Ecuador 0 Germany 3
Germany comfortably saw off Ecuador 3-0 in their battle for Group A supremacy.
Miroslav Klose found the back of the net in the fourth and 44th minute before Lukas Podolski broke out of a four-game scoring slump when he put the issue beyond doubt in the 57th.
Germany kick-off the World Cup knockout stages in Munich on Saturday, with England to take on Ecuador should they avoid defeat against Sweden later tonight.
The three-time tournament winners left little doubt they were not taking their South American rivals lightly.
A potential yellow card ban did not stop Jurgen Klinsmann fielding Michael Ballack, even though a second booking would have kept his captain sidelined in the next round.
Chelsea's Middlesbrough-bound defender Robert Huth got his World Cup debut at the expense of centre-back Christoph Metzelder, while Podolski remained in the starting XI despite a recent drop of form.
With Ecuador already through to the knockout stages, coach Luis Fernando Suarez made five changes from the 3-0 victory over Costa Rica.
In-form striker Carlos Tenario and former Southampton forward Agustin Delgado, who have scored four of Ecuador4s five tournament goals to date, got a deserved rest, with Aston Villa4s Ulises de la Cruz starting in central defence.
Ecuador were keen to display their talents to a worldwide audience and took just 60 seconds to create the first chance of the match as Luis Valencia undid Philipp Lahm on the right wing.
His sharp cross was caught by Jens Lehmann just before Ivan Kaviedes could latch onto it.
Germany showed much better finishing skills three minutes later when Klose grabbed his third goal of the tournament.
A left-wing flick from Bernd Schneider found Per Mertesacker in the box - and he found Bastian Schweinsteiger on the right side of the penalty area.
The Bayern Munich youngster laid the ball back to Klose, who lashed the ball home from six yards out.
After Schneider volleyed a pinpoint Lahm flick over, goalkeeper Cristian Mora got on the end of a Ballack ball moments before Klose.
The future Chelsea star then tried to catch Mora out of position with a 40-yard blast following a poor clearance - but his shot flew wide.
Germany remained well in control, and in the 33rd minute Schneider set up Klose - but the Werder Bremen hitman volleyed over from 14 yards.
Ecuador squandered a good chance through former Crystal Palace striker Kaviedes, who dragged his effort wide from a tight angle after good work from Felix Borja.
And Klose doubled Germany's advantage just before half time when he rounded Mora following a superb through-ball from Ballack.
The pattern remained the same in the second half as Schweinsteiger tested Mora with a low shot just 40 seconds after the restart.
Edwin Tenorio forced Lehmann to tip over his 35-yard effort before Podolski made it 3-0.
A mistake allowed Lahm in on the left and he found his future Bayern team-mate with a tidy pass - only for Podolski to fire inches past the right post from 18 yards.
However, the 21-year-old eventually broke through in the 57th minute when he knocked in a Schneider cross.
And the striker would have doubled his tournament tally 120 seconds later - but Mora was alert and bravely parried the close-range effort.
The sell-out crowd of 72.000 gave two-goal hero Klose a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 66th minute.
Six minutes later Mendez went close with a 25-yard free-kick from the left, then Ballack did likewise at the other end with a drilled effort from 35 yards.
Germany kept pressing, yet they failed to carve out any significant opportunities except for a Schweinsteiger shot which was palmed away by Mora in the 85th minute and another long-range attempt from Ballack two minutes later.
Lehmann denied Ecuador a consolation goal as he stopped Paul Ambrosi4s blast in injury-time.
The hosts - once again backed by a boisterous crowd - will now take on either England, Sweden or Trinidad and Tobago in Munich on Saturday.
Miroslav Klose found the back of the net in the fourth and 44th minute before Lukas Podolski broke out of a four-game scoring slump when he put the issue beyond doubt in the 57th.
Germany kick-off the World Cup knockout stages in Munich on Saturday, with England to take on Ecuador should they avoid defeat against Sweden later tonight.
The three-time tournament winners left little doubt they were not taking their South American rivals lightly.
A potential yellow card ban did not stop Jurgen Klinsmann fielding Michael Ballack, even though a second booking would have kept his captain sidelined in the next round.
Chelsea's Middlesbrough-bound defender Robert Huth got his World Cup debut at the expense of centre-back Christoph Metzelder, while Podolski remained in the starting XI despite a recent drop of form.
With Ecuador already through to the knockout stages, coach Luis Fernando Suarez made five changes from the 3-0 victory over Costa Rica.
In-form striker Carlos Tenario and former Southampton forward Agustin Delgado, who have scored four of Ecuador4s five tournament goals to date, got a deserved rest, with Aston Villa4s Ulises de la Cruz starting in central defence.
Ecuador were keen to display their talents to a worldwide audience and took just 60 seconds to create the first chance of the match as Luis Valencia undid Philipp Lahm on the right wing.
His sharp cross was caught by Jens Lehmann just before Ivan Kaviedes could latch onto it.
Germany showed much better finishing skills three minutes later when Klose grabbed his third goal of the tournament.
A left-wing flick from Bernd Schneider found Per Mertesacker in the box - and he found Bastian Schweinsteiger on the right side of the penalty area.
The Bayern Munich youngster laid the ball back to Klose, who lashed the ball home from six yards out.
After Schneider volleyed a pinpoint Lahm flick over, goalkeeper Cristian Mora got on the end of a Ballack ball moments before Klose.
The future Chelsea star then tried to catch Mora out of position with a 40-yard blast following a poor clearance - but his shot flew wide.
Germany remained well in control, and in the 33rd minute Schneider set up Klose - but the Werder Bremen hitman volleyed over from 14 yards.
Ecuador squandered a good chance through former Crystal Palace striker Kaviedes, who dragged his effort wide from a tight angle after good work from Felix Borja.
And Klose doubled Germany's advantage just before half time when he rounded Mora following a superb through-ball from Ballack.
The pattern remained the same in the second half as Schweinsteiger tested Mora with a low shot just 40 seconds after the restart.
Edwin Tenorio forced Lehmann to tip over his 35-yard effort before Podolski made it 3-0.
A mistake allowed Lahm in on the left and he found his future Bayern team-mate with a tidy pass - only for Podolski to fire inches past the right post from 18 yards.
However, the 21-year-old eventually broke through in the 57th minute when he knocked in a Schneider cross.
And the striker would have doubled his tournament tally 120 seconds later - but Mora was alert and bravely parried the close-range effort.
The sell-out crowd of 72.000 gave two-goal hero Klose a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 66th minute.
Six minutes later Mendez went close with a 25-yard free-kick from the left, then Ballack did likewise at the other end with a drilled effort from 35 yards.
Germany kept pressing, yet they failed to carve out any significant opportunities except for a Schweinsteiger shot which was palmed away by Mora in the 85th minute and another long-range attempt from Ballack two minutes later.
Lehmann denied Ecuador a consolation goal as he stopped Paul Ambrosi4s blast in injury-time.
The hosts - once again backed by a boisterous crowd - will now take on either England, Sweden or Trinidad and Tobago in Munich on Saturday.
posted by dgarden at 1:41 pm
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