World Cup Now: Spain-Germany match was soccer at its finest

Germany and Spain staged an epic battle on Sunday, a tense Group E match that ended in a 1-1 tie.

While the result might have left both sides wanting, and perhaps regretting opportunities missed, there is no denying the quality of play. Even more interesting, the result kept things murky for both team’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage, as Spain would have clinched a spot with a win, and would have eliminated Germany in the process.

Here are our takeaways from Germany-Spain:

DaMarcus Beasley: I just thought it was a fair result. I just enjoyed watching this brand of football. When I played, I always liked to have the ball on the ground. You didn’t see too many long passes, too many players just kicking the ball out for no reason. That’s not what I like. Yes, they’re two different teams and how they play. Spain, like Sacha said, they’ll just pass, pass, pass trying to create space for others and themselves. Germany is more of a counterattack. They like to hit you on the break, but with pace and with speed, and precision. It’s just a really good game of football. I thought this was a fair result. I thought Germany got what they deserved in the tying goal, and it was a fun game to watch.

Jimmy Conrad: Given how both of these teams played in this game, I kind of hope that they both advance into the round of 16 just because of what they’re capable of even if they do have an off day, like Germany did against Japan on match Day 1. Now, my big takeaway is that having a real striker is greater than the old false nine where you don’t have a real striker. We saw both teams make a sub. Alvaro Morata comes in for Spain, he’s a No. 9. They played with a false nine guys that can run around up there but aren’t traditionally best suited for that position, and they score. And then what happens? Germany brings in Niclas Füllkrug, who also is a traditional No. 9, a traditional striker, and they score. So I wonder how that’s going to impact and influence both of these nations moving forward, because I feel like their teams are a little bit better balanced, maybe flow and have a better rhythm when they have their best players in their best positions. I was really impressed that both teams found a way to use their [No.] 9’s and got goals from that.

Sacha Kljestan: My biggest takeaway is these are just two good teams, and I think that I want to see these two teams advance because I think they can make some noise in the knockout stages and that there aren’t many teams I think that are going to want to match up against them in the knockout round. I also agree with the strikers coming in; they both made a big difference off the bench. All you can ask for as a coach when you’re making an attacking sub is “go in and try to change the game, or try to do something,” and they both scored goals. Well done to both coaches. Well done to both teams, and I really enjoyed this game.