There was plenty of fresh German talent on display in the shape of Cacau and Weder Bremen’s young playmaker, Mesut Ozil but it was the old stagers, Lukas Poldolski and Miroslav Klose, who broke through against an Australian side that caved in completely following Tim Cahill’s overly harsh red card. Joachim Low was right to stick with Klose who had disappointed for Bayern Munich this season.

In contrast, the loss of the Everton midfielder is as hard a blow to the Australians as the result and it is difficult to see how they can recover against Ghana. Germany followed on from where they left off in the last two World Cups. In 2002 and 2006 their campaigns began with heavy wins against moderate opposition – 8-0 against Saudi Arabia and 4-2 against Costa Rica. This was not only a big win but a very impressive display.