The Boateng brothers will be in focus when Germany take on Ghana in the FIFA World Cup 2014 Group G match in Fortaleza on Saturday.
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The Group G game is scheduled for a 4 pm local time (12.30 am IST, 8 pm BST, 3 pm ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six and and Sony Six HD in India. The match can also be watched online via live streaming in India HERE. Catch the match in the UK on ITV and BBC with the live streaming option HERE or HERE. Germany viewers can live stream the match HERE, while US viewers can watch the game on ESPN while you can also live stream the action HERE. Viewers in Australia can watch HERE online, while Africa viewers can do so HERE. South Africa viewers can catch the match HERE.
In a unique face off Jerome Boateng will be in Germany's camp while his half-brother Kevin-Prince Boateng will look to inspire his Ghana side to a much-needed victory.
It will be the second straight World Cup that Germany and Ghana and the two brothers meet, with Germany running out 1-0 winners in the 2010 edition courtesy a Mesut Ozil goal.
That result did not matter as much, as both Ghana and Germany qualified for the last 16, with the latter getting knocked out in the quarterfinals, while Joachim Low's men fell in the semifinals to eventual winners Spain.
Kevin-Prince Boateng, a former Germany U-21 international, threw down the gauntlet with authority by commenting Germany just did not have any leaders in their squad, someone who can take the game by the scruff of the neck when things start to go bad.
"In really tight matches for Germany in the past there was never anyone who stepped up to take charge," he said. "[Coach Joachim] Low can hang those on the wall if he wants. It's not just the opinion of one player. It's a fundamental truth.
"I guessed I touched a nerve by speaking the truth about that."
Neither brothers, who have had a tetchy relationship in the past, but are now pretty close, have made contact with each other from the start of the World Cup, and Jerome is determined not to be distracted by all the brothers-playing-against-each-other talk.
"It is a bit strange but I'm not missing our regular contact," he said on the German football federation's official website. "The World Cup is a special situation and I think it just wouldn't be right if we remained in touch with each other. I am with Germany and my full focus is on my tasks here."
Germany strolled to a 4-0 victory over Portugal in their opening Group G match, with Thomas Muller grabbing a hat-trick for himself. Portugal were very much the architects of their own demise in that game, and it is unlikely Ghana will make it that easy for the Germans on Saturday, especially since the Africans are desperate for a victory, after their agonising 2-1 loss to the USA.
Ghana threw away their chances of picking up at least a point in this extremely tough group, with John Brooks scoring a late winner. Points, at the very least one, is essential for Ghana to stand a chance of qualifying into the last 16, and Kwesi Appiah's men will be desperate for a perfect performance against Germany.
"We are the underdogs in this game," Ghana playmaker Andre Ayew said. "We're coming all out. We want to do something great so we're going to fight as a team to get results.
"We know the quality of the German defenders and we will see the quality of our strikers. It's going to be a tough one for both sides."
Team news: Germany: Mats Hummels is unlikely to feature on Saturday, after picking up a hamstring injury in the big win over Portugal. "He's had some activity and he ran but he's not 100 percent so we'll have to see how today's session goes," Low said on Friday.
"He didn't do any sprints. Now he's in the warm-up phase so we'll see how he does. I'd like not to change our defence but if we have to we have good alternatives."
If Hummels fails to make it, one of Shkodran Mustafi or Matthias Ginter will feature.
Ghana: Michael Essien, who started on the bench in the first match, has a slight ankle injury, but is expected to shake off the problem and start, while Kevin-Prince Boateng is also set to feature in the starting XI in the place of Jordan Ayew.
Expected lineups: Germany: Neuer; Mustafi, Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng, Howedes; Lahm; Khedira, Kroos; Muller, Ozil, Gotze.
Ghana: Kwarasey; Opare, Mensah, Boye, Asamoah; Essien, Muntari; Kevin-Prince Boateng, Andre Ayew, Atsu; Gyan.
Prediction: 2-1 to Germany
