Germany aim to rise up against Ghana

Germany’s chances of making the second round, which looked solid till a few days ago, have been shattered as striker Miroslav Klose will no longer be present to fire past Ghana.

This has left the Germans to solve their attacking problems through Lukas Podolski and possibly Cacau after Klose was red-carded against Serbia.

Five of the squad are on a yellow card and a second for any of the quintet will see them suspended for the last 16 match, should Germany progress.

Earlier, Germany’s 4-0 demolition of Australia in their Group D opener set the three-time winners on course for what looked like a comfortable passage into the last-16 before a shock 1-0 defeat by Serbia.

Meanwhile, Ghana just do not seem to be able to score from open play. The African side have been impressive defensively and in terms of distribution but have been firing blanks up-front, needing a penalty from Asamoah Gyan to beat Serbia and another to earn a 1-1 draw against Australia.

“We’ve only scored through penalties but we’ll rectify that in the next game,” said coach Milovan Rajevac, knowing they have failed to score more than one goal in each of their last 12 games.

He could help striker Asamoah Gyan by bringing on a second striker or attacking midfielder Sulley Muntari, who appeared only as a late substitute in the draw against Australia.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2010.