Not with a whimper, but with one bigass KABOOM. That's how Uruguay went out. After falling behind 3-1 and pulling Diego Forlan with a few minutes to go, everyone on all sides seemed content to accept the outcome. Then Holland fell asleep on defense and Maxi Pereira banged home a goal a minute into extra time. Suddenly, an all-out three-minute assault on the Dutch penalty box was underway. Multiple times the ball fell to the feet of Uruguayan players, but none of them really managed to pull the trigger; in the end, it was a frenzied finish that changed nothing and left the Dutch 3-2 winners. Let's rewind. The first half didn't have much in the way of classic build-up attacking play, but it did feature two wicked long-range strikes. The first, from Holland's van Bronckhorst, came from, what, 35 or 40 yards out? He bombed one in from the left, and it caught the top right post and bounced in. Tennis serves couldn't have gone much faster. Then, the answer came in the form of Diego Forlan, who bent a swirler past van Stekelenburg from about 25 yards. the Dutch keeper probably could've made a better play on the ball, but in his defense, how many times have we seen the Jabulani actually curl like that this tourney? At 1-1, I felt like Uruguay's battle-tested mental fortitude might win out, and both teams traded stretches of possession to open the second half. But everything changed with (what else?) a controversial goal in the 70th. Sneijder popped a low ball that bounced off two Uruguayan defenders before deflecting off van Persie's foot and going in. van P was way offside when the ball was kicked, but no call was forthcoming, and the Dutch had their lead back. Three minutes later, Dirk Kuyt crossed a ball to Arjen Robben. He sent a sharp header into goal and the 3-1 lead that seemed safe had been built. Once again the Dutch win a game without managing to look dominant or even consistently scary. They play coherently for small stretches but also can be put back on their heels easier than most World Cup finalists I can recall. One thing they usually do well is position themselves on the pitch -- Robben and Kuyt are always switching places on the wings, and Sneijder finds space as well as any midfielder in the world. Can spacing and placement combine with occasionally clutch finishing to win you a World Cup? I guess we'll find out this weekend. Goodbye to Uruguay, who provided us with one of the game's great performers in Diego Forlan. Maybe the Suarez handball and subsequent gloating turned off a lot of observers, but I found them a gritty, resilient bunch of gamers. Along with the handball, Suarez gave us that incredible game-winner against South Korea. Forlan provided the finest free kicks in the tourney. Maxi Pereira was a tackle machine, and Fernando Muslera was outstanding in the penalty shootout against Ghana. A European team will now win a non-European World Cup for the first time. Who will battle Holland for the chance?

Suarez gets ready for a flying elbow drop to sportsmanship The decision of FIFA to limit Suarez' ban to one match would be perplexing enough, if Suarez wasn't rubbing all our noses in it:

The 'Hand of God' now belongs to me. Mine is the real 'Hand Of God'. "I made the best save of the tournament. Sometimes in training, I play as a goalkeeper so it was worth it. "There was no alternative but for me to do that and when they missed the penalty I thought 'it is a miracle and we are alive in the tournament'.

Suarez admits that his only alternative was to engage in what the Laws of the Game calls "unacceptable and unfair intervention", claims that it was God's will that he do such a thing, sets a dangerous precedent (I can't have been the only one who thought to myself, "why didn't the Paraguay defender jump and grab the ball?" today) brags about it and gets the minimum ban? Ridiculous.

Ghana fought harder for loose balls the entire game. Ghana's keeper Kingson played up to Howard's level, arguably surpassing him in terms of confidence and decisiveness -- think about some of those plays off corners and free kicks where he came off his line and punched it away (the most memorable being him punching the ball away before it came to Howard's head late). Ghana's second goal was improbably excellent on a couple levels, starting with the long-bomb pass and culminating in the in-the-air finish that went past a delayed flail from Howard, who wasn't expecting it. I struggle to think of a claim the USA could have to deserving to get to a shootout. Both teams were inconsistent. Both teams made bone-headed plays, had communication breakdowns on defense, and were poor at developing plays in the final third. But Ghana had a few flashes of brilliance, occasionally rising to the moment in a way that eluded the US. This was a good run for the US - they drew England, won their group, and had the two most clutch performances in the group stage. Most days, they might be better than Ghana, but not this day. And really, until they resolve their slow start to halves, they can only expect to overcome so many deficits in a row. The US led opponents for about 2 minutes the entire World Cup, and we need to bump that number up a smidge if we're going to threaten to crash the late rounds. Uruguay, meanwhile, advanced despite throwing away the first twenty minutes of the second half. After not having given up a goal the entire tournament, they seemed certain that their first strike would put them through. Instead, South Korea scored yet another goal off a set play, and Uruguay had to push forward again. That suited Suarez just fine, who bent a ball at an impossible angle, especially in the rain, to put Uruguay through. The consensus seems to be that South Korea out-played them, but other than that stretch to start the 2nd, I felt Uruguay were more dangerous. Certainly the Forlan-Suarez combo has lived up to its billing. Wonder who will be paying Ajax for Suarez, and what they'll have to pay to nab him? Uruguay should beat Ghana, and they are a true dark horse to reach the final. But let's open this up to USA discussion as we eulogize their World Cup -- 1) What went wrong today? 2) What does the USA have to do to take the team to the next level? 3) Do you think this run will leave any lasting impact on US sports fan culture?

(Short and sweet, as my job is forcing itself onto the front burner here!) Group A is all done, and my bracket is already off! I'm somewhat mortified to say I had France winning this group, although I made that choice weeks ago. Mais maintenant nous disons au revoir et bonne chance a Les Bleus, and while this would have surprised me before, now it seems like it should have felt inevitable all along. France's struggles on the pitch combined with the craziness off the field have led to an early exit for them, ending with a 2-1 loss to hosts South Africa today. I didn't see this one but from what I heard, South Africa had the better of the attack and certainly seemed a lot more present on the pitch. It's a great result for them, even if they are not advancing. With Uruguay's 1-0 win over Mexico, the hosts were tied with El Tri on points but their -2 goal differential kept them in third place. How do your Group A brackets look now? Please tell me I'm not the only one who had France moving to the knockout round...

Diego Forlan never met a deflection he didn't love. His first-half strike from at least 4 yards outside the box came off a defender and banked perfectly off the top of the crossbar to stymie RSA goalie Khune. Forlan seems to score a lot off deflections, but he seems to score a lot in general, so perhaps that's just the result of a guy who loves to pull the trigger. Either way, Uruguay deserved the lead after a smart half of dictating tempo. South Africa spent the first half not finding Steven Pienaar with the ball, which is a shame. One of the few times he handled it on the break, he sent a wild pass to no one, so many his teammates decided he needed a time out. More likely, though, he was marked closely by a Uruguayan team that knows how to play tight, physical defense. (One of the disadvantages to having to watch on a small feed on a monitor is the inability to track off-the-ball behavior closely.) Despite Pienaar's disappearance, despite Forlan's gut-wrenching strike/bounce, South Africa played with the hop in its step of a team full of self-confidence. Few chances turned up, but they showed no signs of wilting... which is what makes the foolish play by Khune at the 76' mark such a shame. Let's get this out of the way: Suarez dived. And it was also a penalty. I know there's no black-and-white position when something like this happens, but I'll make the case for why the dive doesn't negate the foul. Suarez had a clear chance on goal and the keeper came at him with both feet and didn't touch the ball. If Suarez continues his run, he goes down hard. Instead, he tripped himself just before contact to make sure he went down hard. I'm not a fan of Suarez pretending to fall when he would've done so naturally, but he still would've done so naturally. It was a reckless challenge, it didn't even get a whiff of the ball, and anyone who's been complaining about a lack of scoring cannot support that kind of defending. If players can get away with those sorts of assaults, it'll be even harder to get the Beautiful Game in gear. Disagreements welcome, of course. In the aftermath, Diego Forlan blasted a perfect, undefendable penalty at 100mph into the top left corner. Even a correct guess and solid dive from the ice-cold back-up could do nothing to prevent the clinching goal. Forlan was the best player on the pitch this day and his brace is fitting. Pereira added insult with a late goal when South Africa seemed to lay down at the last. RSA is now the first host nation not to win one of their first two games, thanks in part to a well-oiled Uruguay, Steven Pienaar being kidnapped, quitting at the end, and reckless play at the back. The fairy tale of advancement hangs by a thread. Or is that a card?

JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE, the World Cup finally began today! Group A is all even on single points, with both games ending in draws. Two matches down, 62 more to go... South Africa vs Mexico was overall the more exciting of the two, in my opinion. Mexico nearly took the lead in the 37th off a corner kick and a tap-in from Carlos Vela, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call which at first blush seemed completely wrong to me but upon review was clearly correct. The hosts ended up scoring the first real goal of the tournament in the 55th minute on a strong shot from the left foot of Siphiwe Tshabalala, to the raucous joy of the vuvuzela-filled crowd.* They held the lead until the 79th when Rafael Marquez got one past Itumeleng Khune. South Africa came quite close to three points just before full time, with a great effort from Katlego Mphela, but it hit off the post and the game ended at 1-1. Mexico held the majority of possession but also had a handful of missed chances through shots sent just wide and headers over the bar, as well as a couple of good saves from Khune. The game could have easily been 2-0 Mexico at the half, so if any El Tri fans are going to quibble over the (as I said, correctly) disallowed goal, they should also be lamenting their team's lack of finishing. For Mexico, I'm sure this draw was a disappointment, but I think South Africa should be pleased with it and should take some confidence with them into their next match against Uruguay. Speaking of Los Charrúas, their match with France was the late engagement today, and it was a chippy and somewhat unimpressive one. With six yellow cards, one ejection, a brief shoving match and no goals, it was clear neither team was completely sure of themselves. France controlled the ball for most of the match, but could not attack with any focus. Uruguay looked a bit better, with somewhat better attacking and a fairly strong defense. But both teams struggled with their finishing and with capitalizing on the other side's weaknesses. Sidney Govou had an early chance to put the French ahead, but he somehow sent Franck Ribery's cross wide despite being right in front of the goal. Yoann Gourcuff took a couple of relatively decent free kicks, but neither was driven well enough. Diego Forlan had some flashes of strength but couldn't get Uruguay on the board. It was a succession of similar occurrences throughout the night for both sides. The main notable moments for me: Uruguayan Nicolas Lodeiro was sent off in the 81st on a second yellow after a dangerous challenge on Bacary Sagna; Thierry Henry called for a handball, to the delight of irony enthusiasts everywhere; and Henry had a great chance to win the game with a free kick close to goal in the final minutes, but the Uruguayan defense once again proved strong, and the game ended 0-0. I think the biggest surprise for me as far as overall performance today was France. I know a lot of people have low expectations of them - and certainly with valid reasons - but I still expected them to be much better today than they were. This is not a minnow team and yet they seemed almost overwhelmed at times. I will be interested to see if this poor match energizes them to perform better against Mexico and South Africa, or if they continue to be flustered. *Unlike the majority of people, I'm not bothered by the vuvuzelas. They're so prevalent and constant that on TV, if the sound mixing is done correctly, they basically make up a background of white noise. In person, I'm sure it's a bit more bothersome, but this is South Africa's tournament, and I'm keen to let them enjoy it as they wish.