A repeat of the European Championship final of two years ago, with the proviso that the Spanish are not quite as irresistible as they were while Joachim Low’s side are considerably better. Despite their victory in Vienna, the weight of history appears overwhelmingly in Germany’s favour. This will be Spain’s first World Cup semi-final but Germany’s 12th. Many people expected Vicente del Bosque’s side to have reached this stage of the competition but they might have thought they would have done it rather more smoothly. A relatively comfortable 1-0 win over Portugal was followed by a more laboured victory over Paraguay by the same score and, had Iker Casillas not saved Oscar Carodozo’s penalty, it might have been very awkward indeed. Afterwards, their central defender, Gerard Pique, demanded that his forward line become “more clinical and more ruthless” in front of goal and that when the fabulous midfield combination of Xavi and Andres Iniesta do take control of a game, Spain make that possession count. The big question for Del Bosque, as it has been throughout the tournament, is how much longer does he give Fernando Torres? The height and physical presence of Fernado Llorente might be a better bet against Germany’s central defenders rather than the man who beat them in Austria two years ago.

Germany have reached many World Cup semi-finals before but they have rarely done it in such style or with such popular backing. Their victories over England and Argentina in the knockout stages were triumphs of style rather than the usual bloody-minded will to win. The very harsh handball against Thomas Muller during the demolition of Argentina meant that Joachim Low will be deprived of his key midfielder for what promises to be the toughest test faced by this very young Germany side thus far. Piotr Trochowski is likely to replace the Bayern Munich man in midfield while Miroslav Klose, who has found the net four times in South Africa already, is seeking two more goals to surpass Ronaldo’s World Cup record of 15. “I cannot believe it,” Klose said. “I remember talking to Ronaldo after the 2002 final after Brazil had beaten Germany and I could never have dreamed of ever coming close to him. I hope he is not too worried.”

This should be the finest match of the World Cup thus far. Spain are technically the best team in the tournament facing the side that has played the closest to total football since Johan Cruyff took Holland to the 1974 final. Spain will not be as tactically naive as England and Argentina were against Germany in Bloemfontein and Cape Town while Iniesta and Xavi will give David Villa the kind of opportunities he has taken relentlessly during this World Cup. But although Low will struggle to replace Muller, the force seems to be with this Germany team and although man for man Spain may have the better players so did England and Argentina. Verdict: Germany to win.