France vs Germany: The key battles that could decide the WC quarterfinal

It’s a dream quarterfinal as France take on heavyweights Germany in the 2014 World Cup. While the former got rid of Nigeria with a late surge, Germany needed extra-time to see off a gritty Algerian side. Here are the key man-to-man battles that could decide the match: Karim Benzema vs Per Mertesacker: Mertesacker and Benzema have been permanent fixtures in their respective teams so far. Form wise, we have to give this battle to Benzema because of his pace. No doubt Benzema (40 percent) would lose the aerial duel against Mertesacker (69 percent) but speed and the ability to position himself between defenders is vital. Benzema has three goals in four games and if he’s used through the centre, can cause havoc. Mertesacker will have Matts Hummels or Jerome Boateng for support, but France stream forward in numbers and it won’t be easy to man-mark them. [caption id=“attachment_1602351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Benzema has three goals in four appearances this World Cup. Reuters[/caption] Raphael Varane vs Thomas Mueller: Varane has already won this battle — remember the Champions League ties between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich? He may not have played all 180 minutes over two legs but Varane was a vital cog in the finals too and is one of the best defenders in the world right now. His tackle success rate is 100 percent in the World Cup so far and Mueller, who started off in incredible fashion with a hat-trick against Portugal, has found it hard to get going in recent matches and was a peripheral figure against Algeria. If he starts clicking, there’s nothing like it — his major plus point being that he raises his game against tougher opponents. Mathieu Valbuena vs Benedict Howedes: As pointed out in this article , Germany’s biggest problem are their full backs and France’s greatest strength are their wide players. In Valbuena, they have a diminutive but dangerous player — he has recorded an 86 percent pass accuracy and wins 60 percent of his dribble attempts compared to Howedes who is good in the air (67 percent aerial duel success) but wasteful in positioning. It will be a close battle this one, but on the virtue of the movement we have seen so far, we will give Valbuena the nod. He has made a staggering 10 key passes which means he finds the space and the bigger the defender, the easier it is for him to surge past. Howedes is 6.5 inches taller than Valbuena. Blaise Matuidi vs Toni Kroos: Probably the most important battle of all. Matuidi has done well for France in attack and defence both but comes up against a man who has a 92 percent passing accuracy at the World Cup (347/377 successful passes), seven key passes and an assist. Matuidi is not that bad — he has one of the shortest average passing lengths in the team (14m) which shows a likeness to keep it simple while having a knack for shooting from out of the box and ghosting inside it too (7 shots - 5 shots from inside area, 2 from outside). But he has also committed the most number of fouls in the team (7) while being the most successful dribbler with 92 percent take-ons successful. It tells us two complete midfielders are on a head-on collision. It’s simple mouth-watering. Paul Pogba vs Phillip Lahm/Sami Khedira: Whether Germany play Khedira or Lahm, young Pogba will be up against proper experienced midfielders. He has been afforded the space to go forward so far but Germany will look to stifle that. While Khedira is more of a physical presence in the defensive third, Lahm will look to keep the ball rotating and throw a few old-fashioned sliding tackles on Pogba. However, aerial presence and power is a big factor here. So is stamina. Pogba is bigger, stronger and younger and also netted in the last outing. He is a bit like Mario Balotelli, outspoken, mercurial and will try the unthinkable – this will be creativity against a machine-like duty to stem it.