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Monday October 12, 2009

10-man Germany down Russia to seal ticket to South Africa

MOSCOW: It was mission accomplished for Germany coach Joachim Loew on Saturday after his squad booked their place at the 2010 World Cup Finals as the ten-man Germans sealed a 1-0 win over Russia in Moscow.

A first-half goal from striker Miroslav Klose was enough to give Germany an unassailable four-point lead at the top of Group Four and even the second-half dismissal of Jerome Boateng did not hamper the guests.

“I’m happy about the game, we spent the whole week preparing well and the result is very pleasing, of course,” said Loew.

“The team played with discipline and deserved to get the berth at the Finals.”

Hamburg defender Boateng started his first international in the cauldron of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, but a second booking earned him a red card with 20 minutes remaining as Germany finished with ten men.

Russia missed out on a penalty in the dying stages when replacement defender Arne Friedrich appeared to commit a foul on Russia captain Andrei Arshavin in the box, but the referee waved play on.

“I don’t know whether it was a penalty on Arshavin but anyway I think it was the right decision by the referee,” added Loew.

“The red card for Boateng was also justified.”

Klose, the top-scorer at the last World Cup, struck in the 34th-minute after Lukas Podolski and Mesut Oezil combined to unlock the Russian defence.

“We dealt well with the pressure here – it was not an easy place to play,” admitted Bayern Munich striker Klose.

“We used our chance, it was not a top-class game and the match was difficult in places, but Mesut Oezil and I are developing a good understanding.”

Russia play Azerbaijan in Baku while Germany host Finland in Hamburg in their last qualification game, but Guus Hiddink’s Russian side now face two-legged play-off matches if they are to reach South Africa.

“We cannot be happy with the result of course, but the team showed character in the second half,” said Hiddink.

“We were not good enough at finishing our chances or on the counter-attack.

“But we still have a chance to qualify for the Finals in November’s play-off.”

Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler was the visitors’ hero with at least four world-class saves and looks set to travel to Africa as the number one choice ahead of Hanover’s Robert Enke.

“That was the most emotional match of my career,” admitted the 24-year-old Adler.

“The fact that the game went so well for me personally makes me very happy, but I only wanted to share in the victory.” — AFP

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