Day 22 (and then there were 4)
07.01.2006Technorati tags: soccer World Cup
It's been several days & six matches since I last posted. I've been too busy watching games, recovering from watching games, doing stuff w/ K8 (mostly wedding planning), and preparing to watch more games. But we're down to the semifinals & the last four teams.
It began w/ a heartbreak. Spain, my wonderful Spain, which I'd picked to go all the way to the finals was beaten 3-1 by France. France, which barely qualified for the cup. France, which barely came out of its group (which included Switzerland, South Korea, and Togo). I couldn't even believe it was possible. So Xavi and Raúl and Fernando Torres — and the rest of the Spanish superstars — had to pack up to go home. They didn't even make it into the quarterfinals. I almost cried, sitting there at the bar.
Yesterday & today were filled w/ more suspense & drama.
In a tense game that was worthy of a championship final match, Germany edged out Argentina in penalty kicks. The game was tied 1-1, and then Argentina reverted to its foul play & theatrics during the overtime, rather than scoring goals. Too bad. They dominated the first 90 minutes of the match; if they'd just played, rather than gone searching for penalty kicks, they could've won it. Getting into a brawl at the end of the match was just poor sportsmanship. So, in my mind, Argentina was a better team (in terms of skill, possession, etc), but they deserved to lose — even if the Germans didn't deserve to win (soccer is funny that way).
Italy beat the Ukraine, as expected. Though the underdogs put up a good fight, even down 3-0.
Today my heart was again broken. Twice. England (another team I wanted to see go to the final) went down to Portugal. It was an exciting match, in a bar full of England & Portugal supporters (perhaps 100 of us crammed in) who cheered, hissed, yelled, and whistled at every call. But after Rooney got sent off for letting his temper get the best of him, England had to play a man down against a determined Portuguese attack. Becks had come off the pitch earlier (due to injury), so that left the English side w/ few powerful stars on the field. Until Crouch came on — (to the roar of the bar crowd — and shouts of "Come on, England!" But, alas, it was not to be. And Portugal advances to their first quarterfinals since 1966. In typical English fashion, they lost on penalty kicks.
And. Finally. The rude awaking of rude awakenings. France beat Brazil. Yes, France played a solid, determined game. And Zidane was just fantastic. But the real surprise was the flat, drab, lazy, disinterested game played by Brazil. They didn't bring "the beautiful game" w/ them today. And. So. Good riddance to them. If your team comprises half of the world's best players, and you can't put together a series of solid passes — or even a single shot on goal in 80+ minutes — then I don't care if you're the defending champions. Go home.
So the World Cup will continue in a few days. W/ only four teams, only four European teams & no Brazil. At this point? It's anyone's guess who wins the trophy.
Posted by Miguel at 06:35 PM
Comments
France will be a world champion. Vive la douce France! N.
Posted by: Nenad at July 6, 2006 04:28 AM
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