World Cup semifinal has final feel to it

DURBAN, South Africa – The reigning European champion vs. the runner-up. One of the top scorers at this World Cup vs. No. 2 on the all-time list. The most dynamic team at this tournament vs. a squad that’s yet to show its full brilliance. A three-time champion vs. a team craving its first title.

Sounds like a great World Cup final.

Too bad it’ll be the semifinals when Germany and Spain face off today at Moses Mabhida Stadium, with many expecting the winner to go on and be crowned world champion four days later. The Spain-Germany winner will play the Netherlands in the final.

“This would have been a great final, actually,” Germany’s Lukas Podolski said Tuesday. “We want revenge for 2008. When you are in a final you want to win. We still think about that defeat, and it still hurts. We want to reach the final and we’ll do all we can to achieve that.”

There’s a game in every World Cup that comes a round or two too soon, and Germany-Spain definitely qualifies.

Spain has lost all of two games since November 2006, and it ended a 44-year major title drought when it beat Germany to win the European Championship in 2008. David Villa shares the scoring lead at this World Cup with Wesley Sneijder (five goals), and the Spanish defense hasn’t allowed a goal in the knockout stage.

Germany, meanwhile, made old rivals England and Argentina look downright silly in their knockout-round games, routing them by a combined score of 8-1 to reach a third straight World Cup semifinal. Miroslav Klose has regained his old form and, with two goals against Argentina, moved into a tie with Gerd Muller for second place on the all-time scoring list.

But it’s not just the stats that make this such a tantalizing matchup.

Few teams can keep up when Germany and Spain are at their best, but each is the other’s equal.

“I don’t think there are favorites at this stage,” Spain’s Andres Iniesta said. “What they say about us, we can also say the same thing about them. You can say they are a great team, a team that has players of a very, very high level. For that, it will be a well-deserved semifinal.”

Germany coach Joachim Loew has remade his team since that Euro 2008 loss, bringing in young players such as Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Thomas Muller who have given Germany the speed and sharpness it lacked. Despite their youth – with an average age under 25, this is the second-youngest team Germany has ever sent to a World Cup – the Germans are playing with discipline and a seamless chemistry that makes their plays unfold like a symphony.

Their spacing in the midfield is awe-inspiring, their passing exquisite. As for the defense, it’s simply scary.

And when Germany is on the counterattack, look out.

Germany will have a somewhat different look without Muller, who has scored four goals like Klose but is suspended after picking up his second yellow card against Argentina. Then again, the Germans did OK when Klose was suspended, beating Ghana in the group stage.

“It’s probably the most complete team in the World Cup. A team that has changed since the 2008 final, with young and fresh faces,” backup Spain goalkeeper Pepe Reina said. “It’s the most dangerous rival at the moment.”

While Spain’s team has changed little in the last two years, it hasn’t had the same flair in South Africa that it did at Euro 2008. The Spanish were stunned by Switzerland in the group stage, and needed a late goal from Villa to beat Paraguay 1-0 in the quarters.

Make no mistake, though, Spain is still plenty dangerous.

“I said before that Spain is the team with the most (best) organization, with the best attacking power, with the best firepower,” Loew said. “They’ve been together for a very long time, also. They know each other inside out. As far as Spain’s play is concerned, it hardly makes any mistakes ever.”