Germany's winning ways boost World Cup hopes (News Feature)

By Barry Whelan Oct 11, 2009, 13:04 GMT

Hamburg - Germany's ability to win when it matters not only enabled them to defeat Russia but will again make them among the favourites at the next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Russia coach Guus Hiddink said it was an old German trait of winning when not necessarily the better side that was the difference at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Saturday evening.

Dutchman Hiddink used a German word, 'Durchschlagskraft', meaning decisiveness or effectiveness, to describe why Germany won and his own team lost despite creating a string of opportunities.

'That was the difference between the two sides. We created several chances but didn't take them and the Germans score this single goal. That's their tactics,' he said.

Germany coach Joachim Loew was naturally delighted with Germany's well-drilled performance and the way they survived the dismissal of new cap Jerome Boateng midway through the second half.

'I'd sensed that everyone was carrying the victory gene inside him,' he said.

The 1-0 victory seals qualification for Germany from Group 4, leaving Russia to hope they can join the three-time world champions in South Africa via next month's play-offs.

Hiddink must have left wishing he had a player like Miroslav Klose who scored the only goal in the manner of Gerd Mueller, the German goalscoring legend.

Mueller, who had recently been critical of Klose and other forwards in the squad, could have no complaints that the Bayern Munich striker half stumbled on the artificial turf as he got his foot to the ball to poke in a neat cutback from Mesut Ozil.

The 35th-minute goal was Klose's 48th for the national team, putting him a stand-alone third in Germany's list of all-time international goalscorers, behind Mueller on 68 and Joachim Streich, a former East Germany international, who has 55.

All Russia's creativity and pressure came to nothing in front of goal where they were thwarted several times by goalkeeper Rene Adler, who as in the home tie when Germany won 2-1 was the saviour.

Andrei Arshavin, the lively Vladimir Bystrov, Igor Semschov and Roman Pavlyuchenko all had efforts blocked by the 24-year-old Bayer Leverkusen keeper, who has now put himself in a strong position to be Germany's first choice between the posts at the World Cup finals.

'They could have played for three hours and not scored,' said former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, commenting for Germany's ZDF television.

Kahn had earlier said that Germany lacked a world-class goalkeeper.

The Germans, who arrived in Hamburg Sunday ahead of a now meaningless final qualifying game against Finland on Wednesday, thus celebrate a qualifying campaign in which they are so far unbeaten with eight wins from nine games.

Loew will make changes. Captain Michael Ballack is nursing an ankle injury and Boateng is suspended for the match in his home stadium, but the coach will in any case use the game and friendlies next month against Chile and Egypt to test some fringe players.

As for South Africa next year, confidence has now risen in the German camp that all the pieces are falling into place at the right time.

Loew is making no predictions.

'I always say a team can play itself into form during a tournament and until then there are still many months...but Germany always play a good World Cup,' he said.