Clinical, disciplined and lethal – Germany will be the only winners

I still can’t get over Tuesday’s German wonder-showcase against a shell-shocked Brazil that sent Ze Germans into the World Cup final.

It was a brilliant display of football and also sportsmanship – hear me out on this one – and I think Germany might just have won the World Cup that night and not just in ‘those’ twenty-nine minutes.

The Germans have been good this tournament, but have had some blips along the way.

They were held to a draw by both Ghana and Algeria, and needed extra time to eventually win against the later.

Fortunately, they have been gaining in strength and have been helped by an onslaught of goals during this tournament – which, by the way, has led the Germans to be the highest overall goal scorers in the World Cup’s history (no prizes for guessing which team they overtook, and which match they did it in.)

They are disciplined and lethal when they open up and go for goal. Their passing is accurate and fluid. They demonstrated on that night why they are in strong contention to add another star to their national shirts.

Having said that, what really impressed me on Tuesday was not the technical skill and craftsmanship on display; it was the Germans’ reaction to it all.

It would have been easy for the Germans to be screaming with joy, doing laps the length of the pitch – but they didn’t. They celebrated the majority of the goals subtly, congratulating the goal scorer, and then getting the game underway again quickly. An exception was made for Andre Schürrle’s 79^th minute wonder goal, but then that would have been incredible even if it hadn’t been the seventh goal of the game.

The fact that the Germans kept playing against Brazil, rather than spend the second half aimlessly passing the ball and retaining possession, is to be rewarded also.

Some may argue that by continuing to score, the Germans were only further humiliating the Brazilians, but I disagree. The Germans treated Brazil like a world-class team and didn’t spend 45 minutes playing keep-away from the bewildered hosts; instead they kept playing the game.

There was also kindness and humility shown by Mesut Özil to the Brazilians via his twitter account. Shortly after the game he posted a message: “You have a beautiful country, wonderful people and amazing footballers-this match may not destroy your pride! #Brasil.” It was a message meant in kindness, and received warmly by some Brazilian fans.

For me, Germany have it all this year. A brilliant squad, who just get better and better as they advance, a plethora of quality goal scorers, a strong defence, and a strong and healthy collective attitude in their team. For that, they are my pick to win when the final comes.

Footyettes. Do you think Germany will come out on top in the final or will Lionel Messi produce a moment of magic? Let us know your thoughts below or tweet us @LaFootyettes.