High riser: Thomas Muller (bottom right) beats Nicolas Otamendi to Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick
Penny for your thoughts: Diego Maradona saw his attack-minded tactics ruthlessly dismantled by a rapacious German side
So Germany march on, having dismantled yet another major footballing nation. Yesterday, on a glorious winter’s evening in Cape Town as the sun set behind Table Mountain, they produced the requisite magnificence to match the location with the definitive performance of this World Cup so far.
Their achievement was a deal more significant than the 4-1 victory over England, despite the revisionist theories which are likely to abound back home, justifying the failings of Fabio Capello’s team in the light of this result.
