Miroslav Klose is tied with Thomas Muller with four goals each for Germany.
It’s an all-European semifinal on Wednesday when Spain and Germany meet up in World Cup play. Bookmaker.com has Spain as the slight 155 favorite and Germany at plus 170. A draw is plus 220. The total is 2 ½-goals, with the ‘under’ minus 145.
Germany is the small 180 favorite to win the tournament, despite being underdogs on Wednesday. Spain (plus 190), Netherlands (plus 195) and long shot Uruguay (plus 900) round out the list.
Both Spain and Germany have 4-1-0 records, bouncing back after defeats in group play. Spain lost 1-0 to Switzerland in its opening contest. Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia in its second game.
Germany is coming off a 4-0 win over Argentina. The Germans were small ‘dogs in that game, but added to a fantastic weekend for Europe. Spain’s win over Paraguay (1-0) and the Netherlands' stunning upset over Brazil (2-1) made for a clean European sweep over South America.
The win by Germany comes after a 4-1 victory over England in the Round of 16. Germany became the first World Cup team to win by at least three goals in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals.
Thomas Mueller has four of Germany’s tournament-high 13 goals. It has only surrendered two. Mueller is suspended for Wednesday after picking up his second yellow card. Reserve forward Cacau (abdominal muscle strain) is the team’s main injury concern, but he should be able to play.
The 20-year-old Mueller has been a key to Germany’s fast-paced attack. However, Miroslav Klose also has four goals and Lukas Podolski two. Klose’ exploits have moved him into a tie for second all-time in World Cup scoring (14 goals).
Spain had a 1-0 nail-biter in the quarterfinals against Paraguay. Paraguay had a goal disallowed in the 41st minute after a controversial offside call. Spain didn’t get on the board until a David Villa rebound in the 83rd minute.
Villa is the World Cup’s leading scorer with five goals. He also had the only tally in the 1-0 win over Portugal last game. Spain has scored six goals (allowing two) and Andres Iniesta is the only other player to score. The talented Fernando Torres has been shut out.
Spain defender Carles Puyol (blurred vision) and midfielder Cesc Fabregas (shoulder) have both been cleared to play. Torres isn’t listed with an injury, but his scoring failures are at least partly due to pre-tournament knee surgery.
World Cup Betting Odds
Spain’s passing game is its strength and it has easily won the time of possession battle against Switzerland (63-37 percent), Honduras (57-43), Chile (59-41), Portugal (61-39) and Paraguay (60-40).
Germany hasn’t had a time of possession greater than 55 percent. It actually lost the time of possession the last two games even with the lopsided wins.
Germany is the three-time World Cup champion, the latest in 1990. This is its third straight trip to the semifinals. Spain has never made the World Cup finals. Its best finish was a fourth in 1950.
Germany is 2-0-1 all-time against Spain in the World Cup. They met in the Euro 2008 final with Spain winning 1-0. Torres had the only goal.
This game is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. (PT), with weather clear and in the low 50s. ESPN will have the broadcast.