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The more Germany change, the more things stay the same. If the result last night was every bit as predictable as stereotype demands — these traditional powerhouses have now won six consecutive opening fixtures at World Cup finals — the manner of an exquisite, fluid victory was anything but. This was the Germans, but not as we know them.
With a performance befitting its location in the extraordinary, sweeping Moses Mabhida Stadium and worthy of the ear-bleeding din it housed, Germany unpicked Australia, played around them and ultimately left them humiliated. There was a familiar ring to a couple of the goalscorers, but this was a side with the touch of ballerinas as much as bulldozers.
Gloss may have been daubed on the scoreline in the aftermath of Tim Cahill's harsh dismissal for a foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger — the Everton man, whose competition may already have juddered to a premature close, was inconsolable — but it was warranted. Who would have predicted that Germany would spark South Africa 2010 into life?
And yet this is a vastly remodelled side, peppered with players who helped the country to win the European Under-21 Championship last summer and were inspired against a poor Australia by the sublime Mesut Özil, who is emblematic of Germany's rebirth and renewal. The son of Turkish Gastarbeiter (guest workers), Özil reads from the Koran before matches.
Lukas Podolski shattered the deadlock, with Miroslav Klose making a mockery of a dismal season with Bayern Munich, in which he limped his way to three goals, to claim his eleventh at World Cup finals. Thomas Müller and Cacau, a replacement for Klose, did the rest. "They outplayed us," Pim Verbeek, the Australia coach, said.
While the pre-match statistics spoke of old certainties — 21 successive converted penalties in leading tournaments, no group stage defeats since 1994 — in tone, personnel and form, this felt like a new Germany. Four years ago, Jürgen Klinsmann began untethering the Nationalmannschaft from their traditional rigidity, but the process continues to be hastened.
Injury, of course, had deprived Joachim Löw of Chelsea's Michael Ballack, René Adler, the goalkeeper, Heiko Westermann and Simon Rolfes, while other former stalwarts such as Kevin Kuranyi, Torsten Frings and Christoph Metzelder have drifted from the coach's favour. What remained was inexperienced, brave, multicultural, interesting and promising.
For five heady minutes, Australia rode a wave (much like their supporters have been doing on Durban's South Beach), but when Germany pressed forward, they glistened with fluency. They snared the advantage when Müller, one of three attackers behind Klose, stormed down the right and pulled the ball back for Podolski, whose effort smacked off Mark Schwarzer's right palm, into the net.
Played in by Podolski's left-field cross, Klose had fluffed one memorable opportunity, but the old stager was not to be thwarted. Philipp Lahm's cross from the right left Australia high up the pitch and square and while Schwarzer tore from his line in a desperate attempt to claw away the danger, he merely presented Klose, 32, with an open target for his header.
When Marco Rodríguez, the Mexican referee, refused a handball against Per Mertesacker, Australia's discipline degenerated along with their football; first Müller was permitted the space to curl a shot just wide from the fringes of the penalty area and then Cahill — along with a stern ruling by the officials — ensured that a bad night became profoundly worse.
Australian resistance, what there was of it, crumbled. A pair of goals in the space of two minutes hardly flattered Germany, with Müller reaping the benefit of a scorching surge from Podolski, accepting possession, checking his run and then scoring off the left post and Cacau, who had been on the pitch for a matter of seconds, converting a smart cross by Özil.
"Were we perfect? I wouldn't say that," Löw said. "There's room for improvement. This was the first match of our tournament and Australia won't be our ultimate benchmark.
"There will be more difficult opponents, but this was a good warm-up. There's no euphoria."
Cahill faces anxious wait
Tim Cahill, the Australia and Everton midfield player, broke down in tears last night as he reflected on the sending-off that has "shattered" his World Cup. The 30-year-old, who was harshly shown a straight red card for a challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger during his side's 4-0 defeat to Germany, must await the verdict of a Fifa disciplinary committee, but faces a suspension of one or two matches.
"To have my World Cup shattered in that way is one of the worst things I have experienced," said Cahill, who was dismissed by Marco Rodríguez, the Mexican referee, in the 56th minute. "This was my World Cup dream and someone has taken it away with one decision.
"I asked him [Rodríguez] about it after the game, but he refused to answer. Hopefully, the people at Fifa will understand there was no malice to it."
Germany (4-2-3-1): M Neuer P Lahm A Friedrich P Mertesacker H Badstuber S Khedira B Schweinsteiger T Müller M Özil L Podolski M Klose. Substitutes: Cacau (for Klose, 69min), M Gómez (for Özil, 73), M Marin (for L Podolksi, 81). Booked: Ozil.
Australia (4-2-3-1): M Schwarzer L Wilkshire C Moore L Neill S Chipperfield C Valeri V Grella B Emerton J Culina R Garcia T Cahill. Substitutes: B Holman (for Grella, 46min), N Rukavytsya (for R Garcia, 64), M Jedinak (for B Emerton, 74). Sent off: Cahill. Booked: Moore, Neill, Valeri.
Referee: M Rodríguez (Mexico). Attendance: 62,660.
Ahead of the rest
Miroslav Klose, the Germany striker, improved his remarkable aerial record in the World Cup by heading the second goal against Australia last night.
Most headed World Cup goals
From 1966
Klose (Germany) 7
Müller (West Germany) 5
Klinsmann (West Germany/Germany) 4
Skuhravy (Czechoslovakia) 4
Szarmach (Poland) 4
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