Germany put on a superb display to thrash England 4-1 and move into the World Cup last eight, leaving its long-standing rivals bemoaning a decision to rule out an equalizer which it says cost it the game. Thomas Mueller scored twice as Germany's young side overwhelmed a sloppy defense Sunday with some sublime counter-attacking to dish out England's biggest ever defeat in the World Cup Finals. “It was a grandiose performance by our young team against a very good, experienced England team,” said delighted Germany coach Joachim Loew, who has put together Germany's youngest squad in 76 years with an average age of 25. “It was first class and a lot of fun to watch.” However, there were no smiles on the England bench when a Uruguayan referee, Jorge Larrionda, took center stage in a dramatic game which justified its pre-match billing. Trailing 2-1 late in the first half, England midfielder Frank Lampard struck a shot from 20 meters out which hit the bar, dropped a meter behind the line, then bounced up and hit the bar again before it was gathered by keeper Manuel Neuer. It was clearly a goal and made an ironic comparison with Geoff Hurst's disputed goal in the 1966 final between England and West Germany final which England won. In that game 44 years ago, England was awarded a third goal to put them ahead 3-2 in extra time even though there is still no clear proof even today that it crossed the line. England went on to win 4-2. “It is incredible,” England coach Fabio Capello said of the referee's decision Sunday. “The game would probably have been different after this goal ... I think (it was) the mistake of the linesman, but also I think the referee,” Capello added, saying he would not resign as England boss after the heavy defeat. But England can have little complaints over the course of the game at the Free State Stadium, as a German side spearheaded by Mueller and 32-year-old Miroslav Klose picked England apart. The English defense looked particularly sluggish. “We had some luck and took the lead. After we went 3-1 up, we improved and the match was soon over after that,” Mueller said. In a frantic first half, Germany took a deserved 2-0 lead with some high-paced play. Klose snatched the lead in the 20th minute, catching the English defense napping and chasing down German keeper Neuer's deep goal kick to slot home his 12th goal in World Cup tournaments. Striker Lukas Podolski struck again in the 32nd minute with a fierce low drive after a combination of passes via Mueller and Mesut Ozil to give them a two-goal cushion. Matthew Upson cut the deficit in the 37th minute, heading in a Steven Gerrard cross, with Neuer completely missing the ball, and just a minute later, Lampard fired in his shot only for the referee to wave play on. England came out fighting in the second half and hit the bar again with a fierce Lampard free kick seven minutes after the restart but Mueller ended its hopes with two goals in three minutes to cap a memorable performance for the youngster. Germany now faces Argentina which beat Mexico in the quarterfinals, while England, once among the favorites, go home after a poor campaign in which striker Wayne Rooney failed to live up to expectations and it struggled against supposedly lesser sides. “I think if you look back at the game as a whole we've been beaten by the better team,” England captain Steven Gerrard said. “At 2-1, if Frank's ball had stayed I think it would have been a nice turning point in the game.” “We clearly controlled the game until England's goal, then there was a short critical phase,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “What I saw in the television this ball was behind the line, it must have been given as goal.” Had the goal been awarded, it could have changed the course of the match. “They played a good game,” Capello said. “We made some mistakes when they played the counterattack. The referee made bigger mistakes. Little things decide the result always.”
