The sixth match in the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil will see Germany clash against Algeria on Monday, June 30 at the Estadio Beira-Reo in Porto Alegre.
The two teams share some history in the tournament which dates back to Spain 1982 when a collusion between Germany and Austria saw Algeria dumped out of the tournament at the group stage after they had beaten West Germany 2-1. The event forced FIFA to reconsider as thereafter, all final fixtures in the group stage have been held simultaneously in order to not repeat such a farce which went unpunished.
The present edition has seen Germany come into the Round of 16 after remaining unbeaten in the group stage with a couple of wins and a draw. The Germans have defeated Portugal and USA and drew 2-2 against Ghana as they qualified for the second round.
Algeria on the other hand have qualified on the virtue of being runners up in their group which was won by the Belgians. The North-African nation finished above Russia and the Korea Republic in order to set up this momentous clash against the Germans as they seek redemption for what happened in 1982.
Germany have a great pool of players in the squad and have been efficient so far. Although most feel that the real test for the Germans comes now, the likes of Thomas Muller and company should not be unduly bothered.
Although Algeria poses a threat to them from some areas of the park, Germany can attack from everywhere with Miroslav Klose, Muller, Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze, Lukas Podolski, and Andre Schurrle. They also possess a solid defence that has only conceded 2 goals in the entire group stage which is marshalled by Dortmund skipper Mats Hummels.
Algeria on their part are too dependent on Valencia winger Sofianne Feghouli to make things happen for them. They possess some decent attackers in Islam Slimani and Abdelmoumene Djabou while goals have also come from the midfield.
The worrying sign for the Africans though is the fact that their defence is not the best out there in the world cup as has been exhibited by the fact that they let in five goals in the group stage. When one comes up against a team of the caliber of Germany, one just cannot afford to defend poorly.