 It’s funny what a difference a few days can make in football.
Not too long a go there was still a lot of support for ‘Big Phil’ Scolari to be named England coach at some point in the future, but Portugal’s exit from the World Cup has seen that all change. The sigh of relief from England could almost be heard over here in Germany as France booked their place in the final.
There’s no doubt Scolari is passionate about what he does and his desire to get involved with every ball that’s kicked is something we’ve missed under Sven-Goran Eriksson. There is one thing that he’s lacking in though, and it was clearly evident against England as well, that’s the tactical nous to go and break teams down.
Big Phil had a long time to think about it against France but, as the game drew on, there was no sign of him taking a chance and going for it with two up front.
The game was crying out for a bit of flair from Portugal to open up the French but, once again, Cristiano Ronaldo – the man who could have provided that spark – was shackled by Scolari’s rigid formation. As a result, France hardly had to break sweat and got themselves through to Berlin quite comfortably.
Ahead of the final there’s still the little matter of the third/fourth place play-off and the result looks a foregone conclusion.
Germany has come so far as a nation in these last few weeks and the team are determined to get some reward for their magnificent support.
Jurgen Klinsmann locked the players away after their semi-final defeat to Italy and you can guarantee there will have been no let-up in their efforts ahead of Saturday.
While there are no prizes for finishing third, a German win would still represent a fantastic achievement, and I for one think they deserve it.
Let’s hope Big Phil loosens the shackles from Portugal and we get something positive to remember the two teams by ahead of Sunday.
That’s all for now, join me tomorrow for my definitive verdict on who will be crowned champions of the world.
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