Whoever wins Gerrard versus Lahm battle will win the game, by Nigel Worthington

By Mirror Football in 2010 World Cup Blog

Published 22:31 26/06/10

• 

There will be crucial battles all over the pitch today, but the showdown between the two captains may well decide which team reaches the World Cup quarter-finals.

It’s Steven Gerrard against Philipp Lahm.

The man nominated to ­operate as a stop-gap on the left side of the England ­midfield faces Lahm, who for years was Germany’s first choice left-back, but has swapped flanks to show he is a great all-round defender.

It’s going to be a great ­head-to-head clash, a real ­battle of wits.

Lahm’s been one of the stars of the tournament so far.

He leads by example. He has so much energy and reads the game so well that he can bomb forward and add potency to the German ­attacks. His ­crossing is excellent, too.

So the challenge for Gerrard is simple. Is he going to spend the ­afternoon tracking Lahm or can he make Lahm ­concentrate on defending?

England need to have the high tempo and attacking power to pin Lahm back.

If Lahm’s running free and adding numbers against ­Ashley Cole, that will mean big problems for England.

Get Lahm pinned back, forced to pick up a high energy performance from Gerrard, and the game’s a different proposition entirely.

If Lahm gets on top you’ll see the confidence spread through the German team and they will cause problems. He is a very influential ­player for them.

Mesut Ozil has been hailed as one of the finds of the ­tournament.

The fact is, he’s a product of a German ­development ­programme that is second to none at the moment.

There’s emerging players in their squad who’ve been ­together since Under-17 level and they will be a power in the future whatever happens against England.

Ozil is a great, creative talent. He has real presence on the ball, can finish and works for the team. He doesn’t wait to be given possession by ­others.

Ozil is only 21, but we ­already know he’s the whole package.

It’s imperative ­England snuff out his threat. They must not let him unleash shots from around the area.

Gareth Barry will be ­working in the area where Ozil does damage. The Manchester City midfielder will be aware of the job at hand, but you can’t just expect him man to deal with Ozil every minute of the game. We’ve seen what ­happens when a team tries to man mark a ­player of genius like ­Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

You can shackle them for a lot of the game, but he’ll still escape and have the chance to create mayhem.

That’s why you can’t just tell Barry it’s his job to blot out Ozil. He’ll need help from ­the others.

Barry and Co must ensure Ozil doesn’t get face on to the England goal to shoot or feed the strikers running off him.

I’m sure the Germans will recall Miroslav Klose after suspension. He’s scored 48 goals in 95 internationals.

That says it all. John Terry has been warned. But I was impressed by JT against ­Slovenia.

Germany are a young side, full of energy and drive.

They also do the ugly side of the game well. They track back and tackle. The movement in their front six players is fantastic.

They can create problems for the tightest defences.

If England’s defenders don’t concentrate every second, they will come undone.

If England stand off and opt for patience, Germany will run iut convincing winners.

If England stop the Germans playing by pressing the ball, tackling and driving forward I’m sure England will win.

Man for man England are the better team.

*********

James Milner is a ­manager’s dream.

You know what you’re ­going to get from him.

Even if he’s having a dodgy 10 minutes you know he won’t hide or go missing.

Milner will never let you down through lack of effort. He’s a well-rounded young man who keeps his feet on the ground and knows what makes his game work.

In terms of delivering crosses and playing at a high tempo, pressing and tackling opponents, he’s great for his country.

I’m well aware that in England’s opener against the United States he was hauled off after half an hour. That was largely down to the fact that he’d been laid low with a ­stomach bug for a few days before the game and lost some strength.

Now he’s fit and bombing on again.

Every team needs players who don’t get all the ­credit they deserve but can be relied upon to work and put the team before ­everything else.

And his best crosses will trouble any defence.

************

Manuel Neuer is ­rightly hailed as one of the best young goalies in Europe.

All the big clubs looking for a long-term keeper have been tracking the Schalke star.

He’s still only 24, but he’s won the European ­Under-21 title and has a bright future in the game.

I see a lot of good things in him – especially when you look at his physique and command of the penalty area.

He’s almost 6ft 4in tall and is a talented shot-­stopper. But I do think there are weaknesses in Neuer that England can exploit.

For a start he’s only won nine full caps, so he’s ­lacking in real international ­pedigree.

He can gain that only by staying in the Germany team for the next few years, but nobody knows yet how he’ll react if things start to ­unravel for him in the ­England game. I’ve already noted that at corners and some ­free-kicks he has a ­tendency to flap a bit. ­England need to get ­bodies around him.

Delivery is everything if you want to exploit a keeper’s nerves at set-­pieces.

But if the ball gets ­delivered into the right areas at a good pace ­England must get some bodies around the goalie to exploit any slips.

It could be productive for them.

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!