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A Germany v Netherlands final would be explosive.

By Mark Finlay

9/7/14

I woke up this morning still in shock from witnessing what can only be described as one of the greatest triumphs in footballing history after the German national team humiliated Brazil in a brutal fashion scoring five goals in the first 29-minutes to stun a disbelieving crowd watching the match in the Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte.

Ahead of the match we knew Brazil would be without the highly talented Neymar following his back injury in the game against Colombia, and more importantly the absence of captain Thiago Silva who was suspended after picking up his second yellow card when he fouled Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina in the 64th minute while inexplicably trying to steal the ball from the goalie in Brazil’s quarterfinal win over Colombia.

Despite the loss of two key players, who among us was ready to bet against a nation built on sporting pride playing in their own World Cup, where knowing that nothing other than holding the World Cup trophy aloft would be enough for the home crowd. 

Going into the match Brazil had not lost on home turf in 12-years, yet the 7-1 defeat to Germany will now go down as one of the darkest days in Brazilian football alongside the 6-0 loss to Uruguay in the 1920 Copa America and the 1950 World Cup loss to Uruguay in the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro.

Take nothing away from Joachim Low and the German team though, as they had done their homework knowing how to exploit a weak Brazilian defence which they seemed to do with impunity every time they went forward with the ball.

Tonight’s second semi-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands is a different kettle of fish, with me now fancying Holland to beat what has so far for me been a very poor looking Argentina, who have only just managed to scrape their way this far into the tournament.

Looking at BetBright’s new footy markets I can get 3.15 on a Netherland’s win, and as a side bet for a little fun I will stick a fiver on Arjen Robben to score first at 8.00.

So as you can see I am predicting a Germany v Netherlands final which will be as big as it gets as far as rivalries are concerned with the Dutch still not forgetting the five-year German occupation during WW II in which a quarter million Dutch lost their lives.

The Germans for their part still live with the guilt of the war even though none of the present generation had anything to do with it, yet growing up must have heard tales of the 1974 final in which the total football of Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens arguably the best team to watch in that years tournament was quelled by Franz Beckenbauer and a solid German defence.

For the good of football keep your fingers crossed that Holland beat Argentina tonight and that we can look forward to an explosive World Cup final when Germany take on the Netherlands next Sunday in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.

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