XF NC - Semi Finals! › Germany vs Belgium!

Germany vs Belgium

Date and Time: Sunday 31th August 2008, 20:00 GMT

[centerRoad to the Semis! ]

4 - 0 4 - 0 4 - 0 4 - 0 4 - 0

4 - 0 4 - 2 4 - 0 4 - 0 4 - 0

[/center]
Where to start with this one, a simply sublime encounter in prospect for any avid ET fan. Two of the most profound and successful Nations in Enemy Territory, both have cruised past the opposition to get to this stage of our proceedings. Let's have a closer look at each team and the key areas that could make or break this match than for either side.

[centerLineups! ]

sNoOp butchji haZer wEAK duKe_ phate

vila jetro Kevin lio acid mAus

[/center]
Germany have always been the favorites for the XF NC crown and have been on top of the NC scene for a number of previous seasons. With a consistent line-up and numerous players within the side having played with each other in a number of different teams, it's a formidable combination to go along with the significant talent running throughout the side.

On paper, most people would have Germany as the favorites going into this game and to be fair, most of the time I would agree however, looking at the German team, the notable inclusions of duKe and phate along with drago no longer involving himself within the Germany setup, does detract some of the quality from this side and also tarnishes the "invincible" tag which has long gone hand in hand whenever you mention a German NC team.

Don't get me wrong, both duKe and phate are proven replacements for their more infamous counterparts but comparing the two teams, man for man, you can't help feel that the Belgians have the overall individual skill advantage going into this game. It's a face value analysis, with little depth or warranted basis for the opinion in question but it surely has to have some sort of impact on the game, even if it's only a psychological advantage in favor of their Belgian counterparts.

If German want to progress to the final, sNoOp, wEAK and butchji are going to have to get the new additions to the team into the German way of playing and thinking, otherwise, they could struggle to live up to their favourites title.

This is where Belgium could have the advantage; the consistency throughout their side. With numerous ex-overload players in the side accompanied with the unstoppable mAus, I've never seen an NC team adapt so well to an ever changing line-up, it's an impressive quality to have in a team over the summer months, especially when few of the players are active in their own personal teams.

As I've mentioned, mAus is the triumph card for the Belgians here, with a ludicrously coherent and consistent form card, going through the entirety of this tournament. The thick overload presence is there yet again, with lio, vila, Kevin and acid making themselves available for this game, it's hard to see where a weak link comes from this side, in terms of individual attributes and quality.

On paper, I think most people would have Belgium winning the game comparing like for like but this is the XF NC, consistency is the key and with the Germans having more clan active players taking part in the team, certain members of the Belgian side could struggle to get back into the swing of things. Then again, as I mentioned before, the Belgians are so great at adapting and playing together, which makes this game such a difficult one to call.

Before the match even begins, pundits like me are trading blows on behalf of both teams, trying to find some sort of separation in potential and preparation to make a call and a semi-decent prediction. I've really struggled with this and that has to be understandable when two such formidable teams are concerned.

Right, the result. Even though Germany do seem to have more active players within the clan scene over the summer months, coupled with the experience from previous NC competitions from their big-game players, I think the Belgians will edge this one. Their exciting, fluidic style of play has to impress anyone that watches and combined with a slightly weakened German team, I think this one will go all the way, with a final score line of 4 - 2 on the cards.

It's not fair having just my opinion about the games, as generally, I talk utter shite and ramble on a wee bit too much. So, a chat with a couple of the players involved is the only fair course of action and hopefully, will be a great insight for people regarding Sunday's game.

Quote by vila

I'm looking forward to play on Sunday; it's been going good so far except for the little fallback against the Czechs, but in my opinion that was due to the weak line-up. The match could go either way, but if we play concentrated and if can play to our best we have a good shot of taking it. However Germany is not to be underestimated. butchjii , sNoOp and wEAK are not easy to overcome .

I don't think they are weakened by duKe or phate because they want to prove that they are capable of playing on this level.

We are certainly not rusty, we might have not played in a team for a while but we have been quite active over the past week/weeks. I think we are in good shape to take the game home.

Quote by butchji

I've read in vila's statement that they are quite active recently while most of our players don't really have that much joy at playing ET anymore and are therefore not in their best shape. Belgium has the strongest lineup ever in my humble opinion since they have outstandingly good individual players and also play together for a long time (most of them). So my obvious prediction is a 4:0 for Belgium but we'll try our best of course.

To your point about phate and duKe_ weakening our team: phate was playing for us in the last NationsCup and WorldCup which we both won. We recruited duKe_ because he is the best replacement for drago (he is and will always be irreplaceable tho so you might be correct about 'weaker' there)

Last thing I have to say is a quote of twidi I think:

Hopefully we don't get raped too badly by mAus & co!