It has been one year since that historic World Cup journey - seven games in the summer of 2014 that brought so much happiness. It began in Salvador with a dream, and ended in Rio with that dream becoming a reality. One year after the triumph at the Maracanã, DFB.de takes a look back at Germany’s seven games at the 2014 World Cup. It was 365 days ago, on 4th July 2014, when Die Mannschaft beat France to reach the semis.
Bastian Schweinsteiger created the sport but Mats Hummels is the star of the show: Bin basketball. Hummels is easily the most consistent and stylish player. He waits patiently, steadying himself before firing home.
Rio de Janeiro, 3rd July 2014. The quarterfinal against France is just one day away and final training is about to take place in the Maracana. They arrived at the ground at 14:40 local time before heading out to the pitch 10 minutes later.
However, this was too soon. FIFA are stringent and the session was scheduled for 15:00. The players couldn’t step onto the hallowed turf for ten minutes. A bin was located on the perimeter – Bastian Schweinsteiger noticed this and the game was born!
The players stood on the edge of the pitch and had to throw the ball over the subs bench and into the bin. Simple? Schweinsteiger was first up and missed, as did talented basketball player Lukas Podolski. The star of the day, as mentioned above, was Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels. He fired home his first four attempts – the fifth went in but bounced out. His performance certainly impressed his teammates.
Hummels beamed as he made his way onto the pitch at the start of the session. His victory had something to do with this, as did his recovery from an illness which kept him out of the Algeria match. “Mats Hummels doesn’t have a fever anymore and isn’t tired. He is ready to play tomorrow,” explained Löw ahead of the training session.
It therefore wasn’t a surprise to see him appear in the starting Xi against France. Hummels replaced Per Mertesacker and lined up alongside Jerome Boateng in the centre of the German defence.
The game started frantically. France impressed early on but it was Germany who took the lead with their first real effort of the game. Kroos whipped in a dangerous free kick and the returning BVB star beat Raphael Varane to the ball and powerfully headed past Hugo Lloris and into the back of the net. He ran excitedly to the corner flag and celebrated with Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and Benedikt Höwedes – a repeat of the scenes seen after the bin basketball triumph. Nice one, Mats!
This success was more valuable than the baskets he scored the day before though, as Die Mannschaft are now leading in a Word Cup quarter final against a very good France side. Didier Deschamps’ men had been in good form going into the game having qualified top of a group which included Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras. They beat Nigeria 2-0 in the last 16 and went into the game against Germany full of confidence.
However, Hummels’ goal meant that they went behind for the first time in Brazil. They remained dangerous throughout the game but the Dortmund defender was in imperious form. He put his body on the line to make sure that Germany stayed in front and Manuel Neuer’s clean sheet remained intact.
The newspapers for full of praise for Hummels the following day: “He settled the game with his second goal of the tournament but the real story was the way his defending kept the French out.” Another outlet explained that “Hummels is an elegant defender but could also play in midfield. He put Germany in the semis. France found him and Neuer unbeatable.”
There was only one moment of real worry. In injury time Karim Benzema broke free in the box and fired in a thunderous shot. However, a stunning reflex save from the Bayern München keeper ensured that Germany progressed. “The defence did well. They cut off his options meaning he had to shoot. All I had to do was keep out a near post effort. Letting that in would have gone down as a mistake,” explained Neuer.
Moments later the final whistle went and Löw’s men had reached the last four. “It’s the next step towards our goal. We played perfectly. We deserved to reach the next round,” added Hummels.
created by mmc/mb
It has been one year since that historic World Cup journey - seven games in the summer of 2014 that brought so much happiness. It began in Salvador with a dream, and ended in Rio with that dream becoming a reality. One year after the triumph at the Maracanã, DFB.de takes a look back at Germany’s seven games at the 2014 World Cup. It was 365 days ago, on 4th July 2014, when Die Mannschaft beat France to reach the semis.
Bastian Schweinsteiger created the sport but Mats Hummels is the star of the show: Bin basketball. Hummels is easily the most consistent and stylish player. He waits patiently, steadying himself before firing home.
Rio de Janeiro, 3rd July 2014. The quarterfinal against France is just one day away and final training is about to take place in the Maracana. They arrived at the ground at 14:40 local time before heading out to the pitch 10 minutes later.
However, this was too soon. FIFA are stringent and the session was scheduled for 15:00. The players couldn’t step onto the hallowed turf for ten minutes. A bin was located on the perimeter – Bastian Schweinsteiger noticed this and the game was born!
The players stood on the edge of the pitch and had to throw the ball over the subs bench and into the bin. Simple? Schweinsteiger was first up and missed, as did talented basketball player Lukas Podolski. The star of the day, as mentioned above, was Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels. He fired home his first four attempts – the fifth went in but bounced out. His performance certainly impressed his teammates.
Hummels beamed as he made his way onto the pitch at the start of the session. His victory had something to do with this, as did his recovery from an illness which kept him out of the Algeria match. “Mats Hummels doesn’t have a fever anymore and isn’t tired. He is ready to play tomorrow,” explained Löw ahead of the training session.
It therefore wasn’t a surprise to see him appear in the starting Xi against France. Hummels replaced Per Mertesacker and lined up alongside Jerome Boateng in the centre of the German defence.
The game started frantically. France impressed early on but it was Germany who took the lead with their first real effort of the game. Kroos whipped in a dangerous free kick and the returning BVB star beat Raphael Varane to the ball and powerfully headed past Hugo Lloris and into the back of the net. He ran excitedly to the corner flag and celebrated with Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and Benedikt Höwedes – a repeat of the scenes seen after the bin basketball triumph. Nice one, Mats!
This success was more valuable than the baskets he scored the day before though, as Die Mannschaft are now leading in a Word Cup quarter final against a very good France side. Didier Deschamps’ men had been in good form going into the game having qualified top of a group which included Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras. They beat Nigeria 2-0 in the last 16 and went into the game against Germany full of confidence.
However, Hummels’ goal meant that they went behind for the first time in Brazil. They remained dangerous throughout the game but the Dortmund defender was in imperious form. He put his body on the line to make sure that Germany stayed in front and Manuel Neuer’s clean sheet remained intact.
The newspapers for full of praise for Hummels the following day: “He settled the game with his second goal of the tournament but the real story was the way his defending kept the French out.” Another outlet explained that “Hummels is an elegant defender but could also play in midfield. He put Germany in the semis. France found him and Neuer unbeatable.”
There was only one moment of real worry. In injury time Karim Benzema broke free in the box and fired in a thunderous shot. However, a stunning reflex save from the Bayern München keeper ensured that Germany progressed. “The defence did well. They cut off his options meaning he had to shoot. All I had to do was keep out a near post effort. Letting that in would have gone down as a mistake,” explained Neuer.
Moments later the final whistle went and Löw’s men had reached the last four. “It’s the next step towards our goal. We played perfectly. We deserved to reach the next round,” added Hummels.
