Both these teams had secured advancement to the second round before this game began. That left them with two options: play their best 11 and go for first place in Group A OR rest their players with injuries and cards and take their chances against England in round 2. Germany elected for the former, Ecuador the latter. Thus, the lopsided result. Ecuador treated this game like a training session and got deservedly drubbed.
More interestingly, Miroslav Klose scored two goals, bringing his career World Cup tally to nine. Klose is a poacher. I, for one, can't remember him every scoring a particularly exceptional goal (nothing like Joe Cole's finish today). And, given all his strikes have come in the group stage, you could make the case that he is able to capitalize on the mistakes of weaker defenses, but lacks the creatively to beat the best organized back lines.
Nonetheless, Klose now sits just five goals behind another German, Gerd Mueller, the most prolific scorer in World Cup history. Ronaldo has notched 12 goals, but his current form doesn't suggest many more are to come. It will be interesting to see if Klose is able to add a few more goals this World Cup. Having just turned 28, he likely has another Cup (or two) in him and, if he can stay healthy, looks likely to break Mueller's record.
Goal scorers:
Miroslav Klose (4'), Germany (1-0)
Klose (44'), Germany (2-0)
Lukas Podolski (57'), Germany (3-0)
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