Forlan Could Lift His Side To A Victory Over Germany And Grab Third Place At World Cup 2010.

Germany’s World Cup sputtered to an end after a dominant Spain side knocked the Germans out of the competition with a 1-0 win in the semi-finals. Now, Germany will face an Uruguayan side that has had some very inspiring performances over the course of the tournament. Their star man, Diego Forlan, has been one of the players of the tournament. The two sides will battle it out for third place and the recognition and respect that they can share a stage with the best football nations in the world.

Germany’s Miroslav Klose was at first a doubt for this match, but recent reports suggest he could start. Thomas Mueller will also be back in the lineup after having to serve a suspension. Podolski has been ruled out of this match through injury, so it is likely Toni Kroos will start in his place.

Neuer – Lahm, Mertesacker, Friedrich, Boateng – Schweinsteiger, Khedira – Mueller, Ozil, Kroos – Klose

Klose is set to equal the top goal-scoring record in World Cup history should he net just one against Uruguay. Should he bag a brace, he will be the undisputed top goal-scorer, with 16 all-time World Cup goals.

Uruguay go into this match with their heads held high. Few had expected them to reach the Round of 16, and much fewer the semi-finals. After Luis Suarez’s rather despicable hand-ball that saw him red-carded during the match against Ghana, Uruguay have dome under intense scrutiny from neutral fans in South Africa. At the match today, don’t expect to see too many neutrals in the crowd hopping on the Uruguay bandwagon.

Muslera – Fucile, Godin, Lugano, Caceres – M. Pereira, Perez, Arevalo, Cavani – Suarez, Forlan

While this German side is full of young players who will help Germany challenge for the World Cup for many years to come, the Uruguayans go into this with what could be their last hurrah. When you look at how difficult it is to qualify for the World Cup from South America, and the age of some of their star players, it may be quite some time before we see Uruguay competing at a World Cup competition again. They will go into this match with the determination and belief that they can win and return home in glory. The Germans, however, may not place too much importance on this match when most of the German players could have seen themselves competing on Sunday for the championship. Uruguay’s will to win here may carry them over the finish line, and with Diego Forlan back in the side, they could well win in style.