World Cup 2014: Germany vs France LIVE STREAM: Quarterfinals Kick Off With Two Seasoned International Teams
ByThe 2014 World Cup quarterfinals begin with France and Germany to move one step closer to reaching the title game.
Germany finished atop Group G and beat Algeria in the Round of 16 to make the quarterfinals, while France, Group E's champion, beat Nigeria. The winner of this match will take on the winner of Brazil's match against Colombia.
CLICK HERE to watch Germany play France live online, via WatchESPN. The match will start at 12 p.m. ET and coverage begins at 11:30 a.m.
According to FIFA.com, Estadio do Maracana, an arena built in 1950 that seats 74,738 people, will host the match. The city of Rio De Janeiro will have clear skies, but temperatures will not be so harsh and should hover around the mid-to-upper-70s, according to Weather.com.
Both France and Germany are seasoned World Cup teams and have played each other several times in international play. Currently, France has 11 head-to-head wins, Germany has eight and the two teams have six draws. Still, Germany has outscored France 42-41.
Both teams won their groups with seven points and came one draw away from winning all three games in the first round. France beat Honduras and Switzerland, but tied with Ecuador to finish with an impressive +6 goal differential. Germany beat Portugal and the U.S., but finished in a draw with Ghana to finish with a +5 goal differential.
Both teams have proven to have balanced attacks on offense, with several different goal-scorers, but German forward Thomas Mueller has accounted for four goals in the tournament.
In 14 World Cup appearances, France has won the title once, whereas Germany has one three titles in 18 appearances. Despite past success in the World Cup, France dropped to 17 in FIFA's international rankings while Germany came into the tournament ranked second overall. Due to Spain's absence from the knockout rounds, Germany is the highest-ranked team left in the World Cup.