Brazil and Germany at FIFA World Cup tournaments
Eliminate Brazil and you could be Runners-up, Eliminate Germany you might just win the World Cup
Brazil & Germany two of the greatest Footballing nations both had their Glory days in the past and currently boast a squad filled with youth. The past two editions have not really been upto the mark for either of these two teams, although they were consistent in their performances but that is not something that either of these teams would really be happy about.
The Last Three World Cups
The 2002 World Cup in Japan & South Korea took their rivalry to a new level as they faced each other in the final. Brazil couldn’t stop scoring while the Germans did not let many goals past them, the final was a nail biter only until Oliver Kahn (Germany Keeper) who had been in the form of his life at the World Cup, managed to make a mistake and Ronaldo capitalized on it and successfully broke the German Wall. And, with this the hope of a World Cup for Unified Germany faded. The tournament also saw Ronaldo winning the Golden Boot with his 8 Goals in the tournament, and Kahn had to settle with the Golden ball as consolation for not winning the World Cup.
The 2006 World Cup in Germany produced great performances by both Brazil and Germany, but never faced off against each other directly but they did so indirectly. Germany started their campaign strong and seemed to be doing everything perfect till they reached the Semi-Finals and lost to Italy but were sure to pick consolation by defeating Portugal for the third place, Brazil on the other hand were knocked out a bit early in the tournament, not in the group stages but in the quarter finals by France.
The same course of events re-occurred with the two teams in the African continent in 2010, they didn’t lose to the same opponents but they lost at the same stage as they lost in 2006, Germany were this time knocked out by Spain, who went on to win the World Cup while Germany secured third place yet again, this time by defeating Uruguay. And, Brazil was knocked-out by the Dutch side in the quarters.
Similarities in 2006 & 2010
Both in 2006 & 2010 Brazil & Germany did not face each other but it was the teams who knocked them out of the tournament which made it to the Finals of the tournament. Not just that but on both occasions the team that knocked Brazil out, (that is France in 2006 & Netherlands in 2010) had to settle as the Runners-up of the tournament losing to the teams that eliminated Germany from the competition, (that is Italy in 2006 & Spain in 2010). Both the World cup results for these two teams implying that whichever team eliminates Brazil & Germany from the Tournament are probably set for a clash in the Finals of the tournament.
What could 2014 mean to these teams
The 2014 World Cup has Brazil & Germany emerge amongst the Pre-tournaments favourites, more so owing to the exit of the Defending Champion Spain early in the Group Stage of the Competition. Now the question that rises is whether these two nations will finally get a rematch of their 2002 clash or will they again have to settle their battle in an indirect manner as they did in the previous two editions in which Germany emerged on top of Brazil, technically speaking. If Brazil and Germany both finish top or second in their respective groups they are likely to face each other in the Semi Finals of the Tournament and not before, provided that they both manage to survive till then, and if they are to avoid each other till the finals one of the two will have to top their group while the other has to settle for second in group stages.
Both the teams are looking to better their record of the past two editions, Brazil looking to impress at home winning the World Cup while Germany looking to become the first European Team to lift the World Cup in the South American Continent. Looking at the past two editions, the team to elimate Brazil is likely to settle for a second place but the team to eliminate Germany may just happen to lift the World Cup. If the two teams meet in the semi-finals then it is sure that only one would progress to the Finals, implying the conditions that if Brazil eliminate Germany in the Semis they might just win the Title, but it may not be a good news for Germany, even if they beat Brazil in the Semis because the team eliminating Brazil in past two editions has had to settle for the Runners-up position.