Iker Casillas gives grateful thanks to the curly game-winning locks of Carlos Puyol. Neither team played up to their potential, and both teams were maddening at times. Possession and set pieces were nearly even, and there were no cards handed out. But Spain outshot Germany 13 to 5, and in the end it was one lone shot of those 13 that mattered, when Carlos Puyol got his head to a corner from Xavi in the 74th minute. The first half was not highly impressive. Spain controlled possession well for much of it, but weren't really combining any solid push forward with their pass-pass-pass-pass-passing. There were a couple of chances - Puyol almost got that headed goal much earlier when he connected with Andres Iniesta's cross into the box, and Spain had a good free kick opportunity around the 40th which they oddly wasted with a strange short effort from not far outside the 18 - but overall it was a quietly dominating first half from the Spanish. Germany did look dangerous a couple of times on the counter, but just weren't seeing enough of the ball to put anything together. Piotr Trochowski made Iker Casillas work for a save on a good long-range effort, and Mesut Ozil had an opportunity to put pressure on the Spanish keeper as well, though he took a bit too much time with it. Just before halftime, Ozil went down in the box and the Germans were angling for a penalty, but the ref was having none of it (and rightly so). So while both sides had their moments, they were just that, and as I said, neither seemed to be playing to their capabilities nor to the expectations of the public. The second half began much like the first, though Spain was showing a lot more life and saw a few good chances, with two just-wide efforts from Xabi and one from David Villa. Soon after, Manuel Neuer barely got his fingertips to a shot from Pedro, and Villa somehow missed a tap-in as Iniesta sent the ball across the goal mouth. Germany finally started putting forth a stronger effort near the 70th when substitute Toni Kroos found space and nearly put Lukas Podolski's cross away, but for a great save from Casillas. Minutes later came the corner and Puyol's goal, and subsequently whatever fire the Germans had mustered seemed to be flickering. There wasn't much more to be seen from them, although there was the usual flurry of activity in stoppage time. But nothing came from it, and the team which dropped 4 on both Argentina and England were shut out by Spain and sent to the third-place match. Were Germany unprepared for Spain? It would be hard to think so, as the Germans' previous matches were strong showings, and as it's not like they were unaware of what Spain was doing in their own games. Were they just tired and run down? One would think a team fueled with some young newcomers who brought speed and endurance to the side would be set to perform well through the month-long tournament. Is this just another case of "any given day", with a dozen different outcomes possible from a dozen replays? I imagine the Germans aren't eager to analyze their failings just yet, but that's where blog commenters come in, right? Have at it! And now we know who will battle at the final, and we also know that this year we'll see a brand new winner of the World Cup. It's a great story even if you have no specific allegiance or care about either Spain or the Netherlands - if you love this game, you've got to also love seeing its history happen before your eyes. Of course, for those who watched France topple Brazil in 1998 (which I did not, having not yet shrugged off my American indifference to the sport), it'll be a familiar feeling, but I'm sure a welcome one even so.

Happy German Fan is happy...and a little scary. Part of me finds Germany's 4-0 crushing of Argentina rather unsurprising. The European side turning in another strong performance, knocking in multiple goals and keeping a tight defense is no big shock to the system. But it's not as though Argentina has been twiddling their thumbs all tournament, and their lackluster performance was decidedly unforeseen. The tone was set early - earliest thus far in the tournament, in fact - when Thomas Müller headed Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick into the net in just the 3rd minute of play. Argentina actually responded decently - their defense still looked leaky but their midfield play was calm rather than flustered as it could well have been. The reaction seemed to be to try to slow things down, although Germany didn't want to play along. They were given a lot of room and a number of chances, and pushed hard through the first half. Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi were pushing back just as hard, and though each side took a few more shots, the score remained 1-0 at the half. The second half is where things eventually got lopsided. Argentina came out brightly, but once Miroslav Klose tapped the ball in to put Germany up 2-0 in the 68th, it was largely one-way traffic. The Germans' pace and skill continued to rule the pitch, and a goal from Arne Friedrich in the 74th and a second from Klose near the end drove the nails in further for Maradona's men. And that's where my surprise is focused - that Argentina would exit the Cup in such a humbled and largely quiet manner, after winning all four of their previous matches while never having trailed and allowing only a single goal in the process. The fact is, a lot of results from this game would not have surprised me. If you told me it ended 0-0 and went to a shootout, or 1-0 to either side, or 3-2, etc etc, no raised eyebrows here. But both of these teams are strong and favored, so my prediction was for a battle, hard won by whichever side was the eventual victor. I'm not sure what you could point to as a reason, other than a shoulder-shrugging "That's soccer for you" kind of thing. Argentina's wins came against teams that are certainly inferior to Germany, but was it really just weak opposition that gave the South Americans those Ws? Is it the specific German style of play that troubled Argentina? Did Maradona just not nom on enough rosary beads? They'll have plenty of time to ponder these questions on the plane home, while Germany will wait to see which side they'll meet next Wednesday.

No real surprises in today's results: two strong teams continue to roll on, and the officiating continued to induce head-meets-desk collisions around the world. Probably the best evidence in support of goal-line technology and/or video replays came in the Germany-England match. We've seen a few disallowed/non-called goals so far (haven't we, USMNT fans?) but Frank Lampard's would-be equalizer being missed was pretty damn egregious: You can point out the Germany went on to score two more goals, and England couldn't net another, so it didn't matter in the end. My thinking on that kind of argument is that you never know how one moment affects the rest of the game. It's highly likely that the frustration at the call being blown left the English side angry and unable to focus, and that had the goal been correctly awarded and the score tied up, the elation could have given their morale a needed boost and their performance a needed kick in the collective ass. In addition, it's not just about "did this one call directly affect the outcome of the game" - it's about players, coaches and fans needing to be able to trust the officials and to know that the outcome of the game is dependent upon the abilities and performances of the teams, not upon the luck of the draw with awful calls. A whistle instead of a yellow here or there is one thing; clear goals being missed or called off is entirely another. The teams looked fairly even in the beginning, but after Miroslav Klose scored in the 20th thanks in part to a defensive blunder by Matthew Upson, England started to look shaky. Just 12 minutes later Lukas Podolski added a second as the Germans played right through the opposing back line. But England started to kick up the attack, and Upson responded with a goal in the 37th. They continued to press, and then moments later came Lampard's shot and the stupendously wrong call. In the second half, England was pressing and looked hungry and focused...except for the defense. With two goals knocked in by Thomas Muller in the 67th and 70th minutes, it was clear that England wasn't going to overcome anything when only half of their team came to play today. A 4-1 loss sends the Three Lions home while Germany moves on to the quarterfinals. But the early match didn't hog all the controversy...

Read All...

Another day, another group finished up and now we have the next set of Round of 16 matches: Germany's 1-0 win over Ghana today combined with Australia's 2-1 win over Serbia gives us England vs Germany and US vs Ghana. I believe both match-ups will be interesting, but I don't necessarily know how that interest will take shape. One would think a game between #6 Germany and #8 England would be rollicking...but England hasn't exactly approached anything resembling rollicking in their group matches. Of course, after their opener, Germany has also seemed a bit lackluster. The match today was fairly even - Germany had a 54 - 46 edge in possession, but had fewer shots than Ghana. Passing was decent on both sides, but there was a lot of turnover action happening midfield in both directions. Both teams saw some good chances wasted, and both teams had moments of good defense. The difference in the game was a beautiful left-footed strike from Mesut Ozil, but other than that there wasn't much to write home about. Is England a better team than Ghana? In general, I'd say yes, but as we've seen in this World Cup, that doesn't mean much. England certainly hasn't played up to their potential thus far, but neither did Germany today nor last week against Serbia. Having finished second behind the US, England may be driven to kick ass or they may be deflated by the negative press they've received and by their own disappointment. My feeling is that Germany is the stronger side right now and holds the momentum, but if the England Egos can be corralled and if all those stars can come together, it could be quite a battle. The US v Ghana match will be intriguing, what with the memories of the Americans' loss to the African side back in the 2006 World Cup, leading to a plane ride home for Donovan et al. Can this rather different US squad make up for that disheartening game? Looking at how they've played, I'd say absolutely, but knowing the troubles with consistency...I'll knock on wood and say probably. As mentioned, Ghana seemed to hold up decently against Germany but throughout the match seemed unable to keep up a constant flow - in the beginning portion they were slow and losing possession easily; the end of the first half saw them pick it up and become the more dangerous attacking side; in the second half they continued to push but not well enough, and couldn't seem to put much together when they did hold the ball. The US will need to exploit those soft moments, and they have the speed to do so, but does their defense have the strength to support it? As for Australia's tough win over Serbia, it sounds like a valiant effort and it's a result the Australians should be proud of, even if it didn't secure a spot in the knockout round for them. If not for the 4-0 stomping they took in the opener against Germany, it might be a different story, as second-half goals from Tim Cahill and Brett Holman weren't enough to overcome the goal difference. Their defense did well to hold off Serbia, who didn't find the net until the 84th minute, and a handful of tweets told me Marko Pantelic's shot came from an offside position. Going home on a strong finish still means going home, but fighting to the last minute means heads should be held high.

Did Tim Donaghy run a ref clinic for Alberto Undiano before the game? 7 cards in the first half. Maybe Alberto Undiano thinks of cards like paint, and he was merely expressing himself like Jackson Pollock. Maybe he thought he could single-handedly make football a non-contact sport. Maybe he had money on the Serbs justsayin. Because while there were cards dished all around, the way he went right for the second card on Miroslav Klose and nearly tripped over himself to raise the red, dropping a few yellows on the Serbs would be a great way to cover your tracks. Never assume malice when sheer stupidity will do, I suppose, but Undiano makes it difficult. The Guardian's Rob Smyth:

This referee is a complete joker. Klose runs after Stankovic on the halfway line and misses a perfectly honest attempt to hook his leg round the ball. It's a clear foul but, like his first booking, was nowhere near a yellow card. That is utterly wretched officiating, unacceptably poor.

The red card had one thing going for it: it completely changed what had been a ho-hum knockabout into a rampaging desperation festival. Within a minute, the ball was in the back of the net. Serbia's Krasic crossed a ball to the far post, weighted beautifully, and Zigic headed it back to the center of goal, where Liverpool almost-signee Milan Jovanovic hammered it home at point blank range. Germany wasn't quitting, though. The best attack came right at the end of the half off a corner. It was passed low into the box and sent back for a cross. Serbian keeper Vladimir Stojkovic punched it out, but it fell right to Sami Khedira's feet. He blasted the ball off the top of the bar, and it fell to yet another German, who bicycled the rebound only to have it cleared by one of the wall of defenders that had set up shop with Stojkovic off his line. If wackyfooty like the above is your cuppa, then the second half continued to oblige. The ref allowed Philipp Lahm to be tripped right outside the penalty area despite moments earlier whistling him for a dainty challenge that actually got the ball. I was making fixing cracks on the Twitter when Nemanja Vidic made a great diving save on the ball for Serbia. The only problem? He's not the keeper. What the hell was he thinking? He threw his arms up like a Touchdown Jesus begging for lightning. Even Undiano, after an inexplicable hesitation, had to call for the penalty. That set up Lukas Podolski for the game-tying opportunity. [Pause.] The first thing (and probably only thing) people will remember from this game is the refereeing. But when this game died, its final whisper was not "Undiano" but rather, "Podolski." Fear not, game, for I hear you! This match, especially the second half, was all about Podolski. When the game started, I made a dork joke about whether Podolski would live up to the ratings boost he was given in EA's FIFA 10 after the 4-0 win over Australia. Turns out, kind of a relevant question. And the answer: no, no, a baquinjillion times no. [Unpause.] So Podolski stepped up to take the penalty after Vidic attempted to transmogrify into winged fowl. His plan? Telegraph a shot to the right while making sure to hit it soft and center so Stojkovic can easily dive and smother the kick. Didn't he see Blanco's net-singeing PK yesterday? How about Forlan's? Come on, dude, you can't go Frank Lampard/John Terry when you're down a man and a goal. Meek. Tentative. Bad. There went Germany's best chance to salvage a point, but it wasn't the first time in the game that Podolski would cost them one. Mesut Ozil was everywhere for Germany, constantly creating opportunities -- especially for Podolski. In the 55th, Ozil passed across the field to a charging Podolski, who fired wide. Two minutes later, Ozil flicked a first-time pass right to Podolski, but he could only hit the side netting. Then he missed the penalty. Podolski wasn't done missing after the penalty, either. He made a nice run into the box, but then he ran out of ideas, nearly took himself out of play, and eventually tapped a pass to no one. His reaction? Throw his hands up at the teammates who positioned themselves for a cross like normal players. Four minutes after that, he took another smart pass from Ozil and decided to shoot early and a mile high. More misses followed, more chances were wasted. I'm shocked the Germans never pulled him, because he was a black hole for their hopes to tie the game. When everyone else says "did you see that referee in the German game?" You should nod, but then respond, "Yeah, but did you see that Podolski guy?" His crimes against finishing must not be forgotten.

Yeah, this sort of sums it up. Yes, the German feet were ready for a battle today, and I imagine the Aussies at times might have preferred to be trapped in a submarine. The 4-0 rout by the European side was surely painful for Socceroos fans, but you can't say it wasn't earned - Germany simply outplayed them. They held 56% of possession - not a huge imbalance, although they made much better use of their time with the ball than Australia did, showing some masterful passing and clever footwork. They outshot Australia 17 to 11, which wouldn't be such a glaring gap but the shots on goal were 9 to 2, a bit more embarrassing. Australia almost scored very early off a corner kick, but the chance was blocked, and further chances were few and uninspired. In the 8th minute Lukas Podolski put the Germans in the lead, and Miroslav Klose had a great opportunity to add a second midway through the first half, but sent his shot wide despite being in front of the net. He made up for it minutes later in the 26th after Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer came off his line and was unable to stop the shot. That kind of poor defending was fairly prevalent throughout the game for Australia, a notable exception being Lucas Neill's quick-thinking clearance of Mesut Ozil's shot around the 30th. Ozil had already beaten Schwarzer but Neill raced in and got his foot to the ball, sending it skyward. After the restart, Australia looked a bit more focused and was playing better, but still unable to put anything together. Then in the 56th, Tim Cahill was shown a straight red card for a from-behind tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger (in the running for Germaniest name on the team). From my point of view, and I'm not totally alone here, the call was unwarranted. Yes, the tackle was a bit late and from behind, but Cahill clearly tried to pull back when he realized the ball had been moved away. He ran into Schweinsteiger with his shins after apparently attempting to curl his legs down and avoid hitting him with his boots. It certainly deserved a yellow, but I felt an ejection was too much, and it proved to be an impassable moment for Australia. They really struggled against the German attack, and looked more and more ragged as the end neared. Germany tacked on two more goals, from Thomas Müller in the 67th and Cacau in the 70th. Germany is basically guaranteed to win Group D if they keep this up, and will play the second place team in the USA's Group C in the Round of 16. Which, you know...is something to either think very very hard about, or to completely ignore so as to avoid driving one's self mad. Through a desperate need for sleep, I missed today's other two games - our groupmates' match ended with Slovenia winning 1-0 over Algeria, the goal coming through a keeper misjudgment. All accounts I've heard say both sides were unimpressive and messy, so as much as a draw would have been preferred by US fans, knowing neither team put forth a good display will have to suffice. In the other Group D match, Ghana pulled off a 1-0 victory over Serbia, thanks to a penalty kick given in the 84th minute after a handball in the box by Zdravko Kuzmanovic.