Germany v Spain - Euro 2008 Final - Preview

A look at the two Euro 2008 finalists, their strengths and weaknesses and what both teams need to do in order to win the cup.

Germany

Germany have had a topsy-turvy tournament, losing to Croatia and struggling against Turkey but dispatching quarter-final opponents Portugal with ease. While the Spanish team is probably more talented than their Iberian counterparts, both sides aim to slow the game down, something that will suit the Germans just fine considering how at sea they were against the high-tempo Turks.

Expect Loew to put out a 4-5-1 to nullify Spain’s midfield threat and to capitalise on Germany’s aerial advantage. Despite the below-par semifinal performance Germany are sure to be up for this one, with the likes of Ballack, Klose, Frings (if he comes back in as expected) and Schweinsteiger to rise to the challenge. Mentally the Germans are quite strong but they will have to be patient and focus - the last thing they need is to lose concentration for a split second and concede a goal.

What I’d like to see is for Germany to play a high-tempo game and push Spain on the backfoot with a 4-5-1 that denies them the space or time to launch effective counter-attacks. It’s not going to happen though since that’s an almost suicidal approach, so you can expect Germany to sit back, mark Torres out of the game, try to score in the first 45 minutes and then play on the counter.

Spain

Fabregas deserves a starting spot based on his recent performances and Villa’s injury may prompt Aragones to give Cesc a start in a 4-5-1 formation that gives the Spanish midfield contingent more options to go forward. This team is on a 21-match unbeaten run and they can make it 22 as long as they don’t get flustered and keep their defence tight. With the way Spain are playing, they’re bound to score a goal and as long as they can defend properly, Lehmann will be the more worried of two keepers in Ernst Happel.

Russia were not able to capitalise on Villa’s injury but Germany can and you might see Torres tightly marked out of the game. Spain also lack in the height department but that shouldn’t rattle this bunch too much - they are perfectly capable of keeping the game on the floor as it as.

To win, Spain will need to raise the tempo of their game and with a 5-man midfield then can afford to do push forward more than usual. The sit-back-and-wait strategy has worked really well for them so far but Germany in my mind would be more comfortable playing against that than against a high-tempo Spain. It’s risky, but Aragones seems inspired and he might switch tactics to spur his team on over the final hurdle.

Predictions

Can Fabregas stamp his mark on this tournament with a match-winning performance? Can Michael Ballack finally win a big international tournament? Both teams look certain to score in every game but so far Germany have had the leakier defense, so my money is on Spain to win 2-1.

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