Germany v Algeria preview: Will the North Africans cause an upset or will Low’s men be too strong?
It’s being billed as something of a revenge grudge match, but in truth Germany’s last-16 clash with Algeria on Monday afternoon is anything but.
West Germany memorably conspired to eliminate the North Africans in the group stages of the 1982 World Cup, beating neighbouring Austria in their final group game by a mutally convenient scoreline of 1-0 that saw both sides progess at the expense of Algeria.
The match was dubbed the ‘Nichtangriffspakt von Gijon’ (non-aggression pact of Gijon) and changed the World Cup forever, with final rounds of group stage games kicking off at the same time to help avoid collusion, but fast forward 32 years and these are two entirely different sides.
Germany are no longer the cold, calculating operators of yesteryear, opting instead for free-flowing, exciting football, while Algeria have created an identity and style that saw them head to Brazil as Africa’s highest-ranked nation and potential ‘dark horses’ to reach the latter stages of the competition.
The result suggests rather than an ill-tempered attempt to right wrongs, instead we’ll be treated to yet another enticing affair at this memorable tournament.
Head to head: Played - Two; Germany victories - Zero; Algeria victories - Two; Games drawn - Zero
Germany
Star so far: Thomas Muller
Despite so much individual quality, Germany have largely struggled to get going during matches. However, one player to hit the ground running has been Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller. Spearheading Germany’s attacking in their opening match he bagged a memorable hat-trick, and once again showed his knack for being in the right place, at the right time, to score the only goal of the game against USA.
How they qualified
Despite their opening 4-0 demolition of Portugal, this Germany side have largely underwhelmed so far. What they exhibit in attacking threat, they lack in defensive stability and as such have looked very vulnerable at the back. An entertaining 2-2 draw with Ghana highlighted this point perfectly, but it proved to be an important point for Joachim Low’s side. Their final 1-0 victory over the United States put the icing on the cake, as they topped Group G, though this Germany side that needs to find another gear if they are to reach the final.
Algeria
Star so far: Sofiane Feghouli
It is testament to their effectiveness as a cohesive unit, that it’s very difficult to pick out one particular star from Algeria’s side so far. However, one man who will be underlined as a particular threat against Germany will be Valencia striker Sofiane Feghouli. So far he has registered one goal and one assist, but against an uneasy-looking German defence, he could add to that tally.
How they qualified
It may be patronising to label Algeria as one of the surprise packages of the World Cup, such has been their attacking threat and entertaining displays, but few would have expected them to progress from a group that also boasted the ‘golden generation’ of Belgium, Fabio Capello’s Russia and a South Korea side that - on paper at least - boasts some established stars. Nevertheless, under the tutelage of Vahid Halilhodzic, that is exactly what they did. Despite narrowly losing to Belgium in their opening match, they performed admirably and they followed it up with a thrilling 4-2 victory over South Korea. Qualification for the knockout stages was confirmed with a 1-1 draw with Russia.