UEFA U-21 European 2009 Tournament Final

Final Result: Germany U-21 4-0 England U-21

After watching the UEFA U-21 European 2009 tournament, what can one conclude from the final result?

The result is obviously fantastic for Germany, the team’s performance and points per-game can be considered as good, though not perfect. Their win over England is a good victory for the team, and there is no use in arguing about the lousy England performance, you can only beat the team in front of you after all. However, we will not see these set of players play together as a team again. Many of them will be too old for the next tournament and so they will not be available. Coach Horst Hrubesch will return to his U20 team and will be replaced by Rainer Adrion.

Hrubesch had the better tactics and an excellent defensive strategy to give Germany their UEFA Euro Under-21 title. He let Hummels play in front of the back line and permitted Khedira to act as a forward. Not only did he achieve aerial supremacy over England but the Germans dominated the field.

Mesut Özil is an exceptional midfielder. Unluckily, he was not able to exert his potential skills because in the preceding games he played up front. Just like England’s Theo Walcott, he showcased some of his technical abilities but seemed to always deliver the final pass with no one in the box to finish it. Özil could have proved his authority in the games if he had been allowed to play in Germany’s midfield.

Sandro Wagner is a notable striker. In the first 80 minutes of the final game, he demonstrated the reason behind the Hrubesch early game strategy: a skillful midfielder is a better target man than an average striker. He did however score two goals in the last ten minutes of the game, and you cannot argue with that!

Germany’s territorial advantage overawed their opponent. The final game illustrated the scenario of how a team that had 12 minutes less time on the ball than their rival could come out as the superior and prevailing team. England looked full of confidence before this display, I am intrigued to see how this affects them in their next match.

After The Confederations Cup Will South Africa Be Ready For The 2010 World Cup?

After hosting the Confederations Cup, South Africa received a 7.5 out of ten rating from FIFA president Sepp Blatter. He believes that the country would achieve a perfect 10 score as the World Cup opening day approaches.

He pointed out that areas such as transportation and accommodation must be improved before the arrival of 450,000 fans for the 2010 World Cup. He emphasized that people need good accommodation since the matches will change venue and camping is not a brilliant idea during winter time. Blatter acknowledged the efforts of the organizing committee headed by Danny Jordan in addressing the security issues. Furthermore, he also praised the local people for their hospitality towards the visitors.

Observing the impressive games of the participating teams in the Confederations Cup, he claimed that the players had enjoyed the ambiance of South Africa because the football was faster due to the altitude and less air resistance. Blatter reminisced the thrilling final day of the Confederations Cup as Spain prevailed over South Africa and Brazil triumphed over the United States with the same score line.

Blatter did not forget to commend the South African players, he said that they have improved in terms of their game plan. He congratulated them for possessing good qualities, remarkable brilliance and physical preparedness.

In summing up, he recognized the efforts of Danny Jordan and his committee for the second time. He added that he believes that the World Cup will be an exciting event next year.