Everyone knew the Argentina juggernaut had its flaws, namely, the defense. All it took was the dynamism and organization of Germany to make them pay for it.
Twenty-year-old Thomas Müller nodded home the opener in the 3rd minute, and Miroslav Klose and Arne Friedrich put the game beyond reach in the second half.
The Germans bossed the match from the opening whistle, mostly through the vitruoso play of Bastian Schweinsteiger. Full of energy, inventiveness and precision, the Bayern Munich maestro controled the flow of the game. Just three minutes in, Schweinsteiger whipped a cross in from the left side to the near post and Müller, one of the revelations of the tournament, was first to the spot. Beating Nicolás Otamendi, he glanced his header in to shockingly put the Germans on top.
After that, the game settled into a rhythm of the Argentines’ attacking dazzle and the Germans' disciplined defending. La Albiceleste came out of the halftime with more energy than in the first 45, pushing for the equalizer. Sergio Higuaín came close in the 63rd minute, after being sent through by Lionel Messi. But he was unable to get much on the shot.
Finally, with Argentina exposed in the back, Klose doubled the lead in the 68th minute with the simplest of his 13 career World Cup goals. Released by a creative pass from Müller, Lukas Podolski broke in down the left side and slid a simple cross into the middle past outstretched goalkeeper Sergio Romero. Klose, playing in his 100th international match, was alone with an open goal, and he calmly put the ball in the back of the net.
In the 74th minute, Friedrich iced the affair. Schweinsteiger—again!—beat three defenders in the Argentine area and dropped a pass back for the big defender, who bundled his shot into the net for his first international goal in his 77th cap.
Klose finished it off in the 89th minute with another tap in, adding insult to injury for Argentina. It was his 14th World Cup goal, tying him with Gerd Müller at 2nd place in the alltime list, one behind Brazil's Ronaldo.
The Germans now move on to the semifinals to face the winner of the Paraguay-Spain match later in the day. Unfortunately, they will be without Müller, who picked up a yellow card and will miss the game through suspension.
Scoring Summary
GER – Mueller 3’, Klose 68’, Friedrich 74’, Klose 89’
Argentina: S. Romero; N. Burdisso, G. Heinze, M. Demichelis, N. Otamendi (J. Pastore 70’); J. Mascherano, M. Rodríguez, Á. Di María (S. Agüero 75’); L. Messi, C. Tévez, G. Higuaín
Germany: M. Neuer; A. Friedrich, P. Lahm, P. Mertesacker, J. Boateng (M. Jansen 72’); B. Schweinsteiger, M. Özil, S. Khedira (T. Kroos 77’); M. Klose, L. Podolski, T. Müller (P. Trochowski 83’)
