The Final

A lot of people seem to think that yesterday's final was marred by the fourteen yellow cards Howard Webb handed out in his awkward attempt to control the match. Moreover, the Dutch are generally accused for having played cynical anti-football against a Spanish team, which many commentators seem to consider some higher life form. Finals are seldom beautiful to watch because the stakes are simply to high and this one was no different.

But still, I enjoyed the final quite a bit. Bert van Marwijk's tactical plan was brilliant as he avoided the overly cautious German approach and clearly told his players to do everything they can to stop Spain from setting up their hypnotic passing game. Sure, Holland was extremely lucky to not have both their two midfield destroyers sent off but I can't help but admire their ruthlessness. They did what they had to do (and got away with it). Frankly, I find it very irritating that people seem to expect other teams to play into Spain's hands as if the Iberian brilliance had some natural right to proceed unhindered.

Also, it seems very disingenuous to only focus on those Webbian mistakes that favored the Dutch. After all, Iniesta's winning goal was the direct result of a goal kick that should have been a corner for Holland and Puyol was lucky that Robben decided to stay on his feet for once (while Shrek was bear-hugging him). Clearly, in doing so he tried to make up for just having badly missed the best chance of the match some minutes before (Casillas's save was, of course, brilliant in its own right).

Now, how about Spain? They have been the best team over the last three years or so and they deserve to call themselves champions of the world. Overall, they have probably also been the best team at the World Cup (although the games against Switzerland and Paraguay left much to be desired). I know, of course, that football is about more than scoring goals, but still: eight goals in seven games, really?

One has to admire their patience and confidence to score eventually, though. I was particularly impressed how they managed to shift into a higher gear after 70 minutes or so of last night's final. Needless to say, their defense and midfield (and Villa) are sheer class and remain unrivaled in today's international football. Also, del Bosque's gutsy decision to bench Torres may have given Spain the edge over van Marwijk's team (who inexplicably kept van Persie on the pitch throughout the tournament).

I guess I'm simply looking for something else in football than what Spain has to offer. Sure, I can find some pleasure in ball movement but I also prefer the vertical pass over the lateral. If a team is as good as Spain undoubtedly is other standards apply. Given that it is essentially Barcelona that just won the World Cup (which is, ironically, as close as one can probably come the ideal of Dutch football) I wondered why Barça is so much more fun to watch than Spain. The only answer(s) I could come up with were: Messi and Ronaldinho. It's that magical touch of these special players that Spain lacks and that prevents the best national side in the world from being truly spectacular. Barça and Spain have the same brain but only the Catalonians have an equally beautiful body to match their cerebral prowess.

Somebody Please Get Paul the Octopus to the Next Sushi Bar...

Spain had their best match in the tournament so far, while Germany probably had their worst. Obviously, the two performances are interrelated to some extent but overall this was a richly deserved Spanish victory against a surprisingly nervous German team (lack of experience, anyone?). I remember saying something about the World Cup being all about peaking at the right time and tonight's game is obviously a prime example for the validity of this theory. For the first time, Spain really got their Tiki-Taka going and starved Germany of the ball, suffocating them very much like a python does with easy prey. This is of course a much improved German team but at times tonight's game was reminiscent of that terrible 2008 final in Vienna.

I cannot help but feel, though, that Germany showed too much respect for their opponents. They were quite timid from the start, lacking positive body language as much as the usual accuracy in their passing game. It was almost like Müller's absence was felt by all the players, and given how instrumental the anarchical youngster had been throughout the campaign in South Africa (and how poor a replacement Trochowski would prove to be) they may have indeed been right about his irreplaceability. Or was this just another useful excuse for a team that felt it had already achieved something "great" by beating England and Argentina?

It is of course very easy to glorify Spain for their performance (something a lot of German fans and pundits will do now in order to make the defeat less painful; see England v Germany). Apart from that, a lot of football's arrogant commentariat consider Spain's dull passing game the highest form of football, belittling the joy that comes with scoring goals. Spain didn't create many great chances tonight but mainly semi-decent shots from just outside the box. Germany's defending was in fact outstanding (with the one exception of not marking Puyol after corners) and it would have been interesting to see if Spain would have ever gotten nervous toward the end of a game still tied (doubtful, sure, but Germany was looking slightly better in the second half with Jansen and Kroos on the pitch).

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised how fair both teams played. This surely helped Spain more than Germany and while it's true that Germany might not even have progressed as far as they did with Michael Ballack as their leader, it's also safe to assume that he would have given Spain a harder time in midfield (if only through cynical fouls). Well, Holland's next for Spain and van Bommel and de Jong are surely going to do everything within their power to throw some sticks into that well-oiled Iberian passing machine.

Germany v Spain

Having predicted Germany's comfortable victory over Argentina makes me the human equivalent of Paul, the Prognoctopus, I guess. It was, frankly, a stunning performance by a German team that is already (prematurely?) compared to the great 1972 West German team, until now the gold standard for beautiful football from the Nationalmannschaft. Scoring four goals in each of the first two knock-out games at a World Cup (against quality opposition [yes, England, too], mind you) is simply an incredible achievement.

For an appropriate appraisal of how far the German team has come, it is also crucial to remember how many first-choice players Löw didn't have at his disposal in South Africa: Adler, Ballack, Rolfes, and Westermann would all most likely have made the starting team if it wasn't for injuries. Before the tournament there was no well-attuned team whatsoever, which makes the crisp passing and mutual understanding on the pitch all the more remarkable.

Still, one should not forget that Germany also had a good amount of luck in that both games were really going their way (e.g., early goals due to terrible defending/goalkeeping) which allowed them to sit back and execute their deadly counterattacks. It still remains to be seen how good they really are when they encounter problems (like in the Serbia game), fall behind or have to defend against a tactically aware and functioning team like Spain.

Also, Germany can now no longer play the "we're-the-young-underdogs-card." Many observers, both within and outside of Germany, have already declared them favorites to win the whole thing. And indeed, it would be foolish for Germany to rest on their laurels now as the team is in fact good enough to win the cup and this should therefore also be their clear objective. Given that both Spain and Holland have been solid but not spectacular so far obviously also plays into the narrative of Germany as favorites.

But still, is Germany really good enough to beat Spain, a team that taught them a painful lesson in modern football just two years ago in the final of the European championship? Can they play any better than they did against Argentina? (I think they'll have to as they were content with letting Argentina dominate the game for 40 minute or so.) And, most importantly, is Spain going to play better football than they did against pesky Paraguay? 

Well, first of all, the 2008 team was much older and slower (Lehmann, Metzelder, Hitzlsperger, Ballack, Frings) than the current one. With the possible exception of Ballack I don't think that Germany misses any of these players. I know that I have always made the point that experience is an invaluable asset at the World Cup and I still think that's true in principle. Germany would be stronger (at least on paper) with Ballack on the pitch instead of Sami Khedira. Yet, in terms of locker room chemistry his injury may indeed have been a blessing in disguise for the German team as it allowed Schweinsteiger, Lahm, and Klose to share the responsibilities in leading the team without having to resort to the outdated model of the Ballackian alpha male. 

With regard to the question if they can deliver another performance for the ages I'm slightly skeptical, however. I'm not sure if there's any peaking left for this team (and I'd love to be proven wrong once again). I simply can't see Spain making the same kind of mistakes and defending as poorly as England and Argentina. Also, Müller's absence will be hard to overcome, especially given Löw's inexplicable fondness for Trochowski.

Well, how about Spain's performance so far, you ask? The current team isn't yet playing the perfect short passing Tiki-Taka of 2008 (unless you're love-blind Sid Lowe, that is). Fernando Torres is only a shadow of his former self (see clip above) but Villa's brilliance has so far been able to make up for this. Del Bosque is still refusing to make Fabregas a part of the starting XI although the team is clearly playing better with him than without him. Yet, Spain hasn't really been playing poorly either, which goes to show just how high the bar has been set for them. They are still the best team in the world! Their individual quality on all positions is breathtaking, their potential seemingly unlimited. Once they click --and I believe they will click in at least one of their next two games-- it's all over.

Prediction: Spain after penalties. I picked Spain to win the World Cup and I stand by this prediction.

Come on, Germany! Prove me wrong, please!

Germany v Argentina

Well, I was right about the Dutch pulling an upset. It was, however, a very cynical match that saw two incredibly talented teams resort to the dark arts of foul play and dramatic acting. The Dutch scored two cheap goals to rally from behind, to which the Brazilians reacted like spoiled children who had their favorite toy taken away from them. While the Dunga era will certainly come to a quick end in order to make way for "Project National Glory 2014," the question remains how far this Dutch team can go in this year's competition. They will be clear favorites against either Ghana or Uruguay and I think that they will indeed seize the moment to reach the third World Cup final in their history. Still, we have no idea how good they really are other that their already poor defense has been further weakened through Mathijsen's injury and that they're loaded upfront even with van der Vaart on the bench.

Germany v Argentina


This rematch of a 2006 quarterfinal may be unique in that both teams are seeking revenge. The Argentines because they feel that they should have never lost to a clearly inferior German team, and the Germans because they blame the Albiceleste for losing one of their most important players, Torsten Frings, for the semifinal against Italy (legend has it that Germany would haver never ever lost that game had Frings been allowed to harass Pirlo in Dortmund).



The convincing win against England instilled a ton of confidence into the German team. They clearly believe that they can beat Argentina again (this was particularly obvious in Schweinsteiger and Lahm's overstated trash talking). Argentina, on the other hand, are --naturally, one might say--- absolutely convinced that they are the better team.

Indeed, the speed of the German passing game may cause great difficulties for Argentina, particularly with the unreliable Demichelis in the back (and the lack of a second world class defensive midfielder). Yet, pretty much the same can of course be said with regard to the German central defense (although Mertesacker looked slightly more assured against England) and the enormous firepower of Messi, Higuain, and Tevez.

I terms of overall experience and individual class Argentina clearly has the advantage. On the other hand, Germany may benefit from the meticulous match preparation coach and devoted nose picker Jogi Löw (and chief scout Urs Siegenthaler) have rightly become known for. This is not to say that Maradona's approach of coaching by the sheer force of personality is necessarily at a disadvantage, though. After all, at tournaments like the World Cup motivational skills are crucial (cf. Beckenbauer, Franz [1990]; Klinsmann, Jürgen [2006]).

Prediction: Germany to win rather comfortably.

Spain v Paraguay
Prediction: Spain to win in dominating fashion. Torres to score (at least) a brace.

A Day Without Football? Here's the Preview for Friday....

For the first time in almost three weeks I didn't have to wake up early in order to watch football. It felt very strange; like an all-encompassing emptiness was greeting me, laughing knowingly in my face, giving me a dire premonition of the football-free time that is soon to come. But I digress. There's still eight games to be played. The quarterfinals are due Friday and here's my outlook for the first two games (just assume that about 90 percent of my prognosis is empirically proven to be utter nonsense, though).

Netherlands v Brazil
It's Germany (2002) vs Germany (1990)! Okay, I guess it's slightly unfair a comparison given that the Dutch actually have several (near) world class players on their team (Robben, Sneijder, van Persie, van der Vaart). I'm not the only one, though, who's noticed the Germanization of Brazil. Also, one Dutch player (Kuyt, I think) has said that the Germans are now playing like the Dutch and vice versa. On the other hand, despite fielding Bayer Leverkusen's great 2003 central defense Brazil still lack a defender of Jürgen Kohler's quality (who, by the way, would make van Persie crap his pants even today).

So, we have two teams who've decided to play very unstereotypically. They are all about winning now. (That's so cynical and boring. Why isn't everybody playing beautiful football like the Germans? -- Gotta be careful here, given the difficult relationship of the internet and irony. Then again, there's nothing wrong with being self-congratulatory if one is, in fact, awesome.) In any case, if they don't win the whole thing, Cruyff and Pelé will publicly tear van Marwijk and Dunga a pair of new ones.

I'm not a romantic, by the way. For example, I don't care what kind of football the Dutch play -- if they decide to win ugly, that's fine with me. Hopefully, it's going to stop their haughtiness along the way. But for Christ's sake, Brazil? Use your friggin' unbelievable talent. Win, if you must. But do so in style. Or do you really want to be compared to a freight train?

Still, Brazil has looked very impressive at times, particularly against Chile (impressive as in "Germany 1990 impressive" not in "Brazil 1982 impressive"). The Dutch, too, have not really disappointed yet (unless one is Dutch, of course) although nobody knows how good they really are given that they've mainly played against crappy mediocre teams so far. I personally happen to think that they can achieve great things if they keep focussed (and van Persie on the bench, perhaps?).

Prediction: It's upset time. Hup Holland Hup! Até Brazil!

Uruguay v Ghana
A true classic. Uruguay's played really well up until now (and they haven't even broken that many legs along the way). Ghana's been decent given that Essien isn't playing. Both teams defend very well, yet scoring goals seems to come much more naturally to the Urus.

Personally, I want Ghana to win (despite their "Little Prince.") First of all, an African team going to the semis for the first time ever would be a nice story. Also, I'm sick and tired of the "South America is so awesome, Europe is so sucky" narrative. Can't remember anybody boasting about Europe's dominance back in 2006.

Prediction (based on plenty of wishful thinking and an utter lack of analytical rigor): It's going to be very close. No goals after 90 minutes. Another extra time victory for Ghana.

Putting Germany v England Into Perspective

Obviously, after yesterday's memorable demolition my pessimistic outlook on the England v Germany game now seems totally wrongheaded. My main argument was that England's experience would ultimately win out over Germany's youthful spirit. Retrospectively, I feel stupid for falling for the narrative of England's putatively "golden generation," a myth nurtured primarily by the self-understanding of the Premiership as the gold standard of international football (when in fact the league's sense of entitlement is equally inflated as its transfer fees and debts). Also, I didn't think it possible that the great Fabio Capello would be outcoached by Jogi Löw.

Yet, I also can't help thinking that England coming back to level the score from two goals down --within one minute nonetheless-- can in fact only be ascribed to Germany's inexperience. The fact that the second goal was wrongfully disallowed doesn't absolve the German players of their responsibility for what could have been a meltdown of epic proportions.

Now, it is of course the easiest strategy to avoid any kind of speculation on how the game would have developed if England had indeed been awarded the equalizer. However, when Klose was sent off against Serbia I made the case that Germany --in all probability-- wouldn't have lost that game with all of their  players on the pitch. And I do have a feeling (what else could it be?) that Germany would have been in deep trouble had the "curse of Wembley" not come to haunt England once again. (Also, can we now stop bringing up that '66 goal every time we play England, please? We're even, once and for all, okay?)

Having said all that, the overwhelmingly accepted narrative (in both the German and English press) is that the disallowed goal didn't matter all that much in the end. England is said to have been completely outclassed by Germany and, therefore, doesn't deserve to hide behind the excuse of the non-goal. (No other country seems to enjoy self-abasement quite as much the English and the mercilessness with which the national team is treated never ceases to amaze me). Strangely, the English press seems to perversely enjoy the unambiguous result just as much their German counterparts precisely because it takes away any significance of the blown call.

(Sepp, can we please get some form of video replay now, please? No, you say? Well, I'm sure you have good reasons as you're a very wise man who honestly cares for the good of the game...)

To some extent the reading of the game (of one team outclassing the other) does indeed make sense. England looked terrible --"overweight," as Steve McManaman put it-- in trying to contain the German attacks (particualrly in the first 30 minutes). Yet, very few people mention how nervous Germany looked in the ten to fifteen minutes before and after the half when England --far from being brilliant-- were the more dominant team. Or, that England has some very decent chances of their own (Defoe, Lampard). The game was ultimately decided by two beautifully executed German counterattacks, which separated England's slightly better period after the half from the last twenty minutes of the game during which England had already accepted its fate and Germany almost seemed to show remorse (or, at least, a lot of restraint).

Now, I'm definitely not trying to take anything away from what has undoubtedly been a great performance by Germany. They were by far the superior team and are deservedly going through to the quarterfinals where I think they could be up for a surprise against favorites Argentina, who didn't look overly impressive against a surprisingly wishy-washy Mexican team. (Before the game, my friend Don and I went to the Mexican supermarket and the Mexican butcher working there complained about the lack of heart in Mexico's team. He had a point.*) But still, the German victory --as enjoyable as it was-- would be better remembered as a close game than a blowout.


*An earlier version included a lame joke on Mexico's former coach S.-G. Eriksson, which was removed due the fact that he was fired over a year ago (and, of course, coached the Ivorian team at this year's World Cup). I'm a real expert.

More German Players Making Complete Tits Out of Themselves...

Sportbild isn't finished yet. Apparently, nearly all German players are lacking decent advisors these days. Somebody needs to protect these clowns from themselves. In any case, given the terribly unstereotypical weather conditions at this World Cup, these unrivaled pieces of art are a welcome reminder that the damn thing is actually taking place in AFRIKA!

So here we have Thomas Müller as some type of African warrior; Toni Kroos (who may have to replace Schweinsteiger against England - but that's a whole different post) as, good God, a python; and Jérôme Boateng (who may also miss the England game due to injury) as, well, a dancer straight out some Shakira video? Furthermore, Tim Wiese is simply enjoying being his usual d-bag self. My personal favorite has to be Miro Klose, though, whose tiger impression looks just as sad and harmless as the once-great striker looked on the pitch all season long. Also, a quick reminder for Cacau: this is probably as close as you'll ever get to touch that thing.

The Demise of “Beautiful” Italy

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present our first guest column by the venerable Sven Kotowski:

Full time Italy-Slovakia: 2-3. Italy were piss poor most of the time and got deservedly kicked out. I've just done some fact checking: The team members had little success in the past season. In the first two matches only two starters in Italy's first XI (de Rossi/Roma; Zambrotta/Milan) were from one of last season's six best teams in Serie A (joined by Gattuso/Milan against Slovakia). Those who played are relatively old – the average ages of the fielded teams were 27.9, 27.4, and 28.6 years, respectively. The core of the team was made up from a group of Juventus players (five in match 1, four in the 2nd – plus Camoranesi coming on in both matches). The four or so Juventus performances I watched last season, as well as their overall results, were nothing short of disastrous – 7th in the league, kicked out in the CL group stages and in the last 16 of the EL. Or not disastrous but rather, maybe worse, mediocre – simply no top-notch side. A Brazil-Argentina final, in contrast, might feature five players from scudetto (and treble) winners Internazionale.

Caught in a downward spiral, the three group matches have seen the Squadra Azzura go from bad to worse, constantly lacking drive and creativity going forward and increasingly losing it defensively. 1st: 1-1 – defensively sound – concede from Paraguay’s only chance (a somewhat ambivalent record for both teams) – yet, don’t create many chances, either, and eventually aren’t dissatisfied with a draw. 2nd: 1-1 – another cheap goal from a set-piece sees Italy early 1-0 down against New Zealand, while Italy don’t create significantly more or better chances than in the Paraguay encounter. Need a debatable penalty to score the equalizer. 3rd: 2-3 – embarrassing! Except for the final 15 minutes and Italy with their backs against the wall, Slovakia are the better of two dire teams – Italy concede the first after the most catastrophic of turnovers and another two after mixtures of counter attacks, comic- and non-defending.

I’ve always rated the “traditionally hidden beauty” of Italian football, its tactical superiority, the decelerated build-up play, the technical skills of all players irrespective of positions (plus “Super Bippo” Inzaghi), great goal keepers, and a seemingly inexhaustible pool of talent. Yet, having a soft spot for calcio is somewhat unfortunate here in Germany. First, because Italian football is still unfairly considered the most cynical and destructive spawn of professional sports; second, more disturbingly, because Italy is the only nation towards which racism (sure, mostly in disguise as various forms of unsubtle humor) appears to be accepted. The lack of creativity in central midfield (Pirlo injured, Totti retired), a center-half/captain/leader who’s been past it for two years, a lack of young talent (though, without Italy’s own, worse problems with racism, Balotelli may well have become Italy’s Özil), and an increasingly impotent strike force are probably among the major factors responsible for the elimination. Personally, I think it’s sad that the “traditional beauty” has ceased to exist, that grassroots problems do not promise quick recovery, and – most depressing – that so many people are happy about it.

Some Pessimistic Remarks on Germany v England

Before we get to the main event, "Sunday's Classic Heavyweight Bout of Two Teams that Feed on Reputation More than Anything Else," here are some thoughts on the other knock-out matches:

Argentina v Mexico
A rematch of a great battle in 2006 (Maxi Rodríguez, anyone?). Argentina have probably looked better than any other team over the course of the three group games (I know, let's wait for Brazil v Portugal). Messi has been spectacular at times, and together with Tevez and Higuaín their strike force is nothing short of terrifying. However, they haven't faced much adversity yet and I'm not sure if they're built for it, either. One big question is if Mascherano and Verón can get the job done (particularly without Cambiasso) when it really counts. Yet, I don't think Mexico have what it takes to really challenge La Albiceleste. While Mexico have looked surprisingly good at times (e.g. against France - but just how meaningful is a victory against them really?) the gap in individual quality between the two times will eventually be impossible to overcome for El Tri (using these nicknames incessantly is sooo much fun!).

U.S.A. v Ghana
Another rematch, which will give the U.S. the chance to avenge their defeat in the 2006 group stage. This one seems like a very open-ended match to me. Both teams are extremely physical and while it won't be pretty on the eyes we can expect very intense football. I think the U.S. will prevail (possibly in extra time?) because Ghana's ultimately too harmless in their attack to take advantage of the American weak spots in the back. The U.S., on the other hand, have proven that they're an extremely gritty team and that they can grind out results.

Uruguay v South Korea
Sound like a real treat, huh? Korea's only in it because of Nigeria's incompetence. Having said that, they sure can fight and run. Uruguay, on the other hand, have been very solid so far and are clear favorites (although I feel they're slightly overhyped). I guess I'm going for the upset here: South Korea to go through after penalties.

It should be pointed out that one of the last four teams (U.S.A., Ghana, Uruguay, and South Korea) will definitely be in the semifinals. That's a major upset right there (thanks to France, and, to a lesser extent, England)! Now, the Germans are certainly the last team that should be allowed to complain about difficult draws (cf. World Cup 2002, EURO 2008, to name just a few) but given their potential path to this year's title (England, Argentina, Spain, Brazil) they will certainly bemoan the fact that Ghana didn't score a last minute equalizer today. I know this is a bold claim of highly questionable moral character but I think that Löw would have made an ingenious move by somehow getting Ghana to score in stoppage time.

Which brings us right to today's game. I thought Germany were incredibly nervous, which manifested itself primarily in a sloppy passing game. Despite his beautiful and immensely important goal, Özil's overall performance was rather poor. Müller, too, was having a bad day. Podolski seems to become more and more selfish. I thought that Schweinsteiger was outstanding in winning the ball back and delivering crucial tackles. They were crucial all the more because Mertesacker, who's supposed to be the anchor of the German defense, is slowly becoming a true liability. His partner, Arne Friedrich, was unusually brilliant, however. Cacau and Jérôme Boateng didn't exactly prove that they're much better than Klose and Badstuber, respectively.

Yet, there's of course a bright side to all this: Germany won despite having many of its players not performing to the best of their abilities. They also proved that they can squeeze out a win when they have to. They controlled most of the game (even though Ghana uncovered Germany's defensive weak spots on numerous occasions). The one thing that's really absent in the German team is experience, though. They don't miss Ballack as a player (Khedira's doing just fine) but as a leader (Schweinsteiger, despite his new brilliance, doesn't have Ballack's presence on the field yet). This may sound cliché but with him I don't see them losing to Serbia or struggling as much against Ghana. And that's also why I don't think that Germany can beat England on Sunday...

In Germany, the football establishment seems strangely content with accepting the role of the favorite against England. This is probably caused more by England's poor performances than by anything else but it's also incredibly myopic. In England, on the other hand, many people seem to coquet with the role of the underdog, or, alternatively, to relish the idea of meeting the "old enemy."

The one thing that doesn't nearly get attention enough is the fact that England's "golden generation," if you wanna call it that, has only this one chance left to win the big prize. In Terry, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and Rooney England has five near world class players to Germany's two (Lahm and Schweinsteiger). Overall, England is much more experienced and accustomed to football played at the highest level than their German counterparts. For example, Manuel Neuer is already a much better goalie than David James ever was but he hasn't even gained ten caps yet. This sort of sums up the difference between the two sides: Germany has much more potential but they fall short on the one valuable skill that can only be gained through time: experience.

As much as I would like to see it happen the other way round (or to be proven wrong): I fear that Germany will not reach the quarterfinals for the first time since ca. 1763. (If only Ghana had scored in stoppage time...)

USA! No.1! England? No.2

Certainly no high class football in these two games but plenty of drama. For the longest time, an equalizer by Slovenia against a much improved English team would have sent the U.S. and Slovenia through (it almost happened, too). When England finally managed to secure victory, the U.S. suddenly had to score in stoppage time. And score they did. I will never think of Landon Donovan as a world class footballer but he has shown great heart and determination in the last two matches. More importantly, he scored two crucial goals when friends and foes all missed a boatload of great chances.

It is good thing that the U.S. reached the next round. They had two perfectly good goals disallowed and, I think it is fair to say, deserved it more than either Algeria or Slovenia. Moreover, it's a good thing for the future development of the game in America. The "comeback kids" defying adversity (i.e., foreign refs and rules) are a story that will certainly conquer the public imagination. Donovan and the obnoxious Alexei Lalas have already found parallels between the American team and the nation's putative "character," which will not necessarily gain the "U.S. boys" (as the German press calls them somewhat disparagingly) any further sympathies outside of their own country.

Now that the U.S. have won the group the question is who they, and England, will play in the round of 16. Ghana, Serbia, Germany, and --although highly unlikely-- Australia are all still in the mix. The possibility of a Germany v England classic looms large, of course. And while the U.S. have definitely played the more entertaining and engaging football I can't help but to prefer them as Germany's potential opponent over England.

Fabio's boys finally played some football today, and while they were far away from a stellar performance they should have found enough confidence for the later stages of the tournament (In fact, English commentators are already nearing the typical delusions of grandeur in their assessment of England's chances - it never takes much for them to see England as potential world champions). The reason why I'd rather see Germany play the U.S. is that England's defense is much more solid than the American, and Germany is de facto an attacking team these days with a shaky defense. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First of all, Germany needs to beat Ghana. And if they beat Ghana they are probably going to win the group (unless Serbia slaughters Australia) and thus will have to play England next.

The usual German confidence makes failure appear as an improbability. And, truth be told, they have the better team. But still, there are some lingering doubts if this young team can withhold the enormous pressure without alpha-male Michael Ballack as their leader. The player responsible for Ballack's absence will of course be part of Ghana's line-up, which could potentially make things a little testy on the pitch (given Germany's already impressive collection of yellow cards they have to be very careful, though). Cacau will probably start as striker for Miro Klose, which is not necessarily a disadvantage these days.

Less than two hours until kick-off. Bring it on. My feet are sweaty already.