Gäste-Forum » Cup but ultimately his decision on the order of the

FRANKFURT - Borussia Dortmund can qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League if it beats Galatasaray in Group D on Tuesday. Geronimo Allison Super Bowl Jersey .Then it can focus on staving off relegation in the Bundesliga.Arsenal, too, will be assured of advancing if it beats Anderlecht at home and Dortmund defeats — or draws — the Turkish side.Dortmund has won all three matches so far without conceding a goal and has nine points. Arsenal lost to Dortmund but won the next two and is second with six. Anderlecht and Galatasaray have one point each.Here are some things to know about Tuesdays matches.___DORTMUNDS WOESDespite its perfect record in the Champions League, Dortmund is in big trouble in the Bundesliga.Dortmund has dropped to next-to-last after losing 2-1 at Bayern Munich on Saturday, its fifth consecutive loss. Juergen Klopps team has lost seven of its first 10 matches in the Bundesliga season.The last time Dortmund lost seven of its first 10 was 30 years ago.Dortmund is even on points with last-place Bremen, which has scored more goals. Dortmund, Champions League finalist in 2013 and winner in 1997, is 17 points behind Bundesliga leader Bayern and 13 points away from qualifying for next seasons Champions League.One thing to remember, though: When Dortmund began the Champions League with three straight victories, it won the title, in 1997.___DILEMA IN DefenceDortmund central defender Mats Hummels injured his foot in Munich and will be out for several weeks.Hummels left the game at halftime and then watched his replacement, Neven Subotic, make two crucial mistakes than led to Bayerns come-from-behind victory.Hummels and Subotic formed the backbone of Dortmunds championship sides in 2011 and 2012. But Subotic has been slow in regaining form after sitting out more than half a year with a knee injury.Hummels came back from this years World Cup in Brazil with the title but also with an injury and missed the start of the season. Just as he began returning to form, hes now out again.Klopp could decide to play the experienced Subotic against Galatasaray or give another chance to Matthias Ginter. Ginter was in the World Cup squad and was signed away from Frieburg, but has not had a start since giving away an own-goal six weeks ago.___GOOD IN GERMANYGalatasarays 4-0 home defeat to Dortmund gives it little ground for optimism going to Germany but for one fact: the Istanbul side has always performed well there.Galatasaray has won five in Germany, with five defeats and three draws. With Germanys large Turkish immigrant population, Galatasaray has always enjoyed a lot of support there.Galatasaray has won in four of its last six trips to Bundesliga opposition, losing only once.Five Galatasaray players were born in Germany: Hamit Altintop, Hakan Balta, Tarik Camdal, Furkan Ozcal and Yasin Oztekin.Dortmund has three players with Turkish roots — Nuri Sahin (injured), Ilkay Gundogan and Burak Camoglu.___ARSENAL EYES KNOCKOUT STAGESArsenal can secure its place in the second round if it beats Anderlecht on Tuesday and Galatasaray does not beat Borussia Dortmund.Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has scored four times in his last two games, spearheading a strike force boosted further by Theo Walcott returning from a torn knee ligament that has kept him out since January.Walcott made a substitute appearance in Arsenals 3-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday, and will want to step up his comeback on Tuesday.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hope for a smoother game than the last one against Anderlecht, where two goals in the final two minutes of the match in Belgium secured a dramatic 2-1 victory.___ANDRELECHT ADIEU?If Arsenal already dashed Anderlechts confidence with a belated 2-1 come-from-behind win in Brussels last month, injuries and lacklustre form in the Belgian league have only added to its low morale since.The Belgian champions travel to London without two key players. Belgium international Steven Defour, Anderlechts midfield mainstay, injured his calf during a mediocre 1-1 home draw against Lokeren.Even worse, creative forward Matias Suarez will be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. It leaves Anderlecht without its star players in two lines, and its attack has been a problem for most of the season.In the league, Anderlecht lead by one point over AA Ghent and two over FC Brugge, with only 27 points out of a possible 42.The Champions League has given it little pleasure, with only a draw against Galatasaray giving some relief. Anderlecht has finished bottom of the group in all seven group-stage campaigns since it reached the last 16 in 2000-01. Dave Robinson Super Bowl Jersey . Riethers apparent stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a sending-off offence. Dean Lowry Super Bowl Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.com/Oren-burks-packers-jersey/ . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night.We dont like penalty shootouts to end matches. Thats what they tell us. Play on until they score. Argentina and Netherlands may still be playing until Sundays final if that were the case. It was a drab affair, arguably the worst game of the World Cup. With so much on the line, no team came close to proving why they deserved to win it. Fittingly, the record books will show it as a draw: A stalemate in every sense of the word. It was a chess match where both players didnt make moves for long stretches. Just when it looked like either of them could capture their queen, along came two of the best pawns on the board. It was Javier Mascherano vs. Ron Vlaar. Both players were magnificent for their team but their standout performances said a lot about the oppositions weaknesses. Argentina have been waiting for a player to step up to a level that Lionel Messi has been at during this World Cup, but on a night when their current captain didnt get close to that level, their former skipper stepped up with an absolutely immense performance. Mascherano sat deep, allowed the defenders to play deep as well and flat out refused the Dutch any space in front of them. It forced their opponents to play long balls to try and get Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie into the match. In possession, Mascherano was also excellent with distribution helping his side attack down the right and target Bruno Martins Indi. Louis van Gaal reacted quickly at half-time by removing the Feyenoord man. That Argentina forced them into a move so quickly played a big part in how the game was played. When Nigel De Jong, back after a thigh injury, had to come off in the second half, suddenly van Gaal only had one move left. A move he decided to use by removing the ineffective van Persie in extra time. No one could argue that the Dutch team needed Klaas Jan Huntelaar but for a game that looked so destined for penalties, the removal of the Manchester United striker could be questioned. What definitely needs to be questioned is the order of the penalty takers for the Dutch. It was clear that van Gaal wanted to keep as many of his players in the same spot as they were used in the shootout victory over Costa Rica. That day the Dutch went four-for-four in order: van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt. Huntelaar was the fifth taker but wasnt used. Against Argentina, van Gaal looked at his team and knew the only one he had to replace was van Persie at number one. Every credit to Ron Vlaar, the Aston Villa player, to step up and replace van Persie in the shootout but making him the first shooter was the wrong decision. In 24 previous World Cups the team that missed first lost 20 times. You cannot ask a player to take tthe first penalty in a key shootout when he wasnt even in your choice to be in the top five in the last shootout. JK Scott Super Bowl Jersey. . Vlaar had had a wonderful match. Argentina tried to force things wide but ultimately they were drawn back centrally and Vlaar, in the middle of the back three, won every tackle and aerial duel he went for. After 120 minutes, though, his job was not done. Showing nerves, he stepped up quickly, from the prompt of the whistle, and it wasnt a good penalty. The moment Vlaars effort was saved by Sergio Romero the momentum changed. Lionel Messi was the right choice for Argentina to take the first penalty and, to no ones surprise, he scored. Messi had struggled throughout the game, which was the first World Cup game he has played when he didnt get a touch in the opponents penalty area. It was clear the Dutch had done their homework and their mandate was to shut down Messi. He will receive his fair share of criticism based on this performance but, once again, this match was another shining example of how much he needs his teammates to take him to glory. The Barcelona man has carried Argentina to this stage, it is only fitting that some - in this case Romero, Mascherano and the rest of the shooters - helped carry him to the final. They are, however, a team that arrives in the final with flaws. This is nothing new. Many teams have reached the World Cup Final when not playing very well but few have won it. Argentina showed a lot of grit and fight in this semifinal, just like they did in the 120 minutes against Switzerland and the narrow 1-0 defeat over Belgium. However, despite their fight they do look very ordinary. They arrive in the final after scoring just two goals in three knockout matches. The only team in World Cup history to do that was Argentina in 1990 and that was a terribly average side who frustrated Germany for over 80 minutes in arguably one of the worst games in football history. No one will be hoping for a repeat on Sunday but I am sure it will cross Argentinas mind that they will be naive to think they can play an open, expansive game against Germany. The Dutch end their quest to be world champions with their heads held high. They went further than most imagined and many of their young players, players produced by their own clubs in their own league, will grow and get better for this experience. Many will also find new clubs, too. However, they will also reflect on just how close they were – once again – to getting over a significant hurdle on penalties. Van Gaal departs for Manchester United after a very good World Cup but ultimately his decision on the order of the takers had a massive impact on this result. ' ' '