World Cup: Germany vs. Spain: After half an hour, it’s still scoreless in Durban

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It is an interesting tactical game that Germany Coach Joachim Loew has his team playing.

Rather than running at the Spanish with pace and power, as they did against Argentina, the Germans are holding back, protecting their lines and only breaking forward occasionally.

It could be that the Mannschaft is missing suspended forward Thomas Mueller more than it wanted to let on before the match began.

Spain, meanwhile, continues to try to thread through balls between the German defenders, with little success. A Xabi Alonso shot that flew wide has been its only recent goal effort.

One-third of the way through the game, it’s still scoreless, but the feeling is that the younger German players will be picking up their offensive effort before too long.

-- Grahame L. Jones, in Johannesburg, South Africa