Germans eye Serbs after Aussies rout
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
JOHANNESBURG, June 14 (AFP): Germany captain Philipp Lahm said his side were now focused Friday's opponents Serbia and securing their place in the last 16 after a 4-0 rout of 10-man Australia.
A win over the Serbs in Port Elizabeth would effectively put Germany into the World Cup's knock-out phase and after blitzing the Socceroos in Durban Sunday, the Germans are on course to win Group D.
Germany flew back to their base is Erasmia, north of Johannesburg, straight after the victory, but after seeing Ghana beat Serbia 1-0 Sunday, coach Joachim Loew's squad is focused on beating their remaining group rivals.
Goals by Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller and Cacau sealed Germany's win as Australia's lack of pace was exposed, but Lahm says there is a long way to go as his side bids to win a fourth World Cup.
"It was important to start with a win, but there's still a long way to go," said Lahm. "Now we are focused on playing Serbia."
"We had some luck right at the start of the game," added the defender, who cleared a shot off the line from Richard Garcia in the opening minutes - one of the few times when Australia threatened the German goal.
"But we have a young team here, we needed a little time and we got stronger as the game went on.
"This side has lots of quality and we created a string of chances."
Despite having their captain Michael Ballack ruled out with an ankle injury before the tournament, Loew's young side, with an average age of just 25, did not miss the Chelsea star.
Podolski and Klose both brushed off poor seasons in the Bundesliga to silence their critics with well-taken early goals before 20-year-old Thomas Mueller, plucked from Bayern Munich's reserves last August, scored the third.
Stuttgart's Cacau, born in Brazil but who has chosen to represent Germany, then came off the bench and hit the back of the net just a few minutes after his second-half introduction as Germany ran riot.
The key was Germany's midfield where vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and playmaker Mesut Oezil kept the Australians under constant pressure while Podolski and Mueller repeatedly asked questions of the Socceroos' defence.
A win over the Serbs in Port Elizabeth would effectively put Germany into the World Cup's knock-out phase and after blitzing the Socceroos in Durban Sunday, the Germans are on course to win Group D.
Germany flew back to their base is Erasmia, north of Johannesburg, straight after the victory, but after seeing Ghana beat Serbia 1-0 Sunday, coach Joachim Loew's squad is focused on beating their remaining group rivals.
Goals by Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller and Cacau sealed Germany's win as Australia's lack of pace was exposed, but Lahm says there is a long way to go as his side bids to win a fourth World Cup.
"It was important to start with a win, but there's still a long way to go," said Lahm. "Now we are focused on playing Serbia."
"We had some luck right at the start of the game," added the defender, who cleared a shot off the line from Richard Garcia in the opening minutes - one of the few times when Australia threatened the German goal.
"But we have a young team here, we needed a little time and we got stronger as the game went on.
"This side has lots of quality and we created a string of chances."
Despite having their captain Michael Ballack ruled out with an ankle injury before the tournament, Loew's young side, with an average age of just 25, did not miss the Chelsea star.
Podolski and Klose both brushed off poor seasons in the Bundesliga to silence their critics with well-taken early goals before 20-year-old Thomas Mueller, plucked from Bayern Munich's reserves last August, scored the third.
Stuttgart's Cacau, born in Brazil but who has chosen to represent Germany, then came off the bench and hit the back of the net just a few minutes after his second-half introduction as Germany ran riot.
The key was Germany's midfield where vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and playmaker Mesut Oezil kept the Australians under constant pressure while Podolski and Mueller repeatedly asked questions of the Socceroos' defence.