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Soccer carnival descends in Rio

Date:

Come Monday, two of the last standing teams will lock horns in a winner takes it all contest. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the penultimate match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup is all set to unfold and here is a SWOT analysis for both the teams.

Strengths:

Argentina: For Argentina, the biggest trump card, obviously, would be their Messiah, Lionel Messi. Clean as a whistle, his passing and dodging techniques are to die for. He’s in the form that would give Argentina the much-needed confidence that they’d need. Hot on the heels of a penalty shoot out that drove them to their final appearance, Messi looks raring to go.

Germany: Nothing can be a bigger morale booster than a butchering of your opponents to storm into the finals. Germany did what exactly the doctor prescribed and now, they’d want a repeat of the same match but with different opponents. Also, the trio of Khedira-Schweinsteiger-Kroos, introduced much later into the tourney has worked pretty well for the Germans.

Weaknesses:

Argentina: The biggest disadvantage that Argentina would have against Germany would be the fact that while Germany cruised right through their semi final encounter, Argentina couldn’t really call it smooth sail. When the stipulated time didn’t yield any result, extra time was brought in. Unfortunately, even that didn’t work. Argentina got lucky as Messi fixed it for them. There were no goals conceded, but there weren’t any taken either. Their biggest worry would be their one man reliance on Messi.

Germany: Germans are the second-ranked team in the contest, after Spain that crashed out. However, if you look at their track record, they haven’t been upto the mark in the ultimate matches. They’ve won the contest thrice, alright, but they also have 4 third and 4 runner up places, which implies that their conversion rates aren’t that great.

Opportunities:

Argentina: This is their best chance to avenge their 0-4 loss to the Germans in their previous encounter. Plus, Messi would be looking to get to the feat of Diego Maradona’s leadership of Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title. Moreover, they can also rectify their track record against the Germans, of having won only 1 of their past three encounters.  

Germany: Their shot at the World Cup also brings the opportunity of exorcising the demons of 2010.

Threats:

Argentina: For Argentina, the first biggest threat would be Thomas Müller, the second-leading goal-scorer, who has five already under his belt. He is agile and can move and pass and strike effortlessly.

Germany: What other threat does a team need when it has Lionel Messi in its opposition? Known for his clinical moves and thinking mind, he has scored four of Argentina’s eight goals in the tournament.
 

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