeared to be a penalty on 75 minutes only added to their woes.

Three minutes later, Mueller completed his hat-trick.

Germany are in their groove. Portugal, for their part, are in deep trouble.

A dramatic improvement is required.

[[nid:115876]]

npsports@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on June 18, 2014.
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