Never one to disappoint, especially on a big, international stage, true tournament favorites Germany dismantled a hapless Australia in the most impressive performance of the World Cup so far.
Goals galore and quality chances a plenty, die Mannschaft quickly established their dominance going 1-0 up in the eighth minute on Lukas Podolski's screamer and added a second before the half-hour mark with Klose's fine finish. It is widely known that the pair have yet to replicate their NT form for club, but Podolski and Klose have never disappointed in their country's colors.
The contributions of the veteran players were matched by that of the German youth in the second half, with Thomas Mueller and Cacau scoring in quick succession. In fairness, the game was far out of reach before that and the Socceroos seemed particularly disheartened when their leader, Tim Cahill, sent off on a soft red in the 56th minute. A difficult fixture on paper, the ancient Australian side was outmatched and outclassed in every aspect of the game. Particularly effective was Mesut Ozil in the middle, heralding the new Germany in more ways than one.
Argentina were fine in their opener, but Germany have set the bar among the favorites. The message was clear; it is up to Brazil, Spain et al to take notice.
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