'Dreamland' for Germany as they take on hosts Brazil
[caption id="attachment_39796" align="alignright" width="300"] HUGE GAME: Germany's coach Joachim Loew during the quarterfinal against France on Friday Picture: AFP[/caption]
GERMANY head coach Joachim Loew is relishing the chance to take on hosts Brazil in tomorrow's World Cup semifinal as his side bid to win a fourth world title.
"What can be more beautiful in a football dreamland than to play a World Cup semifinal against the hosts?" Loew said after his team trained on Saturday.
"It will be a huge game in Belo Horizonte."
Germany booked their semifinal place with a 1-0 last eight win over France at Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
The Germans are bidding to reach an eighth World Cup final.
Hosts Brazil stand in the Germans' path to the Maracana on July 13, but the Selecao will be without midfield star Neymar, who has a fractured vertebra, and suspended captain Thiago Silva at Belo Horizonte's Mineirao Stadium.
Lothar Matthaeus, who captained Germany to the 1990 World Cup win, said Loew's side face a tough challenge against the hosts, but "otherwise we have nothing to fear from this [Brazil] team".
Matthaeus said Neymar's injury was good for Germany, but bad for football: "He is one who stands out", while Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski tweeted "can't wait to face Brazil, sad for Neymar, hope you get better soon".
The Germans regard the semifinal as a chance to avenge their 2002 World Cup final defeat against Brazil when Ronaldo scored both goals in a 2-0 victory in Yokohama.
"I have reminded the team that we would like to correct the result," German FA (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach quipped.
Striker Miroslav Klose, who played in the 2002 final and was the tournament's top scorer, said Germany had a good chance to lift the title.
"I think we have a great chance to finally grab it and get the trophy in our hands," Klose said.
"But we can't take the second step before we take the first."
The squad went through their paces on Saturday and only centre-back Per Mertesacker was missing with mild flu symptoms, a virus which affected most of the squad during the week.
Outstanding performances against the French by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and man-of-the- match Mats Hummels, who claimed the 13th-minute winner, saw the Germans into their 13th World Cup semifinal out of a possible 20.
Some 26 million watched the win back home in Germany and fans packed into the public viewing area in front of Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate to cheer the victory on the other side of the world. – AFP
