World Cup Diary – Jul 4

So it’s going to be Spain Vs Germany in the second semi final. While I was thinking Germany may brush it past Argentina, I (probably like everyone else) never expected the astonishing ease with which they managed it. They have scored four goals now against the Aussies, the English and the so called mighty Argentines. Hot form, indeed, and they will take some stopping. I get a feeling the names Muller, Ozil among others are going to be household names for the Germans in the near future to make proud their predecessors like Mattheus, Klinsmann at al. This was again a young German side whose fearless approach was exemplified by some pleasing attacking play that the Argentines had no answer to. Maradona just looked stunned at the end of it all, as did Messi. Like German coach Joachim Low said after the match, the Germans had managed to effectively shut out Messi without resorting to fouls. Every sane football fan has always wondered when Maradona’s perplexing decisions to leave behind Javier Zannetti and Esteban Cambiasso, both of them from Inter Milan’s brilliant treble winning side of the season past, will come back to haunt him. Up till now Argentina had not met a team which could exploit their lapses, and were able to put on a show with their attacking flair. Even in the match against Mexico, who are a very good team, the first Argentine goal was yards offside and the Mexicans seemed to lose their heads to give away a weak second. What if? The backline would surely have held up better with the two Inter Milan team mates.

But will the Germans be able to hold this up in the semi’s against a Spanish side which, like the Dutch, have not reached their dazzling best in this cup so far yet find themselves in the semi final. Is a Spanish masterclass just around the corner? Because if they do get into their top form, I doubt if even the Germans cans top them. But, the Spanish were not very pleasing in their narrow win over Paraguay and could have even lost it. A flurry of penalties in the second half saw Casillas make an excellent stop from Cardozo before Spain immediately broke and won one of their own. Alonso thought he had scored, but the referee spotted some encroachment and ordered it to be retaken upon which Alonso changed direction and the shot was stopped by the keeper. In the ensuing melee, Cesc Fabregas looked like he had been brought down and should have got another penalty. Finally, after all the madness, it was Villa once again with his fifth goal of the tournament who sent Spain through. Torres, sadly, was once again a pale shadow of his former self and was once again substituted early in the second half.

So, a quarter final line up which looked so promising for the South Americans (4 teams made it through) ends with only Uruguay, with their suspended and injured players, with a slim chance of making it through to the final. Don’t bet on it, though. Once again, European tactical dominance seemed to unsettle the South Americans and it looks like one of the three European nations left in the competition will finally be the first European team to life the trophy outside their continent. What were people harping on about a Brazil Vs Argentina final?