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Just a quick update to squee over yesterday's consolation final, which just may have been the match of the tournament. It helps of course that Germany won, but it was more than that. With nothing to lose, the two teams both played aggressively, with back-and-forth action that had me enthralled.
Of course I was rooting for Germany, not just because I've thought they were the most exciting team here since week 1, but also because of the way Uruguay beat Ghana in the quarter-finals. It was amusing to hear the boos every time Suarez touched the ball - seems I'm not the only one carrying that grudge. But Uruguay as a whole redeemed themselves in this game, with Diego Forlan establishing himself as one of the world's elite strikers. He scored one beautiful goal, influenced the other and had an agonizing miss in the last play of the game. He's a play maker and definitely one to watch.
As is Germany's Thomas Mueller. When watching Germany's lackluster performance in the semi-finals versus Spain, I couldn't help but wonder how much their defeat was because Spain was so much better than anyone else they'd faced, how much of it was tactics, how much just an overall bad day, and how much was Muller's absence because of the yellow cards he'd received earlier in the tournament. I think this game showed that Muller's absence may have had been a more decisive factor than I had guessed. He played with energy and style, scoring one goal and influencing play all over the pitch. And he's only 20, with several world cups ahead of him. Scary to think how good he might become.
So now its on to the big game. I think Spain is vulnerable because of their inability to score a lot of goals, meaning the other team will always be hanging around. And the Oranje have always looked to be one of the best teams at this tournament, even if they haven't quite clicked yet. I'm thinking this one may well be a 1-1 tie through over-time, and it might well come down to penalty kicks. I'm hoping the Dutch will pull through.
Of course I was rooting for Germany, not just because I've thought they were the most exciting team here since week 1, but also because of the way Uruguay beat Ghana in the quarter-finals. It was amusing to hear the boos every time Suarez touched the ball - seems I'm not the only one carrying that grudge. But Uruguay as a whole redeemed themselves in this game, with Diego Forlan establishing himself as one of the world's elite strikers. He scored one beautiful goal, influenced the other and had an agonizing miss in the last play of the game. He's a play maker and definitely one to watch.
As is Germany's Thomas Mueller. When watching Germany's lackluster performance in the semi-finals versus Spain, I couldn't help but wonder how much their defeat was because Spain was so much better than anyone else they'd faced, how much of it was tactics, how much just an overall bad day, and how much was Muller's absence because of the yellow cards he'd received earlier in the tournament. I think this game showed that Muller's absence may have had been a more decisive factor than I had guessed. He played with energy and style, scoring one goal and influencing play all over the pitch. And he's only 20, with several world cups ahead of him. Scary to think how good he might become.
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Semi-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Round of 16 |
| Uruguay | Argentina | |||||
| 2-1 | Uruguay | Argentina | 3-1 | |||
| South Korea | Mexico | |||||
| 1-1 a.e.t. 4-2 PSO | Uruguay (world ranked #16) | Germany (world ranked #6) | 0-4(!) | |||
| USA | Ghana | Germany | Germany | |||
| 1-2 a.e.t. | Netherlands | 4-1 | ||||
| Ghana | 2-3 | 0-1 | England | |||
| (July 11) | ||||||
| Netherlands | Spain | Paraguay | ||||
| 2-1 | Netherlands | Netherlands (world ranked #4) | Spain (world ranked #2) | Paraguay | 0-0 a.e.t. 5-3 PSO | |
| Slovakia | Japan | |||||
| 2-1 | 0-1 | |||||
| Brazil | Brazil | Uruguay | Spain | Spain | ||
| 3-0 | 2-3 | 1-0 | ||||
| Chile | Germany | Portugal |
So now its on to the big game. I think Spain is vulnerable because of their inability to score a lot of goals, meaning the other team will always be hanging around. And the Oranje have always looked to be one of the best teams at this tournament, even if they haven't quite clicked yet. I'm thinking this one may well be a 1-1 tie through over-time, and it might well come down to penalty kicks. I'm hoping the Dutch will pull through.
