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Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN
Nah, I don't buy that. In WC 2006, they did the exact same thing, they were already thru to the next round and played Mexico who were already thru and the teams were playing for first place, but it didn't matter where they finished, they would get the Dutch or the Argentines. Portugal fielded a less than stellar squad. Won the game and went on to the semis.
Scolari knows what he's doing, knows his squad, knows the mentality. I don't think this affects Portugal at all. Should they lose to Germany, I can't see them dressing a B squad being the factor. These guys know how to play together, they'll be fine. I can't think of a more overrated and overused term in sports than momentum. And when I say that, I mean from game to game momentum. It definitely exists during a game, but not from game to game. If momentum was so important, how many damn playoff series would the Flames have won?? 07 vs Detroit rings a bell. Wins Game3/4, lose Game 5 by a huge margin. Anyways back to the beautiful game, I truly believe Germany is going to lose or draw tomorrow. Maybe it's me wishing for that, but my gut is telling me that something weird is going to happen tomorrow.
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I actually think Germany might lose tomorrow too. It really sounds like the team is being run incompetently. (Man, what's with all the bad coaches in the Big teams, anyway?)... Apparently, the German team's practice consisted of playing basketball and cracking jokes. Which explains why they looked so flat and unfocused. Austria, despite being ranked lower than Canada, do not look as out of place as one would think.
Momentum definitely exists... to use the Flames example... the Flames were (are?) a team that don't know how to use momentum to their advantage, and lack the killer instinct (like the Czechs, no less). Strong teams can harness the energy from winning a game and apply it to the next.
Scolari knows his team, but he's also an outgoing coach. I'm not saying it always happens that a team that intentionally dismantles itself has chemistry issues, but it can definitely happen. Don't forget, the Portugese won that game... this time their depth couldn't even beat Switzerland, who also had nothing to play for except their retiring coach... so that means its a whole different scenario. Maybe they'll snap back into place and be a juggernaut and win the whole thing... or maybe, they'll look like Germany v. Croatia, and be disjointed individuals.