A first-half strike by Gonzalo Higuain gave Argentina a 1-0 win
over fellow World Cup qualifier Germany on Wednesday.
The Real Madrid striker collected a long clearance from Angel
di Maria before beating defender Per Mertesacker, slipping the ball
past Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler, who had raced nearly 30 meters
(yards) off his line, and slotting it into the empty net for the
45th-minute winner.
"I was too late," said Adler, who was promoted to Germany's
No. 1 before the match.
Di Maria shook off the challenges of Serdar Tasci and Jerome
Boateng and hit the crossbar in the 38th minute with the best
opportunity in the first half by either team prior to the goal.
Germany had virtually no opportunities except for a couple of
long-range attempts that were easily kept out by goalkeeper Sergio
Romero. It is now winless in its last three games.
Although Germany cruised through World Cup qualifying and
Argentina struggled until the last match, Diego Maradona's team was
clearly the better side and earned applause from the crowd. The
Germans were booed at the final whistle.
"Our mistake was that we did not take too many risks going
forward," captain Michael Ballack said.
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger added: "It was a good test
against a very good team."
Argentina's close marking hampered the Germans and gave them
little space. But they stepped up the pace after 70 minutes and
Ballack mistimed his header from a good position.
Substitute Toni Kroos had Germany's best effort but Romero
blocked his shot in the 77th minute.
Nicolas Burdisso nearly made it 2-0 when he connected with a
sharp, low freekick from Juan Sebastian Veron but Adler stopped the
shot.
A pair of young midfielders, Thomas Mueller and Kroos, made
their debuts for Germany and both will hope to make the trip to
South Africa.
Germany beat Argentina 1-0 when it won the last of its three
World Cup titles, in 1990. Germany also won a penalty shootout
against Argentina in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup.
Argentina is in a group with Nigeria, Greece and South Korea
at this summer's World Cup, while Germany is with Australia, Ghana
and Serbia.
Lineups:
Germany: Rene Adler; Jerome Boateng, Per Mertesacker, Serdar
Tasci, Philipp Lahm; Bastian Schweinsteiger (Sami Khedira, 75),
Michael Ballack, Thomas Mueller (Toni Kroos, 67), Mesut Oezil
(Cacau, 67), Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (Mario Gomez, 45).
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis
(Nicolas Burdisso, 57), Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze (Clemente
Rodriguez, 48); Javier Mascherano, Juan Sebastian Veron (Mario
Bolatti, 90), Jonas Gutierrez, Angel di Maria; Lionel Messi,
Gonzalo Higuain (Carlos Tevez, 62).
