Germany vs Ghana Players: Part 2

As promised, here is the second set of player pictures from the Germany vs. Ghana match in Fortaleza, Brazil.

I'll be retroactively posting a few more things from Brazil before moving on to other adventures from the summer and more from Saudi Arabia.

Stay tuned!

Sulley Muntari helping the pitch invader find his way to the police :)

The Ghanaians celebrating their first goal.

Sami Khedira distributing the ball.

The Ghanaian goalkeeper taking a goal kick.

Celebrating their second goal!

Time to bring on the marshall.

Kroos about to take a corner.

The Germans got one back and tied it up.

The Germans plotting their free kick.

The Ghanaians employing basic tactics to defend that free kick.

Bastian giving out directions.

Clash of heads at the end of the game.

The Germans thanking their fans for the support.

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Germany vs Ghana Players: Part 1

In my first post on the Germany vs. Ghana match at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, I showed you pictures from around the stadium and of my overall experience at the game.

This post is dedicated to the players who fought so hard in that match. These are pictures I took of them before, during, and after the game. I sat behind the goal on the side that Germany used to warm up, so this first set is mostly of them. The second set is more inclusive.

I may not have attended the most (or the best) games at the World Cup, but I had the pleasure of watching the eventual world champions play.

Congratulations Germany.

Lieutenant Schweinsteiger warming up (even though he didn't start).

Schweinsteiger and Klose having a laugh while warming up.

Khedira and Boateng during warmups.

Captain Lahm.

Muller bringing the ball down during warmups.

Hummels taking a shot during warmups. Lahm, Muller, and Podolski looking on. Manuel Neuer doing his own thing.

My man Bastian again. I'm naming my kid after him.

Gotze and Muller about to kick off.

Captain Lahm doing what he does best: footballing.

I got the Boateng brothers in the same shot. 9 in red (Ghana) and 20 in white (Germany). Same mother, different coach.

Germany defending a Ghanaian throw-in. The coaches pay attention to every detail.

Ghana getting set for a corner kick.

Germany having to defend yet again. Ghana brought it on this day.

The German bench looking on with concern.

The Germans celebrating their first goal.

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Germany vs Ghana, Fortaleza, Brazil, June 21, 2014

As part of my 2014 FIFA World Cup experience in Brazil, I traveled to Fortaleza to catch two group stage matches: Germany vs. Ghana and Greece vs. Ivory Coast.

Here are some pictures from the Germany vs. Ghana match. The first half wasn't much to write home about, but the second half was spectacular, with all four goals coming in the second 45 minutes.

It should be mentioned that Ghana played one hell of a game. Although they didn't make it past the group stage, they can hold their heads high knowing they were drawn into the group of death, where they held the eventual world champions to a 2-2 draw, leading 2-1 for about 10 minutes in the second half.

Here is the first set of pictures. The following posts will be mostly of the players.

The match ticket I bought on the FIFA website prior to arriving in Brazil.

The local girl I gave my ticket to for free after she offered me $15 for it (I paid $175). Philanthropy feels good. Don't worry, my friend had a spare ticket.

Heading into the stadium for the game...

Getting closer...

"Wait, Chris, take pictures of me as I pretend to head this ball!"

Flags inside the stadium.

More flags inside the stadium.

Some fans near our seats.

Some more fans near our seats.

The players about to come out of the tunnel.

The nations' flags where the pre-game ceremony of national anthems and such takes place.

The coaches assessing their teams' performance during the game and giving directions.

Just in case you didn't already know what city this game was in.

My commemorative cup from the game.

My new ticket and my view from our seats.

A lonely corner flag.

Some concerned German fans. This was when they were down 2-1.

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Iracema Beach, Fortaleza, Brazil

Here are the rest of the pictures I took at Iracema Beach in Fortaleza, Brazil.

While in Fortaleza, I attended the Germany vs. Ghana and Greece vs. Ivory Coast World Cup matches. I'll be posting those pictures in the near future.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these!

FIFA fan zone on the beach.

I watched the USA vs Portugal game there and went CRAZY!

Such a cutie.

For the believers out there.

Looking out at the end of the pier.

Looking back at the shoreline.

Wind turbines in the distance!

The sun is beginning to set. Let's see if I can get some good shots!

Abandoned boat/ship to the right.

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