Played at Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegro
Germany 0 + 2 [Extra time 2 (Schurrie 92*, Mesut Ozil 120*): Algeria 0 +1 [Extra time 1(Abdulmoumene 120* +1)
Very gallant Algeria went down to matured and well stalked Germany 1-2 in a cracker of a match at Estade Beira –Rio, Porto Alegro.
All three goals were scored in the extra time of the match with original 90 minutes ending 0-0. It was all Algeria in the first 45 Minutes during which they had opportunity to bury Germans with two to three goals. But that did not happen.
Germany dominated the last 15 minutes of the 90 minutes creating several near chances but Algerian defence stood firm every time . Match entered extra time. Taking advantage of lack of concentration Germany got the lead as early as the second minute of the extra time through Schurrle and doubled through Mesut Ozil.
In the added minute of the extra time Abdulmoumene reduced the margin making it 2-1. Brave Algerians could write a new chapter in their soccer history if they could exploit their spell of dominance in the first half scoring at least couple of goals.
Against a team of Germany’s caliber such opportunities comes very rarely and if not taken the team gets punished. Algeria got beaten and got knocked out but played like heroes and can go home with heads high.
Germany will play France in the quarter final. Algeria has exposed a few issues of German defence which may create problem against another matured team France in the quarter finals.
Algeria remained the last of the African and lone Arab challenge in the Brazil World Cup after Nigeria went down earlier match of the day against France after presenting good account of them in a very fast and furious match of enthralling contest.
Their works was well cut with Germany being the most in form side of the tournament. Germany. Algeria could take heart from Brave Ghana holding the superior German side in their well contested Group match ending in 2-2 draw.
Algerians also had in mind how cruelly they were deprived of progressing further in the world cup 32 years earlier after beating Germany in the group match and Austria and West Germany contrived to knock out Algeria out of the group stage in 1982.
Professionals do not think of revenge; professionals always put their best and wait for reward from it. Algeria beat Germany and Chile but sort of cheating impeded their progress further. That game has become known as the 'Disgrace of Gijon' and Algerian coach Vahid Halilhodzic indicated that the current team was using that game as motivation for the match with Germany.
Algeria had to wait 32 more years to see its footballers win again on the global stage. Hence the scale of the celebrations that have followed the Desert Foxes’ 4-2 group success over South Korea and subsequent draw with Russia “Everybody is happy now because we’ve reached the second round,” says Belloumi.
“Now there’s a new generation carrying the torch. We must go into the game against Germany with a spirit of revenge.”
Germany is one of the three out of four pre-tournament top favorites still alive after reigning champions failing to cross the hurdles of group stage.
They along with Brazil and Argentina are tipped to reach semifinals. Germans sparked in the opening encounter burying the might of Christiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal 4-0.
German racing car however almost stumbled against Ghana when they contained them in a 2-2 draw. However, they looked the better side against USA in the last match of the group. A well prepared German team possesses the quality, skill depth and diversity to challenge the best of the best in Brazil world cup.
First Half: German dynamism was up against Algerian mobility. An inexperienced Algerian team first time at this stage of the against three times past Champions took a measured step at the start.
It took a little while for warming up the cool and comfortable Alegro. Algeria boss with 5 changes plotted a plan of containing the imposing German Grey Hounds and trapping them in the Desert Fox holes.
Algeria achieved their historic 4-2 victory against South Korea in the same ground which put them in the pre-quarter final. The match tempo remained quiet in the first 10 minutes with teams taking time to settle to their respective game plan.
Excepting a Slimani getting a free ball around the German danger zone and getting constrained of space by advancing German keeper there was hardly anything of note during this period. Germans traded several passes among their players without finding any space in narrow Algerian corridor.
A decent Schweinsteiger attempt was saved by Mbolhi in the 14 Th minute. Muller and Ozil were not finding holes in Algerian defence. On 16th minute Islam Slimani got in front of Jerome Boateng to get his head to a wonderful cross from Fauzi Ghoulam and head home from eight yards.
It was a good finish, but he was flagged for offside. Replays show the decision to disallow the goal was correct, but he wasn't offside by much. Germany was looking increasingly vulnerable. Algerians attacks started looking more and more purposeful. When Algerians pressed the button the moves looked free flowing.
Germans looked jittery and were a bit outclassed in the first 20 minutes. On 18 Th minute making a run from midfield, Fauzi Ghoulam turned on the afterburners and left Mesut Ozil in his dust as he galloped up the inside-left and latched on to a pass from Soudani.
He struck wildly across the face of goal and his effort swerved wide of the right upright. After a nervy start, Algeria was proving more than as match from a Germany side that did not seem to be playing particularly well.
At 23 Rd minute Gotze gave the ball away, but Feghouli failed to take advantage. Mesut Ozil won the possession back for Germany and swung in a cross into the penalty area from the left wing. It was a little too high for Muller, who could only head the ball up in the air.
At 26 th min another mix-up in the German defence allowed Algeria play the ball in behind the back four again. Mertesacker lumbered back under pressure from Soudani and Slimani and Manuel Neuer was forced out of his penalty area to rescue the ponderous defender.
On 29 Th minute Mesut Ozil pulled one back from the touchline on the right hand side, which Gotze dummied. Lahm’s, effort was blocked and Algeria set off on the counter-attack again. They had a four-on-three, which was foiled by foul means. Free-kick for Algeria, right of centre about three or four yards outside the German penalty area. Sofiane Feghouli struck over the defensive wall and cross-bar.
On 39 minute German survived another close call. A shot from Mostefa about 30 yards took a wicked deflection off Jerome Boateng and, with Neuer going the wrong way, fizzed a couple of feet wide of the upright.
Germany cleared the ensuing corner. Moment later on the counter-attack from that corner, Germany went forward and forced Rais M'Bolhi into a splendid double save. He dived at full stretch to his right to parry a long range effort from Toni Kroos, and then got up in time to smother the follow-up from Mario Gotze.
From 40-45 th minute Germany enjoyed a period of sustained pressure, but stout Algeria defending meant that openings were proving difficult to find and they were being limited to pot-shots from distance.
Algeria had lesser possessions yet looked the better team. Algeria pushed Germany all the way excepting getting the winner.
The teams went in for the break after a scoreless first half in which Algeria dominated for spells and had the better chances.
Germany looked surprisingly out of sorts and particularly vulnerable to counter-attacks, with Algeria repeatedly putting them on the back foot with long balls through or over their defence.
Both teams have had their chances but Algeria was undeniably the more obdurate of the two defences on show in the first half.
Second Half: The pace of the match slowed down a little in the first 10 minutes of the second half as Germany started slowly getting back into the game. In 50 Th minute M. Anuel Neuer picked out Andre Schurrle with a wonderful pass and the substitute looked to be clean through on goal, only to be foiled by a wonderful tackle from Ghoulam.
Algeria counter attacked with lightning speed and Soudani and Feghouli both went close, only to be denied by last-ditch tackles by Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker respectively.
Soudani's shot-cum-cross was the pick of the pair, but Lahm performed heroics to smother his effort. On 53 rd minute Germany advanced in to Algerian territory and the ball rolled back to Lahm, who struck powerfully from distance.
M'Bolhi tipped the ball over for a corner. Good goalkeeping saved the situation for Germans. Germans started looking cool and composed and started controlling the pace of the match more and more. German coach looked more and more assured as he knew he had quality bench strength if required to replace tired legs.
Germany's Shkodran Mustafi went down hurt after stretching to clear a high ball Khedira took over just in front of the back four, while Philipp Lahm moved to right-back.
On 70th minute another long ball out of defence from Algeria prompted another chase from Slimani and another potentially suicidal dash out of his penalty area from Manuel Neuer.
The German goalkeeper is nothing if not decisive and can beat the Algeria forward to the bouncing ball by a split second, heading it out for a throw-in before the inevitable collision between the two players.
On 74 Th minute Algeria got close, twice in quick succession. Sofiane Feghouli from left to right put the ball wide. Moments later, Slimani forced Manuel Neuer to make a save. Germany almost scored on 78 th minute as Muller went on a marauding run down the inside right, riding a couple of tackles along the away.
He whipped the ball viciously across the face of the Algeria goal, but Schweinsteiger fails to get his head to it at the near post. A minute later another fine save from M'Bolhi, who parried a bullet-header from Muller cleared after the German striker had made perfect contact with a Khedira cross from the right.
Germany got closer and closer. On 81st minute Muller missed again. Picking up a pass in the Algeria penalty area, he brought the ball around Feghouli with a sublime touch, but got it caught under his feet and then tried to steer it inside the base of the right upright with the outside of his right foot.
It went wide, but not by much. He should have scored. Germany tried a rehearsed free kick but could not implement. Rais Mbolhi looked impregnable. On 89th minute chances came at both ends.
First, Slimani attempted to latch on to yet another long ball in over the Germany defence, only to be foiled once again by Neuer rushing out of his penalty area. Moments later, Bastian Schweinsteiger leaped to head a clipped Lahm cross from the right across the goalkeeper and inside the right post, only to see his effort saved. Had there been more power on the cross, he would almost certainly have scored.
The full time ended with teams locked nil nil. Germany was just not allowed to play at their best. They threatened to score the winner in the last 15 minutes. But just could not melt the dogged Algerian defence. At some spells of the match Algerians looked better. Playing Kheidra in the second half and pushing Lahm on the right made all the difference with German attacks getting the momentum.
The match rolled in to extra time. Germany has more experience of coming out of this situation being exposed several times to similar situation in the past.
Extra Time (15+15 =30 Minutes).
After Ninety minutes of toil for Germany the extra time started with a bang. Thomas Muller's low cross looked a little behind Andre Schurrle inside the box, but the Chelsea forward improvised well to divert the ball across goal and into the back of the net from the near post 1-0.
The goal took away much of the competitive tempo of the match. Algerians appeared to have very little gas left in their tanks after a very hotly contested full time. Germany started pressing for a second as Muller's shot from inside the box was blocked and the Desert Foxes started losing some tactical discipline.
At 112nd min Algeria got the opportunity to equalize. Khedira makes a complete hash of trying to clear a corner, diverting the ball straight into the path of Mehdi Mostefa who powerfully drilled it wide from eight yards out.
Germany appeared to have put the icing on the cake with a second goal almost at the dying stage through Masut Ozil 2-0. But within seconds Alegeria scored the consolation goal making it 2-1.
Too little too late. The story could be so different if Algeria could capitalize many chances that came their way in the first half of the match. Algeria got defeated but disagaced.
Germany: Neuer, Mustafi (Khedira 70), Mertesacker, Boateng, Howedes, Lahm, Ozil, Schweinsteiger (Kramer 109), Kroos, Gotze (Schurrle 46), Muller.
Subs: Zieler, Weidenfeller, Grosskreutz, Ginter, Podolski, Klose, Draxler, Durm.
Algeria: M'Bolhi, Mandi, Belkalem, Halliche (Bougherra 98), Ghoulam, Lacen, Mostefa, Feghouli, Soudani (Djabou 100), Taider (Brahimi 79), Slimani.
Subs: Si Mohamed, Zemmamouche, Mesbah, Yebda, Ghilas, Medjani, Bentaleb, Cadamuro, Mahrez.
BDST: 0856 HRS, JUL 01, 2014
