Written by Shahan Ahmed
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Update: Full Time - Germany 4-2 Greece
(Lahm 39'; Samaras 55; Khedira 61'; Klose 68; Reus 74'; Salpingidis 89')
Greece leveled the match at 1-1 on a terrific break led by Salpingidis and finished off by Samaras. Moments later, Jerome Boateng found Sami Khedira and Germany went up 2-1 in the 61st minute. From then on, it was all Germany. Miroslav Klose scored with a header from a corner. Then, Marco Reus announced his arrival with a fantastic volley that put Germany up 4-1 just shy of 75 minutes. In the 89th minute, Greece earned a penalty after Boateng was called for hand ball in the box. Salpingidis slotted home the consolation goal.

Update: Half time Score - Germany 1-0 Greece
(Philipp Lahm 39')
Germany completely dominant in the first half, and they possessed the ball for over 80% of the 1st period. Germany outshot Greece 15 to 2. Marco Reus had a brilliant 1, 2 with Miroslav Klose before laying a beauty for Mesut Ozil 8 yards out. Ozil missed the chance, as Germany have missed plenty tonight. Germany could and should be up a few more. It has been an easy first half for the Germans. Philipp Lahm stepped forward completely unmarked and hit a shot from the top left side of the box, and the keeper had nothing to say about that one. Germany far superior tonight.

Update: Official Starting Lineups
Germany: Neuer, Boateng, Badstuber, Hummels, Lahm, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Schurrle, Reus, Klose

Greece: Sifakis, Torosidis, Papadopoulos, Sokratis, Tzavellas, Makos, Maniatis, Katsouranis, Ninis, Salpingidis, Samaras

Germany: One Beautifully Constructed Team

Germany versus Greece… Greece cannot win. Greece should not win. Greece may win. Greece can win…But it’s not likely.

The jokes involving the debt crisis and this match are endless and come from every angle: Greece can finally pay Germany back; if Germany loses, the Greeks owe the Germans their place in the semi-finals; Germany can finally kick Greece out of the Euro, etc. However, this is not a battle of two countries; this is a battle of two football teams: Greece and Germany in the quarterfinals at the 2012 European Champion.

The beauty in the idea of football as more than a game is that all politics do not matter and sport trumps wars, hatred, and all of the embarrassing human rubbish. This match, however, could turn into an embarrassingly one-sided and painful affair for the Greeks. Greece will not win the possession battle. Greece will not manufacture more shots. Greece will not possess the greater goal keeper, the better defenders, the more menacing midfielders, or the superior strikers on Friday evening in Gdansk, Poland. Greece has no real advantage on paper. Only the Greeks truly expect Greece to win, and perhaps, that is Greece's advantage.

The heavy public German backing is not out of disrespect for the Greeks or any anti-Greek political sentiment. No, Jogi Lowe’s Germany is good, on the verge of Great. Germany is a team that is built like a fine German auto. However, that metaphor is a bit tired; so instead, the German team is like the most chiseled German physical specimen.


Bastian Schweinsteiger may be good but his name is great: Schweinsteiger

The German team gets its stomach from the powerful midfield pairing of Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinstager. These two tackle and boss the middle of the park. Both have the stomach to make the rough challenges needed to win brutal battles, even if they collect bookings in the process. The stomach is part of the upper body, and the two limbs of this body come in the form of Lukas Podolski as the left arm and Thomas Muller as the right arm. Although ambidextrous, this model of Jogi Lowe’s ideal German man has a noticeably more developed left bicep than right.

The face of the German upper body is Mario Gomez. Whether it is his head that scores the goal or his face that attracts the cameras after he taps one in at the back post, Mario Gomez rests as the head of the German attack. However, Gomez and this team would only be power and pace were it not for that special component that powers the body and creates a team: the heart. Mesut Ozil is the heart of the German attack. He is the special creative genius that connects the entire upper body and allows it to function. The Real Madrid man looks better with every outing and passing season, and there appears to be no foreseeable reason he cannot power this team to winning Euro 2012


Mesut Ozil led the Spanish Primera Liga with 17 assists this season.

The lower body is a tad bit more uncomfortable to explain, but the metaphor is just as strong. The easy part is the full backs. Philipp Lahm is the left leg and Jermone Boateng is the right leg. Both full backs use those legs to run up and down the pitch, attacking forward and tracking back. Boateng does slighly more of the defending and Philipp Lahm does a bit more attacking. In the final group stage match, Boateng was suspended, so Lars Bender came in as a replacement, and he was a more balanced right back in terms of attacking and tracking. However, Jogi is expected to quickly revert to Boateng without allowing any controversy to develop, but Bender was spectacular. Give it a couple years, and the German national team may feature both Benders twins.

The two center-backs, Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber are both behemoths. Both are over 1.91 meters tall (6’3”) and have the ability to win balls on the ground, but especially in the air. It takes some, um, stones to go up for aerial challenges without regard for one’s safety, and both Hummels and Badstuber have, um, what it takes. With both players only being 23 years of age, Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber will be hanging together in the middle of the German lower body for quite some time.

Working in conjuction with the two center backs is Manuel Neuer, the goal keeper (goal keeper, that’s a good one). Neuer’s place in Jogi’s perfect German physical specimen may be a bit graphic, but it is worth noting that Neuer, himself, is a rather large, strong, and admirably shaped goal keeper. He is 6’4” and stands out as a remarkably agile and confident person. In this year’s Champions League Final penalty shootout against Chelsea, Manuel Neuer was only one of three Bayern Munich players to convert a penalty. He is cool under pressure, and he is the right man to stand alone if it goes to penalty kicks. Although he ultimately lost to Chelsea in the final shootout, Neuer did beat Real Madrid in a penalty shoot out in this year’s Champions League semi-finals.


Germany's Manuel Neuer seen saving a goal with a rather awkard part of the body

Germany has an impressive build, presence, and balance. That being said, if Greece catches Germany off-guard by kicking the German team in the Badstuber and Hummels region and scores a shock early goal, the Greeks can park a giant euro-painted school bus in front of goal and hide in it for the remainder of the match. At this point, Mario Gomez will keep hitting his face on the tires hoping they go flat, not realizing he actually needs to smash his giant face through the windows to harm the people inside the bus…It’ll be chaos and another Greek riot with Germany feeling the brunt of the long term pain. Yup, it’s time for Germany versus Greece at the Euro Cup.

AccuScore says the Germans win 3-1.