8 goals in 7 games net Spain the World Cup. Despite the paltry scoring, they're deserving champions -- I'm not sure we've ever seen a midfield dominate possession so completely and effortlessly in every game. They sent teams chasing after the ball until an opening presented itself, usually late, and they could punch home a goal. There's not a lot to report from the 120 minute foul-fest inflicted on us by both teams other than that the 12 total yellow cards doubled the previous record in a final. We saw the Dutch abandon their Total Football roots to become a chest-kicking, groin-bashing mixed martial arts squad, and the plan nearly worked. Spain still held the ball for more than 60% of the game, but there was much less flow and build-up than we normally saw from them. Full time plus extra time saw the best 2 teams in the world put only 8 shots on target, and even that makes the game sound better than it felt. Holland's Arjen Robben had a couple glorious chances to win the World Cup. His best came when Wesley Sneijder put him through in the 62nd, all alone vs Casillas. Robben fired to his left, and Casillas laid out for the ball. Only a few of his outstretched toes caught the ball, but it was enough to deflect the powerful shot and save the day for Spain. The Dutch had a few other chances to go ahead, but they were far from the only team to blow chances. David Villa missed one from point blank, Sergio Ramos wasted an unmarked header, and Iniesta found new and interesting ways to dribble the ball into defenders in the box. But no one will be complaining about Andres Iniesta after today. In the 116th, Torres flopped a ball that wound up in Fabregas' lap at the top of the box. He rolled it to Iniesta on his right, who took a touch and then sent a low ball to his left and into the net. Van Stekelenburg had been solid in goal for the Netherlands the entire tournament, and he managed to get an arm on Iniesta's shot, but it was hit too true to be flung off course. Still, I think he caught more of the ball than Casillas did on that earlier Robben breakaway; tough to take if you're the keeper, no doubt. With that, Holland's negativity went unrewarded, and that's probably for the best. Sneijder, Kuyt and Robben made great impressions the last few weeks, but it would've been depressing if a team capable of beauty were handed a trophy after raking in 7 yellows by themselves. Spain engaged in some nasty contact, too, and also had some embarrassing dives (including Iniesta's that sent Heitinga off in the 112th), but they were the more positive team. Every team -- including new-look Germany and the Netherlands -- went all out to defend against Spain. While every single one of them succeeded in making it an ugly game, they were all sent home for their negativity. Germany lamented their unwillingness to go forward after their loss; I wonder if the Dutch will feel the same? So what have we learned from the 2010 World Cup? Among many other things:

• Fernando Torres is a mess, physically and mentally. He pulled another hammy at the end of this game and looked miserable in the post-game celebration. He goes from game-winning scorer at the 2008 Euros to ridiculed dead weight at the 2010 World Cup. Ouch.
• David Villa's the best striker in the world. Valencia have to be kicking themselves for selling before this run, and with Barca/Spain teammates Xavi and Iniesta feeding him every game, Villa should put on quite a show in 2010-2011.
• Germany's kids are outstanding. That third-place game left a lot of people wondering how 2010 Golden Boot winner Thomas Müller might've impacted the game against Spain had he not been suspended. They had stars all over the pitch -- Schweinsteiger pulled the strings masterfully, Ozil came out of nowhere to wow us in the group stage, and Neuer looked solid in goal.
• If David Villa isn't the best striker in the world, Diego Forlan is. Not only can he finish in the box, not only can he drill free kicks from anywhere in the field, but he has outstanding vision and passing touch. He won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament and I don't see how anyone but Villa could argue. It'd be nice to see him get one last chance on an elite team.
• Wesley Sneijder also has an argument, actually. He's the best quarterback in the world. And not a bad finisher, either.
• England still sucks.
• Everyone wants to love Diego Maradona even though he's a selfish, bigoted ass. Remember, this is a guy who ran over a photographer and then called him the asshole.
• Negativity was prevalent, from Switzerland to Holland (that's a lot farther in World Cup terms than geographic terms) to Paraguay, but unlike the Champions League, it came home empty-handed.
• Brazil was the second-best team of the tournament. They deserved to go out thanks to Felipe Melo's meltdown, but they were the only team that might've been able to impose a will of their own against Spain. But hey, they were unusually negative themselves, so if they were gonna blow a tourney, I'm glad it was this one.
• Will football ever sound right without vuvuzelas again?

It's all over now, folks. What'd you take away from the 2010 World Cup?

Boy, Thursday came and went, dinnit? I blame my staycation, which has sapped my Kuyt-esque work ethic and left me a Diet-Coked-up FIFA 10 addict. But enough about me, let's get back to the insights of Liverpool's least hated American associate, nate! Last time, we talked about the World Cup and England's shortcomings. Now we turn our attention to the transition as a fan from the international game to the club game -- how did nate do it? Who might he recommend following at the club level from this World Cup? And yeah, we get into whatever Liverpool's become, as well. Join the conversation after the jump!

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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.

With the World Cup in full swing, it's easy to forget that, as soon as it's over, we'll be thrust back into the cold, uncaring world of club football. Okay, okay, maybe it's not that bad for most of you, but I'm a Liverpool fan, so, yeah, it's that bad. Probably worse. My favorite soccer site in the world is Oh You Beauty, written by a man who goes by the Brazilian-esque singular name of nate. Normally Liverpool-focused, he also has some of the clearest, most insightful World Cup game recaps on the interwebs, so I highly suggest checking him out now and in the future. As the Cup semi finals loom, and with some exciting(ish) developments in the Liverpool world, I thought now would be a good time to conduct our first-ever Pandagoal interview. Hit the jump to read what nate has to say about the World Cup, England's shortcomings and more in part 1 of our interview. Part 2 runs Thursday, so stay tuned!

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Yeah, so...there were these penalty kicks... So. This game. I wasn't going to have much to say about it, really. The first half was a scoreless...well, I won't go so far as to call it a bore, but it was far from exciting. Paraguay's defense was pretty strong, and they were managing to have three or more players surround every Spanish player at all times, it seemed. Spain was having trouble with their passing, their communication, their set-ups...basically just having trouble. There were few shots to each side, and even the Paraguay goal called back for offside wasn't another jump-out-of-your-chair bad call moment. The replay showed maybe it was a wrong call, but it was close and wasn't even argued much. (The offside call seemed to be against Nelson Valdez, who looked onside, but further commentary says it was against Oscar Cardozo, who was offside.) When the second half began, it was more of the same for about the first 14 minutes. THEN SOME PENALTY KICK STUFF HAPPENED. Keep in mind, this all occurred within the space of about three minutes, and if you'll pardon my French and a Gwen Stefani reference, this shit was bananas. Gerard Pique got a yellow card for fouling Cardozo in the area, and Paraguay gets a penalty kick in the 59th minute. Torment for Spain. Cardozo takes the shot himself and it's saved by Iker Casillas. Torment for Paraguay. Then less than a minute later down at the other end of the pitch, David Villa is fouled by Antonin Alcaraz in the area, Alcaraz gets a yellow and Spain gets a penalty kick. More torment for Paraguay. Xabi Alonso steps up to take it and buries it...and the ref calls for a retake due to encroachment. More torment for Spain. Alonso takes it again and this time keeper Justo Villar saves it. Even more torment. In the process of knocking it away, he grabs at Cesc Fabregas' ankles and I concur with announcer John Harkes' assessment that it maybe should have been another penalty call. THEN Paulo Da Silva had to make a save on the line after Sergio Ramos takes a shot from the side. TORMENT EVERYWHERE ALL AROUND. Finally regular play resumed and it seemed to settle a bit, and I found myself hoping for a goal - for either side - simply to keep the match from going into extra time. David Villa, perhaps sensing my prayers, finally said "Okay FINE GUYS I'll take care of things again", and after Pedro's shot hit off the post, Villa collected the rebound and banked it off both posts as he put Spain in the lead with less than ten minutes to go. Casillas made a couple additional strong saves in the final moments and Spain are now off to the semifinals to meet Germany, where they will need a lot more than mediocre midfield work, wacky penalty kick sequences, and a single late goal to make it to the final. They've got four days to come up with something better.

Yay, me! All me! I win! The knockout round ended today with the Iberian derby, as Spain pushed past Portugal with a 1-0 victory. Super happy David Villa's 63rd minute strike may have been the only goal, but it was a far more entertaining game than the scoreline would have you believe. (Okay, maybe not you, dear soccer fans...but certainly more entertaining than the whiny soccer haters would think.) The first half was fast and lively right away, with Fernando Torres taking a nice shot within about the first minute of play, followed soon after by an attempt from Villa. Portugal's keeper Eduardo was busy but did very well against the Spanish attack, and his own side put up some great efforts of their own. Tiago and Hugo Alemida both provided tests for Spanish keeper Iker Casillas, as well as a long-range free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo. Spain's passing and midfield work was very strong, but was running up against a solid Portugal defense. As halftime approached, Portugal seemed to be taking an edge, but soon after the second half kicked off Spain took the reins again. Substitute Fernando Llorente had a sharp header hit right at Eduardo, quickly followed up by a shot from Villa that just went wide. But moments later Villa took a pass from Xavi and struck it at Eduardo, then pounced on his own rebound and knocked it off the underside of the crossbar and into the net. It led to a gleeful celebration by Villa, who was soon clobbered by a standing pile of Spaniards. The rest of the match saw Spain with much of the possession as well as a few more chances, but the 1-0 scoreline remained and Spain are now set to meet Paraguay in the quarterfinals. Weeks ago I had chosen Spain to take the Cup this year, and I'd started to doubt myself after their opening 1-0 loss to Switzerland. Their other group matches showed an improved side, and today's game was much more like the Spain I expected to see...and the one they expected to be, I'd reckon, although I'm sure they would have preferred another goal or two. If they move on to the semifinals and meet either Argentina or Germany, a single goal will likely not be sufficient for victory.

Spain-Chile began as wide open as promised, and in the early-going, it was Chile who looked looser and bolder. Fernando Torres continued his tentative play, and even Iker Casillas made some basic miscues in the opening 20 minutes. Then everything changed, thanks mostly to one guy. This guy. You know you want me. Boy, David Villa's worth every penny Barcelona spent on him, isn't he? Keeper or no, being able to lash a ball into the net from like 50 yards is impressive, and doing so was a fine way to enter the record books as Spain's all-time scorer at the World Cup. He also showed off his passing acumen to set up Iniesta for the other first half goal. Even on throwaway plays, Villa was zooming down the sidelines, looking twice as fast as anyone else. Meanwhile, Chile could *not* catch a break. Along with their keeper charging halfway to midfield so he could dispossess Torres (only to send the ball right to the feet of Villa), Chile were harshly reduced to 10 men after the card-happy ref dropped a second yellow on Estrada. It looked like he and Torres just got tangled up, but the ref felt otherwise; so it goes. I suppose Chile weren't entirely devoid of breaks, though -- right before half, Ponce took down Xabi Alonso and could've been sent off himself. Apparently, the ref decided he'd done enough damage to Chile for the time being, though, and no card was given. The second half started with a cracking goal that took a deflection to freeze Casillas, and suddenly Chile were in the drivers' seat for second place over the Swiss. Asking Switzerland to get 2 goals is like asking Rush Limbaugh to get a conscience. It's like asking a specific chimpanzee to produce Shakespeare. It's like asking the oil to stop spilling. Some natural laws just can't be broken. And so it was -- after the 75th, Spain seemed happy to help kill the game and by extension punish the Swiss team that embarrassed them. I, for one, am glad they did. Defensive football is a fact of life, but the Swiss take negativity to another stratosphere, and I am glad the World Cup didn't reward it with advancement. So Chile's prize? Brazil. Spain gets no pushover themselves in Portugal, and both games will be among the most wide open of the round of 16. 16 on, 16 out.

SCORE! SCORE! CHOKE! Almost a great performance from Spain thanks to an almost-cluch performance by one of their star strikers leaves them almost in a good position. A zig-zagging strike for the ages from David Villa after 17 minutes gave the impression Spain was about to open the floodgates. When he pulled the trigger again, this time sending the ball off a shin and over the keeper, you wondered if Spain would repeat the second half razing by Portugal. But they didn't. Instead, David Villa pulled a Lampard and sent a low ball wide of the net on a penalty, costing himself the hat trick and damaging the all-important goal differential for Spain in the process. Further clouding the assessment of his day, Villa appeared to slap at Honduran Emilio Izaguirre right before halftime. Given what happened to Kaita for Nigeria and Kaka for Brazil, that was a risky and stupid decision that could have cost his team his services in a crucial final game. Sergio Ramos and substitute Cesc Fabregas also blew chances to give Spain a 3 goal lead, and Torres turned in a futile performance, particularly in the first half. So what to make of Spain? A +2 goal differential going into their match against Chile would've forced a defensive Swiss team at a 0 goal diff to really pour it on vs Honduras, a style to which they're wholly unaccustomed. Instead, it's +1 for Spain, and they have the tougher task against Chile than Switzerland does against Honduras. For a co-favorite to win the whole thing, Spain ought not be happy with this result. Their fate is only partially in their hands, and unless they ransack Chile, even the ostensible achievement of advancement could be rewarded with a first round match against Brazil.

The current table:

Chile	6 pts	+2 goal difference
Spain	3 pts	+1 goal difference
Switzerland	3 pts	even goal difference
Honduras	0 pts	-3 goal difference

The possibilities:

	Chile win	Chile/Spain draw	Spain win
Switzerland win	Chile 9 Switzerland 6 Spain 3 Honduras 0	Chile 7 Switzerland 6 Spain 4 Honduras 0	Spain 6 +2 or better Switzerland 6 +1 or better Chile 6 +1 or worse Honduras 0 Chile need to avoid a two goal loss to avoid elimination. If Switzerland win by two, Chile is eliminated. If both are 1 goal wins, it comes to total goals and then a lottery. If Switzerland win by two more goals than Spain, they win the group.
Switzerland/Honduras draw	Chile 9 Switzerland 4 Spain 3 Honduras 1	Chile 7 Spain 4 +1 goal difference Switzerland 4 even goal difference Honduras 1 Spain go through on goal difference.	Spain 6 +2 or better Chile 6 +1 or worse Switzerland 4 Honduras 1 Spain win the group on goal difference
Honduras win	Chile 9 Spain 3 even or worse Switzerland 3 -1 or worse Honduras 3 -2 or better Honduras needs to beat Switzerland by at least two to pass Switzerland. If Hondurans wins by 2 or more, and the combined margin of victory is 5 or more, Honduras advances. If Honduras wins by 1, then if Chile wins by 3 or more, Switzerland advances. If Honduras wins by 2 and Chile wins by 2, it is total goals between the Honduras and Spain. If Honduras wins by 1 and Chile wins by 2, it is total goals between Switzerland and Spain. Otherwise, Spain advances.	Chile 7 Spain 4 Switzerland 3 Honduras 3	Spain 6 +2 or better Chile 6 +1 or worse Switzerland 3 Honduras 3 Spain wins the group on goal difference

   Hugs all around! Huzzah! And again, we have an unexpected and head-scratching result. In the match-up of #2 Spain and #24 Switzerland, much of it went as most of us imagined it would: Spain out-shot the Swiss 24(8) to 8(3); they held possession 63% of the game; they had 12 corner kicks to Switzerland's measly 3; etc etc. All is right with the football world, si? Nein and non.* The 2010 World Cup's first big upset came about when the Swiss won this match 1-0. Spain controlled much of the first half, passing well and moving where they wanted to, but not really taking or even creating many chances. Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio made a couple of good stops in the first half, and that coupled with a few deflections and shots sent wide or over the bar seemed to amp up the irritation in the Spanish players. David Villa throwing his arms into the air after Andres Iniesta launched a shot well over the net was a pretty good representation of what their inner monologues must have been. Switzerland was barely touching the ball, seeming content to just pack 10 men into the back line like so many sardines, with an occasional nudge forward. But that "park the bus" strategy sometiMes works, and they were able to shut Spain down and go into the half at 0-0. The second half started out essentially with more of the same, until the 52nd minute when, through some scrambling and some poor defending, Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes put the underdogs ahead. Eren Derdiyok had broken through the Spanish defense and gotten around Iker Casillas. Gerard Pique tried to clobber the ball, but it squirmed free and Fernandes was able to get his foot to it. Soon after, Fernando Torres came on to some loud applause, and he did make an immediate impact in their movement and passing. Spain started pressing harder into the final 20-25 minutes, beginning with Xabi Alonso slamming a shot off the crossbar. They started forcing their opponents into more of a one-on-one defense rather than the Alps impersonation they were doing before, which seemed to frazzle the Swiss a little, as Spain's movement continued to dominate. Derdiyok had a beautiful chance to increase their lead with an agile move through the defense and a smart shot, but it hit the post and was cleared out. When five minutes of stoppage time were announced, I was largely expecting a last-minute goal from Spain, just because the idea of them losing this match seemed so unlikely even still. But it didn't come, and the Swiss were ebullient in their celebration of a major upset. As I said before, these games are not played on paper. Spain would do well to remember that. Last year in the Confederations Cup, the US bested them 2-0 in the semi-final. Were we the better team? Not in the big picture, but we were on the day - partially because the team played very well, but also because Spain wandered in expecting an easy win, fearing little worthy opposition, and getting frustrated when they realized they were wrong. I think the same thing happened here, although it's even more amusing because I don't think the Swiss put on as good a performance as the USMNT did last summer. It's rather petulant and silly to allow that to happen, and it's a shame that the top teams don't recognize that all the time. This is the World Cup, guys. Pack up your egos and bring your A-game. *German and French count for the majority of spoken language in Switzerland. Italian is there too, but that's just "no" so it's not nearly as witty, damn it.