Posted by ESPN Stats & Information
Germany versus Spain, Wednesday
Durban Stadium -- Durban
Storylines
• Three-time World Cup champion Germany plays European champion Spain in a repeat of the Euro 2008 final.
• If Germany wins it will advance to a record eighth World Cup final (the last being in 2002). A Spain win would see La Furia Roja play in their first World Cup final.
• Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final, but there has been significant turnover from that game (particularly for Germany.) Only eight players on Germany's World Cup roster played in that final, including six starters. For Spain, 11 players (10 starters) from the Euro 2008 final returned for the World Cup. Seven are expected to start against Germany. Jogi Low coached Germany, but Luis Aragones was the Spanish coach.
• Germany firepower: Germany is the leading scorer at the World Cup with 13 goals.
• Miroslav Klose: The Germany striker moved into a tie for second on the World Cup all-time scoring list with two goals against Argentina. One more goal will tie him with Ronaldo (Brazil) at 15 career goals.
• David Villa: The soon-to-be Barcelona striker has scored five goals at the World Cup and leads the Golden Shoe race after the quarterfinals. He missed the Euro 2008 final because of injury.
Series history
• In 20 previous meetings, Germany lead series 8-6-6. The teams last met at the World Cup in 1994, tying 1-1 in a group game.
What to look for
• Who replaces Thomas Muller? The young Bayern Munich striker is suspended for this game because of yellow card accumulation. Piotr Trochowski and Toni Kroos are reported to be the most likely candidates to step in for Muller.
• Will Fernando Torres start? Torres scored Spain's winning goal in the Euro 2008 final but has struggled to find his best form in South Africa coming off April knee surgery. Spain is 30-1-2 in Torres' last 33 starts, outscoring its opponents by 55 goals (72-17; eight goals for Torres). The loss was to the U.S. in the 2009 Confederations Cup; the ties were against Iceland in 2007 (Euro 2008 qualifier) and Italy (Euro 2008, Spain advanced on PKs).
• The goalkeepers: Iker Casillas will play in his 110th game for Spain, while Manuel Neuer will be playing in just his 11th game for Germany.
• Xavi: The Spanish midfielder has completed more passes than any other World Cup 2010 player (404).
• Penalty kicks: Germany is 4-0 in penalty kicks at the World Cup. Only one German player (Uli Stielike against France in 1982) has ever failed to convert a penalty kick in a World Cup shootout. Spain's record in PKs is 1-2 at the World Cup.
From the research room
• Germany is the second-youngest team at the World Cup (25.4 years), Spain is the sixth-youngest team (26.4 years).
• Thirty-three of Germany's 79 shots have gone on target (41.8 percent); 34 of Spain's 90 have hit the target (37.8 percent).
• Excluding friendlies, Spain is 18-2-0 under Vicente del Bosque and has outscored its opponents by 34 goals in those 20 games (45-11).
• Germany has scored four goals in three games at the 2010 World Cup, the only nation to have bettered this in a World Cup is Hungary, netting at least four goals in four matches in 1954.
• All 14 of Klose's World Cup goals have come in open play and from inside the box, and half of them have been headers.
• There has never been a 0-0 draw in a World Cup semifinal.