- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - British press praise Germany
- Date: 16th June 2010
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 15, 2010) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS ENGLISH NEWSPAPER HEADLINES FROM MONDAY (JUNE 14) AND TUESDAY (JUNE 15) PRAISING GERMANY'S PERFORMANCE
- Embargoed: 1st July 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA794EBBB30N9WJHU6YGL8GAZ7W
- Story Text: English newspapers continued on Tuesday (June 15) to praise Germany's 4-0 hammering of Australia on Sunday (June 13).
With two contrasting performances in the World Cup by England and Germany, and a possible meeting in the next round, English newspapers have set the alarm bells ringing ahead of a possible match against Germany in the next round if England make it through.
Germany fielded a much younger team than England and are thriving in spite of losing Michael Ballack to injury before the World Cup started. English football fans were clearly impressed by the Germans. The young German midfielder Mesut Ozil made quite an impact against Australia and this did not go unnoticed in England.
"Ozil was always a really good player, he was always one to watch I wasn't surprised but Australia were pretty weak so I wouldn't read too much into at the moment," said one English fan, Lawrence Newbold.
The overall teamwork of the Germans also impressed English fans.
"They're looking pretty good. Probably the strongest team in the competition so far I think," English football fan Craig Kelly said on Tuesday (June 15).
One English fan tried to point to the fact that Germany's Bundesliga players are used to the new ball.
"Well I think the ball, you know the ball they're using, they've used it in the league since January in Germany and they haven't in the English league so I think that makes a bit of difference," Adrian Downhill said.
But another fan was brutally honest when asked how he thought England would fair against Germany if they were to meet later in the World Cup.
"We'd get murdered, murdered. We want to avoid them at all costs," Kerry Memy said.
Whilst another English fan hoped that the England team might find some passion to help them improve. England managed only a 1-1 draw against USA on Saturday (June 12) and must realistically beat Algeria on Friday (June 18) to have a chance of progressing out of the group stage.
"I think if we could see a team with a bit more passion on England's side then we could do pretty well, but we'll see, we'll see you never know with England. You never know whether they're going to turn up so we'll see," he said.
Germany also play on Friday (June 19) against Serbia in Port Elizabeth. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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