Argentina’s last meeting against Germany provided the first clue that the shambolic beginning to Diego Maradona’s reign as Argentina manager was a false dawn. Argentina won the friendly in Munich 1-0, strangling the Germans’ possession and winning without being put under any real pressure. Since then, Argentina have looked a different team from the shambolic one that slipped and slid its way through qualification. Four straight wins, 10 goals scored and two conceded is the form of champions. And yet four years ago, Argentina met Germany in a World Cup quarter-final, having just overcome Mexico in the round of 16. The result was a stalemate in the Olympic Stadium and a penalty shoot-out, which to nobody’s surprise Germany won. This, however, is a far more together squad than the one Jose Pekerman took to the 2006 tournament, where Lionel Messi was simply not used properly. Maradona said that the feeling inside the Argentine camp was so strong that “I feel like pulling on a jersey myself. It is beautiful to be involved with this group of players. They said I couldn’t coach but suddenly I am winning matches and you know I am still the same guy.”

Logic dictates that man for man Argentina are a better side than Germany and therefore it will be Maradona taking his place in the semi-finals rather than Joachim Low. But man for man, England were a better team than Germany and aside from 10 minutes either side of half time they were hopelessly outplayed. Tactically, they were beaten by the use of Mesut Ozil as a withdrawn striker, who pulled both Gareth Barry and John Terry out of position, and the ruthless targeting of Matthew Upson, the obvious weak link in the English defence. Germany are quite capable of repeating the trick at Green Point on Saturday. The Argentine right-back, Nicolas Ortomendi, looked out of his depth against Mexico. He could very easily be targeted just as Upson was while Ozil is capable of dragging Javier Mascherano and Walter Samuel out of position to open up space for Miroslav Klose. These are tactics that might trouble Diego Maradona, who whatever he is, is not a tactician -  he is a motivator, a man who makes players feel good about themselves. He may be confident going into a quarter-final he knows he should, by rights be winning but his is a team that can be undone.

It may be a fixture that carries less resonance than Germany v England but it has been just as frequently played. If the 1986 final between these two sides represented the peak of Diego Maradona’s career as a player, the repeat in Rome four years later was the start of his decline. As a manager Maradona is no tactician and here he will come up against a highly tactical side, who are quite capable of exploiting the weaknesses in his defence. The question has to be whether Germany can stop what seems an irresistible forward line. Arne Friederich and Per Mertesacker are not the best centre-halves in the competition but they are vastly experienced. Will they allow themselves to be dragged out of position by Lionel Messi as John Terry and Matthew Upson were by Mesut Ozil? Argentina may simply have too much firepower but Mexico demonstrated in the first 20 minutes in Johannesburg that they could be tamed. If Germany hold their nerve, this could be an upset: Verdict: Germany to win.