Germany is missing their captain Michael Ballack (which I'm obliged to mention), but unless you're a huge fan of Michael Ballack, Chelsea, or Matt Damon, you won't notice. At least, it is unlikely to have an impact on their match with Australia. Nor will defender Heiko Westermann's absence or the injury to number one goalkeeper René Adler. Even against a quality opponent like Australia, Germany has the depth to withstand all of these absences. Stuttgart's Sami Khedira will step-in for Ballack and play along side Bastian Schweinsteiger in the central midfield. At the club level, Khedira has been as good as Ballack. Ballack, however is a one goal every two games player on the international level. It seems unlikely that Khedira can play to that level, but given the talent surrounding him, Khedira need not be Michael Ballack to keep the Germans on course.
World Cup 2010, Germany Vs. Australia Preview: New German Product, Same Dominant Flavor
Team Data Cards
Courtesy of SB Nation Soccer, Jeremiah Oshan and Sounder at Heart, Team Data Cards have been prepared to give you all the information you need to know on the country, qualifying route, roster, and formation.
Here is Germany's (PDF), Australia's (PDF) as well as the post with cards for all 32-teams, prepared by Jeremiah.
Bayern Munich's Holger Badstuber will step into central defense, partnering Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker. Though the 22-year-old spent last season at left back at his club, he is a natural central defender and will have teammate (and new German captain) Philipp Lahm to his left. Whether a year at left back will leave him rusty upon moving to a central role will have to be seen. In goal, Schalke's Michael Neuer, who many called to be the number one over Adler before Joachim Low decided on the Bayer Leverkusen-man, has had success at the youth levels with German teams which have been the most successful in Europe, during which time as this new generation of player - which includes Khedira, Badstuber, Mesut Ozil, and Jerome Boateng - becomes set to revitalize the national team. That revitalization starts with the third match on Sunday, when Germany takes an Australia team which, though many view them as the fourth of four in Group D. That's more a reflection of the group than Australia's quality. Still, the Socceroos' limits make Germany's task straight forward. Though Germany will have an advantage in central midfield, Australia needs to be contained on the flanks, where there 4-5-1-morph-4-4-2 formation could feature four players whose main contributions will be floating crosses for target man Joshua Kennedy and supporting striker Tim Cahill. If Germany does not disrupt those crosses - which will include Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller pressuring his in their half on fullbacks Scott Chipperfield and Luke Wilshire - Australia could have an upset in them. However, it's unlikely Germany will both neglect to do this and not develop another measure to deal with the Aussies. And while this is happening, a sharp German attack will have its chances to exploit the holes around lumbering Lucas Neill and Craig Moore. Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is capable of stealing a match, but some thefts are easier than others.
