Germany aces advanced placement course
DORTMUND, Germany -- Germany's gasterbeiter (guest worker) policy has attracted vociferous criticism from nationalists. But the country has accepted the Turks, at least when it comes to stand-up lunches of marinated-lamb-on-pita doner kebabs. And, fortunately for German soccer, Deutschland accepted the immigrant parents of Olivier Neuville and David Odonkor , who combined in stoppage time for the only goal of the game against Poland last night.
The 1-0 result clinched advancement to the second round for Germany, which has 6 points with a match remaining against Ecuador in Group A, and left the Poles with two shutout defeats. Poland would be eliminated if Ecuador ties or wins with Costa Rica today .
The Germans dominated this contest, piling on the pressure in the second half as about two-thirds of the 70,000 crowd urged them on and the other third vociferously supported the Poles' resistance.
German coach Jurgen Klinsmann went all out for the victory by inserting Odonkor and going to a three-defender setup in the 64th minute, then going to Neuville in place of Lukas Podolski in the 71st minute. The plan was for Bernd Schneider to release Odonkor on the right wing for crosses, and it eventually worked as Poland tired after being reduced to 10 men as Radoslaw Sobolewski was cautioned for the second time by Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo in the 75th minute.
Odonkor, 22, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, was a controversial choice for the team but not because he is the son of a Nigerian father and German mother, but because of his lack of experience. Neuville, 33, born in Switzerland of a German father and Italian (Calabrese) mother, has become the Mannschaft's super sub.
On the deciding play, Schneider lofted the ball toward the right corner flag. Odonkor, chosen for the team by Klinsmann purely because of his speed, ran onto the ball and sent a low cross, Neuville splitting defenders to slam the shot past goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
The goal seemed inevitable. Every Polish player, including striker Ebi Smolarek, another Borussia Dortmund star, retreated into defense. But in the 81st minute, Neuville's one-timer from point-blank range was blocked by Boruc. And in 88th minute, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack hit the crossbar, Klose with a header, Ballack with a right-footer on the rebound.
Germany started with two Poland-born strikers -- Klose (Oppel/Schlesien) and Podolski (Gliwice) -- who had both been recruited by the Polish national team. Two years ago, Poland coach Pawel Janas sent Podolski, then 19 years old, three national team shirts with the No. 10 and his name on the back. But Podolski, who moved to the Cologne area at age 2 and speaks Polish at home, refused the offer and is now on the way to Bayern Munich.
Podolski squandered the best chance of the first half, shanking a right-foot shot in front of an open net in injury time. The play was set up by a Bastian Schweinsteiger dummy, releasing Philipp Lahm for a cross into the goal area. Podolski also had an excellent turn and 20-yard drive directly at Boruc in the 36th minute.
But Poland was confronting some difficult circumstances. The home crowd was in full force -- before the game, German fans unveiled a banner, covering an entire section, depicting an eagle (symbol of the Mannschaft) with the No. 12 (for 12th man) -- and Germany has never lost in 14 games (13-0-1) at the Westfalenstadion and is now unbeaten in 10 games against the Poles.
Ballack was playing his first game for Germany in the World Cup since being cautioned in the semifinals in 2002, and he gave a major boost to the midfield.
``He's our leader and his role in playing in front of the back four is very important to us," Klinsmann said of Ballack, ``the way he creates chances and basically connects between the back four and the strikers. He played an excellent game.
``The team will give the absolute maximum and we believe in this team. And to get everyone behind you and believing in the team, naturally the trust will grow game to game."
