A Look Ahead To Tomorrow's Final...

Holland vs. Spain.

The venue was decided months before.

The teams were decided in mid-week.

The referee was chosen a few days ago.

The stage is set.

One of these teams will become world champions in a little under 48 hours.

One of these teams will make history for their nation by becoming the 8th different world champion to lift the Jules Rimet trophy.

One question remains: who will it be?

Paul the psychic octopus has opted for Germany's conquerors Spain. So far, this tournament he has predicted every single one of Germany's results correct. But does this psychic octopus only get the German results right?

Mani the Singaporean parakeet on the other hand, has gone for the Dutch. This is turning out to be the battle of the psychic animals by the looks of it.

But what about the battle between the two teams? Here's my view, for what it's worth:

Holland: we've said it before, so we'll say it again. Clearly not the same side as we've seen in previous tournaments. Play a different kind of football, that is evidently working for them - they are 25 games unbeaten. May not be easy on the eye, but ultimately get the job done. Clinical, effective and pragmatic. Sneijder has been a major force for them so far in the tournament. He could be the one to pull it out of the bag again, and get the golden goal that wins it. De Jong and van Bommel need to be on alert. They are the insurance policy for the Oranjes in front of their back four. Have to offer protection against Spain's superior midfield domination. Robben likes to cut in on his left-foot from the right and could be a potential threat to Joan Capdevila - the only first-team Spanish player not to play for Madrid or Barcelona. More service needs to be delivered to van Persie and Kuyt - both are capable of keeping a hold off the ball and running at defenders to create chances. We've seen Holland comeback from conceding a goal, or going a goal down and winning - calm, cool and collected, they won't be too fazed if they don't get the early lead. Have the ability to apply strong pressure, work well as a team in going forward, squeeze the ball into tight areas and are always dangerous until the final whistle. They are also great when they have to defend leads - some might say cautious, but they get pretty much all men at the back. Dogged and resilient in tracking back and clearing the ball. It will be particularly difficult for Spain to try and score in the last few minutes, if the Dutch are leading. They must be careful in their tackling and so on. I read that Holland have committed the most fouls this tournament, so they have to be on their best behaviour to avoid getting sent off because it could change the game (à la Zidane). Bert van Marwijk has his team under control so it will now be down to the players to do the talking on the pitch.

Spain: much more pleasing to watch with their passing game. However, shouldn't get too bogged down in their passing that they miss opportunities and chances to score. Spain have been the most passing side of the tournament. But that should come as no surprise. They totally dominate the midfield, particularly with the likes of Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi. The 4 top players who have passed the most so far are Spaniards. Xavi is no.1 in that list with a whopping 464 passes. And it's no wonder. When he's having a good game, Spain are having a good game, making Spain less of a team and more reliant on individual talents to see them through. Nevertheless, all players should be on form tomorrow in their first-ever final. Whilst not on proper goal-scoring form as we saw in the Euros, Spain have been clinical too. Winning 1-0 in their last three games on the trot. Have a tendency of passing a lot, creating many chances and scoring late on before seeing out the win. We have not yet seen a Spain side come from a losing scoreline to win. Germany couldn't do it, but if Holland get an early lead then it will be interesting to see Spain's reaction. Spain are good at stifling the opposition, and starving them off possession so we shall see how long it takes for Holland to crack open the Spanish side. Spain have got to be more efficient and clinical though in front of goal. If they were less wasteful they would have got more than only 7 out of 103 shots into the back of the net. That amount of shots is the most for this tournament, so they definitely have something going forward. Largely due to starman David Villa. Strike partner Torres has been out of form, like many big names in this tournament so far, that's probably why they've only scored 7. Doubts over whether he will start - probably not, instead Pedro will most likely go on in his place. Talent all over the pitch, particularly midfield. Busquets is the insurance policy in front off the back four, has been untroubled so far. Not short of intelligent players, but need to be less selfish so that they can kill off the games (Pedro - against Germany, for example). Ramos, Pique and Puyol like to get upfield during the game, particularly Ramos down the right - could cause problems, if Holland break on the counter and they are short of cover at the back. Managed to deal quite effectively with Germany's counter-attacking style though, so will be looking to do much the same tomorrow. Alonso likes to shoot from range so Stekelenburg needs to be alert at all times. Spain might try to expose the weaknesses of Holland's keeper, who made a mistake against Uruguay, allowing them back into the game.

Believe it or not but Holland and Spain have never clashed before in either a Euro game or a World Cup game. Spain have always been hindered at the quarter-finals stage whereas Holland have never been able to beat the host nation in the finals, losing 2 out of 2 finals matches.

For England fans, we can be happy in the knowledge, that we WILL be represented in the final after all, as Howard Webb and his two assistants have been chosen to be the official referees in the game. A bittersweet decision, after England were kicked out off the competition over a poor refereeing decision. Speaking off, FIFA have announced that this will be the last tournament without technology. A bit late for England now and it will be interesting to see whether any controversial decisions occur tomorrow to make them regret their resistance to video technology even more. For the fairness of the game, and for the sake of the officials, let's hope not. Howard Webb has already officiated at the UEFA CL final last season, so should have no real nerves at doing the same in tomorrow's game. At least now three Englishmen will receive world cup medals, so we're not that useless after all. In all seriousness, the refereeing from the English officials has been spot-on. Darren Cann has been correct in all the offside decisions he has made, even the tight ones and Howard Webb has been no pushover, particularly when it came to players diving. I wish them the best of luck tomorrow.

Before the WC began, I chose a team to support in 'reserve', should England go out of the competition early and should my 'reserve' team still be in with a chance. That 'reserve' team? Holland.

Also before the WC began, I did one of those office sweepstake predictions chart plotting the whole thing based on recent results, form and so on. The team I predicted to win? Spain.

So: will it be three-times lucky for the Dutch? Or will 'beginner's' luck prevail for the Spanish?

More importantly, who will win in the battle of the psychic animals?

My prediction? Do I go with Paul or Mani?

Well: my heart says the Dutch, but my head says the Spanish.

Viva España!

The South African 2010 World Cup will deliver us a brand new world champion after Spain beat Germany 1-0 in Durban last night, to set up a tantalising final against fellow world cup 'virgins' Holland on Sunday. It will be Spain's first-ever final, as they beat the 'new' favourites Germany in a tense encounter at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. It also turns out that Paul the psychic octopus might just be actually psychic after all. That was his 6th prediction that he got completely correct as he opted for the Spaniards over the Germans...spooky stuff! (Despite currently residing in Germany, he was actually born in Weymouth!!)

Germany had come into the game on a high. They had thumped Argentina and England, were in great goal-scoring form and looked invincible. Spain, on the other hand, had one out-of-form centre forward who's involvement in the starting line-up was stirring up a fierce debate, and had not really clicked into gear, despite having got themselves to the semis. Spain has been largely untested throughout this tournament, except the first game against the Swiss. Although, they haven't been the best to watch, they have got with scoring just the one goal, in recent games and winning. Why is this? Well, they have dominated the midfield with their pass and move game and last night was no different.

Germany were without the suspended Mueller which made life a bit difficult for them. In his place, came Piotr Trochowski. We were hoping to see a much improved Spanish side after their less-than-vintage performances in recent games. Unfortunately we still didn't see one last night, and one wonders if we ever will in this tournament. The big question was whether Del Bosque would start with Fernando Torres upfront, but he chose instead to leave him on the bench and instead opt for a 4-5-1 with Pedro drafted into midfield and David Villa as the lone frontman. It was a different substitution to what many people predicted: most were expecting to see Fabregas start for the first time this tournament, but perhaps that leg injury in training prevented Del Bosque from playing him. Llorente had also impressed when he had come on for Torres, but he was also left out this time.

The game started off with the first pitch invader of the tournament, finding his way onto the field of play, but the Italian fan was promptly pulled away by South African security guards and was probably arrested for his actions I guess! Despite that minor disturbance, Spain soon settled into their standard passing rhythm, dominating large passages of play and possession. It was difficult for Germany to get the ball and counter-attack, frustrating many of their players up front such as Oezil who hardly saw any of the ball in the first-half. However, Spain were unable to pick any holes in the German defence and were reduced to shooting from long-range. Villa did force a save from Manuel Neuer early on in the half though and the two Spanish full-backs, Puyol and Ramos missed glorious chances to get their names on the scoresheet. The best chance for a counter-attacking move came for Germany after 20 minutes had passed, but unusually there was a lack of communication with Oezil and Podolski, breaking down the move and thus Spain went unpunished.

Germany were the better side as the opening half came to an end, they were pressing much better now and pushing the Spanish back a lot deeper into their own half. Oezil was much more involved in the game now and had what appeared at first to be a strong penalty appeal turned down. He had managed to weave away from the Spanish defenders and Ramos made a last-ditch tackle bringing down Oezil, and not getting anything on the ball. However, replays later showed that contact had occurred outside the area. It should have been a German free-kick though, but it was not given by the Hungarian referee.

The period following the half-time break was a spell of Spanish pressure as they got closer and closer to getting in the lead. They were once again, fluent with their passes and movement and starved Germany off the ball. Alonso tried twice from distance and saw the ball going either side of the posts on both occasions. Then came a big moment of panic for the German backline as first, Pedro got his shot away from 22 yards out which forced a good save from Neuer, after some great build-up play by Iniesta, Capdevila and the final lay-off by Xabi Alonso. However, Germany failed to get the ball clear and Iniesta pounced on to it sending a fine cross through across the face of goal, only inches away from the feet of David Villa who could have made it his sixth of the tournament. Sergio Ramos had a similar opportunity but could not connect properly with Xabi Alonso's ball and also missed another good chance.

Then, Loew threw on two substitutions - Kroos and Jansen in a bid to change the game. Once he had made the changes, Germany were playing better and it was now they who were pressing. There was a short spell where they were able to have more possession of the ball and work their way into the Spanish half where Kroos forced a good save from Iker Casillas. That was the closest Germany got, before Spain got their vital goal. Spain had a corner kick which was taken by Xavi, and he picked out an on-rushing and unmarked Carlos Puyol, who slammed home the header, despite the keeper being in a good enough position to make the save. It was a Robben-esque goal and sparked wild celebrations from the Spanish bench as Spain were now only a mere 17 minutes from making their world cup final debut.

Germany were looking laboured, desperate and lacking in ideas about how to take the game to Spain. So far in this tournament, Germany have only won when they have scored the first goal, but we have never seen them recover from being a goal down - for example in the Serbia game. Perhaps they should have been a bit riskier upfront and really got at the Spanish defence, a lot earlier in the game because having gone a goal down, they were put on the backfoot. Spain can pass the ball and are always comfortable in possession, and so they were happy to pass, pass, pass and generally, give Germany the run-around. The German team were getting more and more frustrated as the minutes ticked by but Spain proved resilient and even got close to getting themselves a second. Inevitably, Germany were left desperately short at the back as they sought the much-needed equaliser and in what looked reminiscent of the England-Germany game, it was the Germans, this time, that were being subject to quick counter-attacks. Torres was brought on by Del Bosque in the 81st minute and would have probably scored his first of the tournament, had Pedro not been so selfish. Pedro had managed to race clear, and with Torres up alongside him and only Friedrich to beat, he had tried to shoot himself instead of passing to an unmarked and totally free Torres, who was absolutely furious after Friedrich had somehow managed to get the ball clear.

Sunday's final will produce an eighth different winner of the World Cup and for the first time, the Dutch will not be facing the host nation in the final. Many predicted Spain to go all the way this year and it seems incredible t0 believe that a nation with such a great footballing set up, a wonderful league and some unbelievable talent, will be playing in only its first ever world cup final. Hopefully we will see a good game. Holland have become more counter-attacking than we are used to and Spain play the opposite - they keep the ball, they pass, they like to play attacking football and go forward. It will be good to see a clash of the two styles and it will be intriguing to see which one comes out on top.

As for Germany, well they came into this competition with not really much off a chance at winning it. Yet, with this young side they defied the odds, producing some of this year's most scintillating football and really adding to the entertainment value that we have seen in the tournament. They scored plenty of goals but unfortunately could not do enough yesterday to overturn their Euro 2008 rivals and get revenge. The great thing about this team is that they are young and so will have chances later in future tournaments to come back and prove their worth. Germany were responsible for kicking England out of the tournament, but the way in which they played and the talent that is present in their squad made it less difficult to take. England were beaten, and beaten well. Argentina, too. Therefore, the Germans can be proud of their achievements in this tournament, although having lost in a second successive semi-final in the World Cup will be a bitter pill to swallow. It has often been said that the worst defeat you can experience is in the semi-final of a tournament. Well, having reached their 11th semi-final and having lost it can't be hard to take but they will go on, and come back, as they always do, dogged and determined as ever.

Oranje Is The Colour...!

Holland have made it to their third final after a 32-year wait following their victory over the only South American team left remaining in the competition. Holland's win means that for the second successive tournament, we will have another European champion in what was predicted to be a year for the South Americans to savour. Uruguay's controversial win over Ghana has been debated to death for the past week and the South American team (minus Suarez) were out to prove their worth against a Dutch side that has been more clinical than classy in the way they have played their football.

Both sides were desperate for a place in the final - it is said that the worst defeat you can suffer is in the semi-final: you are so close but yet so far. This probably explains why the two teams started off so tentatively, unwilling to really get out of their area and careful when it came to defending. It looked like we were going to see two teams sitting tight for the majority of the game and only really trying to score from things like set pieces. It certainly started off that way, although Dirk Kuyt had a really good chance which he wasted by firing over the crossbar. The Dutch had started off the brighter though and were the side more willing to attempt to go forward.

Their patient play worked though as they took the lead on 18 minutes, with the unlikely veteran left-back and captain of the side, Giovanni van Bronckhorst slamming home a shot from 35-yards out into the corner. It was a strike that really came out of nowhere. He was able to assess his options, create some space and then absolutely lash it home. No one from Uruguay closed him down and the Dutch were 1-0 up. It was a spectacular effort, that the keeper couldn't do much about. It was kind of difficult to see where Uruguay might get their goals from. Forlan was not really in the game and he was far too upfield, when normally he'd playing a bit deeper, in behind Suarez. It was clear that they were missing him, as he cheered on from the stands. However, thanks to a shaky moment from the Dutch keeper, Stekelenburg Uruguay got themselves level.

Forlan had possession of the ball in midfield, and again, similarly to GvB had time and space to pick out his shot, without any of the Dutch players attempting to close him down. Stekelenburg was well placed to make the save and even got one hand to it but could not force it out and saw it land at the back of his net. It was a bit of a shock for the Dutch, who before the goal, had not really produced anything that would have doubled their lead. Uruguay were back in the game and the scores were level once again as we entered half-time.

Stekelenburg also started off the second-half a bit shakily too, when he misjudged Cavani's attempt to shoot. Had Cavani been a little braver he would have been able to chip the keeper, instead he chose to pass to Pereira who saw his goalbound effort cleared by the tireless GvB, who seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. However, Stekelenburg managed to regain his composure and made a good save from a free-kick taken by who else, but Forlan. Van Marwijk had made a positive substitution by bringing on van der Vaart for the ineffective De Zeeuw and he had a good shot on target which was cleared by Muslera. Robben could have made it 2 with the rebound, but didn't realise that he had more time than he first thought and blasted it over.

There wasn't much happening from both sides until the Dutch eventually got their second in the 70th minute. Both sides were playing like they did when the game commenced - they lacked bite and the Dutch, in particular were pretty slow at counter-attacking. There was a lot of possession being lost in midfield and it was hard to tell where the game would take us next. Where it took us was another great goal from Wesley Sneijder. He latched on to the ball out on the left hand side, after some good build-up play and went for the goal from distance. There was a question about the positioning of Robin van Persie, who appeared to be just offside. At first it had looked like it had got a touch off him but replays showed that the ball deflected off Maxi Pereira before rolling into the net. The deflection clearly confused the keeper, who had been decent until then.

Within 3 minutes, it looked like the Dutch had won the game and would definitely be heading for Sunday's showdown at Soccer City stadium in Jo'burg to face the victor's of tonight's game. Dirk Kuyt again crossed in from the left and found Robben, who rose clear of Godin to head home the third goal of the night. It was a straightforward goal and a firm header with the keeper rooted to the spot. It looked as though the Dutch were out of sight, as they tried to see the rest of the game out, by keeping possession of the ball, passing and making their opponents work really hard to have any chance of mounting a comeback. Uruguay were looking tired and Robben nearly made it 4 for the Oranje Army, but miscued his attempt on goal.

But the game wasn't over as Uruguay somehow got themselves a goal back in the second minute of injury time. Diego Forlan had been taken off by this time but it was from a free-kick that they got the ball. Maxi Pereira made amends for his earlier deflection, by running onto the ball from the free-kick, skipping past Elia, and firing into the net. The Dutch were furious with themselves for getting so complacent and careless and the last few minutes resulted in a scurry of activity in the Dutch penalty area. However, they were able to resist the pressure, with all men back in the box helping to defend and were relieved to hear the referee's whistle blow for full-time.

Uruguay have had a fantastic run up to this point in the competition. They were total outsiders, to even reach the semis, but they have proven their critics wrong and advanced further than their fellow South Americans. At the end of the day, they weren't able to do enough to break down this Dutch side, that have been unbeaten for 25 matches now. Brazil couldn't do it, and now Uruguay couldn't either, although they came mighty close. Who knows, perhaps if Suarez had been on the pitch, things might have been a bit different after all. Forlan has had a brilliant season and now a brilliant tournament too. They will now go on and play the losers of tonight's game in the 3rd/4th play-off on Saturday evening in Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.

As for the Dutch...well they do it once again. They make it count when it matters most. They might not have had the best performance, or matched the style of the teams of '74 and '78 but they have got themselves to the final on the back of this massively impressive unbeaten run. The question is: will it last? Have they got enough to beat either Spain or Germany in the final and win the World Cup for the first time in their history or will they fall short (once again) at the final hurdle? Well, I guess the answer to that lies with the footballing gods and we must wait and see, but know this: they certainly have a chance. They wouldn't be in the final, if they didn't. They have a few defensive frailties, particularly with the young keeper and need to find a way of getting Robben involved in the game a bit more. They also need to be less complacent and try and kill the game off - finish of the chances they get - Germany are very good at doing this. They also need to make sure their key players are fit and well enough come Sunday and that they make the best use of the extra 24 hours they get. Whether that will be enough to take them to victory in the final, will be revealed later, but they sure as hell will go for it. They will no doubt know the history of previous 'total' Dutch sides, they will know that they are a different Dutch team to those of years gone by but they will also know that this is their best chance in a long, long time to put those World Cup demons to rest.

I think, should they come up against Spain in the final, it will suit the Dutch better and they will have a better chance at beating them, than Germany. Having said that a Germany-Holland final will make for good viewing because of the great footballing animosity and rivalry between these 2 sides. It's anybody's game at the end of the day, and we shall be seeing who will join the Oranje Army in the final, tonight, when we see a repeat of the Euro 2008 final. The question is, will the final result be a repeat of the result we saw 2 years ago, as Paul the psychic octopus appears to think it will be? Only time will tell...except I can't wait!!

Nigeria Clash With FIFA

There was a story going around last week about the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan planning on banning the Nigerian national football team because of their poor performance in the World Cup this year.

I've already said my piece on politics and sport not mixing - I don't need to go into it any further.

Clearly this call would impede FIFA regulations too (Sarkozy has already been warned against taking any further involvement in matters regarding the French national football team after the whole fiasco). It's a good stance that FIFA has taken and I fully support it.

Also, how is the team supposed to improve and stuff by this ridiculous decision? I know football is a big thing not only for the sport itself, but its important social ramifications but here, football is also viewed as though it's a religion, yet if the national team were going to be banned from playing, no matter how bad it has been playing, there would be a huge outcry and massive outbursts from the public.

Anyway, today, it has been announced that Goodluck Jonathan has rescinded any prospects of a total ban ahead of FIFA's final deadline for them to make their decision. Glad to hear it too, as there is no way that FIFA would have just stood idly by and allowed this to happen. He shouldn't be able to rule over matters in football, even if he is the President.

Spain Snatch Semi-Final Spot!

Spain will now face Germany in their first ever World Cup semi-final after they beat Paraguay one-nil in the evening kick-off in Ellis Park stadium. It was Paraguay's first ever time playing in the quarter-finals whereas for Spain, the quarter-final stage has been a bit of a bogey stage for them in recent World Cups. They have reached it 5 times, but have failed to get any further than that.

Paraguay became the third South American team to exit the competition, in the space of 2 days as Spain's progression now guarantees European representation at the final. Looking at the ties involving European teams, one could say that Spain had the "easiest" of the lot, with Holland having to face Brazil and Germany having to face Argentina. However, they made hard work of their victory last night and will now be looking to improve on their performance, ahead of their semi-final against Germany on Wednesday night.

The first-half passed relatively uneventfully. It was actually Paraguay that settled much better into the game, having a few chances and increasing the pressure on their opposition. Gerardo Martino's team were much improved from their woeful performance against Japan. He had made wholesale changes, bringing in 6 different players to the team that won on penalties against Japan in the second-round. The changes seemed to be paying dividends, when Santana shot straight at Casillas, in the very early exchanges. Riveros saw his header go wide whilst Nelson Valdez, who had impressed me when he came on as a sub against Japan, was a real menace to the Spanish defence with his speed and quick passing.

The problem with Paraguay, as we saw against Japan, was that they managed to get into good positions, particularly on the counter but were too slow at moving the ball forward and thus taking advantage of the space and time they had. This was particularly frustrating, as Spain then became more dominant in possession and comfortable with their passing. Still, Paraguay did their best to block the Spaniards from getting too comfortable in midfield. They were decent in defence which prevented too many Spanish players from getting in the box. Del Bosque had once again kept his faith in Fernando Torres, with reports suggesting that he was going to be dropped. However, like in his previous games, he failed to impose himself on the game and even when he got into good positions in the box, he was not able to really do anything with the ball, as we know he can or as we have seen him do at Liverpool. The best chance for Spain came from Xavi, who was able to turn with the ball and just shoot over the bar.

Paraguay had a goal disallowed for offside just before the first half ended, when Valdez had slotted in from close-range. Replays showed that Valdez was not offside, but his teammate, Oscar Cardozo was, and as he was interfering with the run of play, the assistant had no choice but to flag Valdez. Spain were left largely frustrated as they headed into the break and knew they needed to up their game badly, if they were to see off the resilient South Americans. Shortly after the second half had gotten underway, Del Bosque made his first substitution of the game - taking off the ineffective Torres for Cesc Fabregas.

The game really heated up when we had some penalty drama at both ends, not too long after the restart. First Paraguay got a penalty, and thus a chance, to get themselves into the lead and put Spain on the backfoot. Pique had blatantly held onto Cardozo in the box, when Paraguay were given a freekick - in fact he was holding on to his hand so much as though he was on some kind of ride, and was afraid of letting go. It was quite funny, but stupid by the experienced Pique too. Oscar Cardozo, was also the man to take the spotkick. It was his kick that had won the shootout against Japan but this time he kicked it straight at Casillas, who not only made the save, but did really well to hang onto the ball too to prevent any rebounds from going in.

Not even a minute later, Spain were awarded a penalty at the other end of the pitch. I don't think I have ever seen that in a football match before where first one team has a penalty, and then 30 seconds after their penalty is taken, the other team gets one at the other end. Alcaraz was ruled to have brought down Villa in the box, giving Alonso the chance to give Spain the lead. His penalty did go in but was adjudged to have been encroached by several Spanish players running into the box before he had struck the ball. Replays actually showed this to have happened on all 3 kicks that were taken, but it was Alonso's first try that was forced to be retaken. It was a funny, psychological battle as to where he would put it...in the same spot or somewhere different? He chose the same spot...but so did the keeper, however, unlike Casillas he could not hold on to the ball forcing a scramble from both sets of players in an attempt to get the ball. This was where there was another big shout for a penalty, as Villar tripped Cesc Fabregas as he tried to get to the ball. The replay showed it was a penalty but perhaps the referee had had enough of giving them, and felt that he couldn't give yet another one even if it meant disobeying the law. Sergio Ramos had actually latched on to the ball but it was blocked off the line.

What incredible drama! It was enough to get everyone out of their seats, in what had been a largely uneventful tie thusfar. Following on from the whole penalty shenanigans, the game became much more open as both sides tried to see it off before extra time could commence. It was end-to-end stuff and it wasn't until less than 10 minutes before the end, that Villa scored his fifth goal of the tournament to snatch the win for Spain. Before his goal, the substitute Pedro had seen his shot rebound off the woodwork, however Villa made sure his went in between the posts before he went off to celebrate with his teammates. Busquets got the ball into the area and fired it goalwards, only to see it rebound off the post...but it found its way to the ever-present David Villa, whose shot also hit the same post...before pinging toward the other posts and finally settling into the back of the net. It was heartbreaking for Paraguay who had tried so hard until then to keep Spain out and it really looked like we were heading into extra-time once more.

Before the goal, Martino had thrown on all his attacking options in a bid to win but was unable to find a way through as Spain assumed control. Iniesta saw his shot blocked by Villar as Spain were able to see out the win, despite Paraguay coming close to a equaliser extremely late on as Roque Santa Cruz saw his effort on goal saved by Casillas. Villa had the last shot of the game, but again, his attempt was saved. The final whistle resulted in uproar from the Spanish who make their way into their first-ever semi against the Germans, but Cardozo was in tears as he thought ahead to what might have been.

Spain know that they have plenty of work to do as they prepare to face Germany. Many people's favourites before the tournament, will now be viewed as the underdogs. So far, Spain have been able to get away with winning 1-0 but this won't do against the free scoring Germans. The other big question is will Del Bosque start with Torres? He has been ineffective so far, and Fabregas has made an impact when he has come on, so it will definitely be interesting to see whether Del Bosque keeps his faith in El Niño.

Germany Score Four (Again) To Annihilate Argentina!

Germany 4 - 0 Argentina: There, that makes for good reading for England fans doesn't it? A week later and suddenly the defeat to Germany doesn't seem so bad. What makes us feel better is the fact that we actually managed to score 2 past Germany and Argentina couldn't even respond with 1! That makes England better than Argentina by my reckoning! Wow...the world now seems a much better place to be in!

That massive victory over Maradona's L'Albiceleste was Germany's third 4 goal victory: Australia, England, Argentina...perhaps España next?! There seems to be no stopping this talented team of youngsters as they power on through to the semis. This is the 12th time that Germany have reached the semis in 16 appearances in the World Cup. What a record.

As we advanced into the quarters it was looking to be a year to remember for the South American sides. There was at least 1 team representing that part of the world in each of the ties, but following Brazil's shock defeat against the Dutch on Friday, the pressure was on Argentina to try and progress further than their rivals. This was arguably, Argentina's biggest test of the tournament so far. They had passed through the group stages in relative comfort, without exerting any real effort and were able to see of Mexico fairly easily too after a little help from the assistant. Germany, had the more tougher of the group games, and as badly as England might have played, a tougher second-round knock-out tie.

Having seen the way England were, quite simply torn apart by a scintillating display, I expected Argentina to be a much tougher opposition. Their defence seemed to be a lot better than ours, and nothing more needs to be said about the calibre of their attacking forward players. However, I was soon made to think again as not even 5 minutes had passed before Germany got their first of the afternoon. At least England had managed to last longer than that. It was just a simple free kick that caught out the Argentinian defence. They lacked organisation and allowed not one, not two, but three German players to run away from them and get free but it was the impressive 20-year old, Mueller who headed in his first of the night and third of the tournament. The keeper, Romero, didn't cover himself in glory either as he only got half a palm to it. Argentina can have no complaints - they were quite simply poor in defending that free kick and Germany were already in the lead. It was a shock for the Argentinians but an amazing start for the Germans.

From that goal onwards, Argentina were on the backfoot for the best part of the first half. They struggled to get themselves into the game and involve the likes of Messi, Higuain and Tevez into the play. Not only were Germany great at going forward but they were also pretty solid at the back forcing the Argentinians to shoot from distance. Germany were comfortable in possession and passed with ease in midfield. There was no pressure from the Argentinians to get the ball back whereas Germany were quick to track back and hound the Argentinians as soon as they got the ball. Argentina were struggling and failed to get into any kind of rhythm. They were getting frustrated which only suited Germany more. Germany had clearly learnt from their mistakes at conceding those goals against England and had worked on them because they looked much better at the back.

Germany were so close in doubling their lead as Argentina left the back open, as they tried to equalise. Klose had the best chance when Mueller squared him the ball but he lashed the shot high and wasted the opportunity. Messi was seeing nothing of the ball as Schweinsteiger did his best to contain him and anytime he did get the ball, three Germans were immediately on him preventing him from working any kind of magic to get his side back in the game. It was only as half-time approached that Argentina began to knock harder with Higuain and Di Maria both forcing low saves from Neuer, who had largely been untroubled until then. Germany managed to see out that spell of Argentinian pressure and were probably glad to see half-time as Argentina were slowly beginning to impose themselves on the game and get themselves into some kind of rhythm. It seemed that it would only be a short while before Argentina scored to level things up.

Indeed, the second half began the same way the first half ended. Argentina were determined to give Germany a proper game and Germany just had their noses in front. There was a period of about 20 minutes in which Argentina pressurised...and pressurised hard. But Germany kept their cool, didn't panic and dealt with whatever they were thrown. You could see the spirit in the team as the whole team helped one another out and congratulated each other for every block, every save and every tackle made. Tevez's shot was blocked superbly by Mertesacker's honker (not that he knew all that much about it) and Neuer was alert and equal to everything that came at him. With Argentina busy up front trying to score, Germany did what they do best: counter-attack with blinding pace and score once again.

With Argentina struggling to get back, Mueller got a hold of the ball in midfield, passed to Podolski who burst into the box and squared it to Klose. It was put on a plate for the striker to walk the ball into the net. With about 20 minutes to go, Germany had delivered the sucker-punch. They had held out against all that pressure, and were now 2 up and totally in control. It was down to Argentina to get themselves back in it and I remember thinking in the first-half that I couldn't see how Argentina would get themselves back into it if they went 2-0 down. Then just 7 minutes later, it was effectively all over as Germany got their third. This time it was Schweinsteiger who again broke down the left, and with such ease skipped past the Argentinian defenders and passed to Arne Friedrich who scored his first ever international goal. It says a lot when your own centre-backs are scoring goals against one of the favourites - Argentina.

Maradona, watching on from the sidelines, could do absolutely nothing to stir his side. The wonder that is Lionel Messi could do nothing on the pitch either. They tried in desperation to do something, but they knew that their time was up. Klose got his fourth of the tournament putting him joint second on the FIFA World Cup all-time goalscorers list, with the great Gerd Mueller, his fellow German. He's only one away from equalling Ronaldo and two from topping the list. What an achievement for the 32-year old who has had a miserable season for Bayern, scoring just 3 all season long. He's certainly found his form again. It was the everpresent Schweinsteiger who got the ball moving again, passing it to Oezil who launched a beautiful pass to Klose who just volleyed it in. What a result for the Germans, and what a way to go for Maradona's men, who now leave the tournament along with their neighbours, Brazil. Today, it was announced that Maradona was considering his future as to whether to remain manager of Argentina, so it will be interesting to see what happens next for him. But, it was yet another victory for Europe as Joachim Loew's team now become favourites to lift the cup once again.

Messi exited the competition without having scored a single goal. He was a disappointment like many of the "big stars" we expected to shine in this tournament. It was a shame, because this is the stage where they are expected to rise to the moment but Messi and his teammates were quite simply snuffed out by a German side, that were previously totally unfancied before the tournament got underway. What did I say before? You can never discount them. There's just something about Germany - they always come good in these kind of tournaments. It's like they live for these big competitions and truly come alive when they get going. Argentina were overcomplicating things far too much, taking too many passes of the ball and too many touches - trying to play fancy football in their attempt to score. Germany, on the other hand, played simply and won spectacularly. No fancy football here - just plenty of speed, few passes as possible, long balls and a magnificent counter-attacking style.

The Germans will surely go forward with a huge amount of confidence after defeating England and Argentina by such a big scoreline. They must be careful they don't become too over-confident but when you're winning life can be nothing but good. Loew will no doubt keep his side's feet on the ground as they prepare to face Spain in a repeat of the Euro 2008 final. What's so great about this German side is that Loew has studied the players hard and uncovered their strengths and he's used their strengths to their maximum advantage to build this team. The players are fast, so he's made sure that they use their pace when they counter-attack. Neither England, nor Argentina were able to catch-up with the youngsters as they ran with ease. Loew knows they can run at defenders, and set up gilt-edged chances, but they can also deal with things at the back. He has built up a great spirit within the team - none of the players are selfish in going forward as we saw against Argentina when Klose and Friedrich scored. This is what makes them able to finish off their chances and get such a big margin. In some teams, there are some strikers who are really prolific, and therefore do not look up to see if there are any better options, thinking that they would much rather shoot themselves, even if they are not in good positions.

Germany are able to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents - they have done their homework and practised hard, that much is evident. Before the tournament, Germany were criticised for their lack of experience because of the amount of young players in their team, but so far, nothing has been shown by those players to indicate that they are suffering from the pressure of being in such a big tournament - on the contrary, they look like they are really enjoying themselves. The football they are playing is a joy to watch for anyone and if they do go on to win the tournament, then they will most definitely be worthy winners. The other great thing about the youngsters is that because no one was expecting much of them, they are not really under any pressure - they don't feel the stress and play with no fear. That mentality is what saw them through against England and Argentina. If you have no fear then you are half-way to winning already.

But that's the big question, can they win it? They must now face Spain and this game will be an intriguing one indeed. Spain haven't won as comfortably as Germany have, but have been clinical in their ties and seen them off. I'm going to be open here and say that I think Germany will beat Spain. The only way I can see Spain winning is if the keeper, Neuer makes a mistake - he looked a bit unsteady at some moments against Argentina and he is very young. But that's the only chink I can spot. The other thing is that Mueller won't be playing but I think that Germany will have the strikers to cope without him - they have Klose and Podolski, and Cacau should be back from injury after missing the England game. They managed to cope without Klose when he was suspended for the game against Ghana. The only other way I can see Spain beating this German side is if they get decisions going their way. Germany were unable to come back against Serbia after they had been reduced to 10 men.

If they beat Spain, then I can see them lifting the cup for a fourth time. Having previously coming into this tournament as outsiders, Germany have done everything right so far to prove that they are most definitely in it to win it...

Ghana Gutted As Late Penalty Drama Sees Uruguay Through...

It was a game billed as one continent against one nation. The only African team left in the competition had the opportunity to make history for Africa by being the first team of that continent to make it to the semifinals of the World Cup. Ghana was doing it for Africa, with the whole of the continent watching on and supporting them to go all the way - Aaron Mokoena, captain of Bafana Bafana had only the day before, presented the Ghanaian team a huge shirt signed by hundreds of thousands of supporters and well-wishers from all over the African continent. It was a heart-warming display of African unity which ended in heartbreak as Ghana failed to reach the semifinals following some late, late drama and the nerve-wracking, wretched experience that is a penalty shoot-out.

Soccer City was packed out with BaGhana BaGhana supporters and the streets of South Africa and Accra were filled with excitable, rapturous Africans desperate to see another South American team knocked out after Brazil's shock exit, just a few hours earlier. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, vuvuzelas were being blown at full blast and the teams were pumped and ready to go.

The first half saw Uruguay step it up and control things, with more of the possession and more of the chances. Ghana, were flailing to get into any kind of rhythm or good movement and keep a hold off the ball. They looked a little jaded for the best part of the opening half, perhaps due to the post-match effects of the USA game in which they had played and won in extra-time. Sulley Muntari was awarded a starting place in the Ghanaian line-up with Ayew suspended. However he was unable to have much influence in the early exchanges as La Celeste had the best chances earlier on. But it was Ghana's keeper Richard Kingson who kept them out saving well on two occasions, first from a deflected corner, and then from the on-form Suarez.

Uruguay were then forced to make a substitution in the 38th minute, having to take off injured captain Diego Lugano, who has been really impressive in defence for the South Americans during the whole tournament. This substitution coincided with Ghana getting themselves back into the game. There was a great chance for Gyan when he was picked out by Kevin Prince-Boateng who squared him the ball only to see it miss the goal. Muntari also went close with a header but saw it go wide. As we entered deep into injury time of the first half, it appeared as though both sides would go in level with the scores still at 0-0. That was until Muntari delivered a wicked shot and absolutely lashed the ball past the surprised Muslera from 40 yards out. The goal came from nowhere and surprised everyone watching, as Muntari had acres of space and time to assess his options and fashion his shot. It was a spectacular effort and definitely one of the goals of the tournament. Muntari, might not even have been around to see his strike go in, as after the game against Australia, he had done an "Anelka" but did eventually apologise to coach, Milovan Rajevic.

Uruguay were stunned and went into half-time knowing they had to score if they were to stay in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals for the first time since 1970. And it wasn't long before they had done just that. Just 10 minutes in, up stepped Diego Forlan. He curled in a delicious free-kick that left Kingson standing stock still and looking on in disappointment as Uruguay celebrated. It was a brilliant goal, from the man that has been responsible for breaking so many hearts so far this season already.

Cue a nervy, edgy finish of the 90 minutes from both sides. We saw passes go amiss, possession cheaply lost and chances squandered. Neither side wanted to commit after being within touching distance of the semis. The game was totally 50-50 and it was difficult to see which side would go on to win. Would it be the young but inexperienced Ghana? Or would it be the defensive but clinical Uruguay? It was so tough to call but it seemed almost the whole world was on Ghana's side, urging them forward everytime they got hold of the ball.

Gyan was tough as old boots as he fought and fought for the ball. He was never tiring and always willing to go the extra mile for his team. Every time he lost the ball, he hounded the Uruguayans in an attempt to get it back. It was an inspiring performance from the Black Star's leading goalscorer in this tournament. Suarez went close in extra time, hitting the ball into the side-netting and forcing a save from Kingson with another drive. At the other end, Scotti, Lugano's replacement, nearly scored an own-goal when he cleared from Gyan only to see it just marginally miss his own net. Kevin Prince-Boateng saw a glancing header also go narrowly wide in the closing half of extra-time.

But there was more drama to come. Oh boy, what drama!!! This was proper last-minute stuff that just left you totally breathless and unblinking. Ghana were pressurising and pressurising hard in the last few minutes of extra-time...something in me told me that this game wasn't quite heading to penalties just yet. It just felt like there was going to be a goal. And there very nearly was. It was a total mad scramble in the Uruguayan box as the ball went pinging about all over the place. The ball was crossed in from a free kick and Appiah eventually got a hold of it directing it goalwards only to see it saved by Suarez's legs (so legally) on the line. The ball went out to 20-year old Daniel Adiyiah who also got his head on to it but saw it cleared off the line by Suarez's hands (so illegally). It was blatant handball. In fact it was almost as though Suarez had forgotten what sport he was playing in the heat of the moment, and thought he was playing volleyball or something else instead. It was a clear prevention of a goal-scoring opportunity which meant it was to be a straight red and one-match ban for Suarez and a penalty for Ghana to seal it in what was now added time in added time.

It was crazy, the atmosphere was intense and Ghana sensed that victory was so very near. It was down to one man - Asamoah Gyan, who before last night had scored and converted both of the penalties that Ghana were awarded in the previous games. He literally had the last kick of the game - one spot kick to convert and the victory was theirs. No going into penalty shootouts, no pain, no trauma - just one kick, one chance, one dream. And he missed. He went for pace and saw his kick smash the crossbar. It was a painful moment and hurt more each time we saw the replay. To the delight of Suarez, who was watching on from near the tunnel, we were going to the shootouts. I think it was the pressure of the moment that got to Gyan - the adrenaline was pumping and his mind must have been racing ahead to the semis when he should have been concentrating on what was in front of him.

Forlan was asked to step up first and he converted his second penalty of the tournament without so much as breaking a sweat. However, what credit must then given to the sheer mental strength and bravery of Gyan who stepped up for Ghana's first spotkick. This time he made no mistake and seriously, what a trooper! Victorino, Appiah and Scotti were all also on target. Then came the captain of Ghana, Mensah. I said to my mum before he took the kick, that he was going to miss. I don't know why, I just had a feeling and sure enough, he did. It was a really poor penalty, no pace whatsoever and really easy for Muslera, who by the way, has made his name by saving spotkicks in his club career. Luckily, for Mensah he was reprieved when Maxi Pereira blazed over and the two countries were now level. Then up stepped 20-year old, Adiyiah with the continent's hopes resting on his young shoulders. I didn't have a good feeling about this one either and he too, could only kick tamely for Muslera to save. It was only slightly better than his predecessor's. I was left puzzled as to why Boateng had not stepped up to take a spotkick...perhaps he would have taken one of the later ones or something? Nevertheless, the two boys who missed will not be feeling the pain as much as one man in particular.

It was down to Abreu. When Abreu had been put on as a substitute for Cavani, I thought he might have something of a big impact on the game, and I was right. Can you imagine the amount of pressure that must have been on him? This was the kick that would send his Uruguay through. But did he look like he was under pressure? Hell no. With the whole crowd rising up against him, he was as cool as ice as he dribbled his spotkick, waiting for Kingson to commit to his right before seeing the ball land to Kingson's left. Cue wild, jubilant celebration from the South Americans and uncontrollable tears of despair, bitter disappointment at what could have been, at what was so very nearly their's. The whole of Africa had been holding their breath and now they were looking to the skies as they saw the last African representation in the tournament make their exit. Gyan - well what can you say? I wouldn't have liked to wake up as him this morning, that's for sure. This kick will always stay with him and well, you couldn't help but let your heart go out to him, the Ghanaians and the African continent.

Today, there has been a raging debate about the actions of Suarez. Is he the hero or the villain? There is no doubt that he is seen as a hero for the Uruguayans. After the game, he admitted that there was no way he could have defended Adiyiah's header with his head, and so he used his hands. It was a gamble and it paid off. Had he not used his hands, and thus, blatantly cheated, his side would have 100% gone out. However, by using his hands, and thus preventing a goal being scored, he sacrificed himself for his team but it meant that Ghana only now had a 50% chance of scoring. If they failed to score from the spot, which had a 50% chance of happening (and it did), then Suarez would have sent his team to penalties, giving them a chance of still winning the tie (which they did). Suarez has no regrets about what he did - he misses only one game, so if Uruguay progress to the final, he will be able to play there. An upset, John Pantsil, said after the game that the ref should have given it. But in fairness to the ref, he applied the letter of the law as he saw it. It may be unjust, but how can he award a goal when the ball didn't cross the line, albeit by an arm?

Yes it was cheating and a massive risk. But, it worked. I mean Henry did something similar, did he not? It was in extra time and Henry took a big risk by using his hand, to palm it to Gallas to score. The goal counted, Henry got away with it, France went through, there were no penalties to be played. It was symmetrically the inverse, for Suarez, you could say. I think Suarez did it more out of instinct than anything else - it was a spontaneous thing and he didn't consider the future ramifications - like the fact he would miss the shootout, if it got that far and so on. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that paid dividends for him and I can guarantee that anyone in that position would have done the same. It might be considered cheating, but it also might be considered as taking one for the team - depends from which side you are viewing it. Some may say that Uruguay won by cheating then, but Gyan had a chance and then the Ghanaians had a 50-50 chance in the penalties too, but I just felt that after Gyan had failed to score from the spot the first time, it wasn't to be Ghana's night.

So, Uruguay now go on to face the Dutch, and the Oranje Army can be sure they will be getting plenty of African support, not only because of the drama we witnessed but also because of the whole Afrikaaner history of South Africa. As for Ghana, well what can you say? The whole of Africa was with them and the whole of Africa cried with them too. In the end, it just wasn't to be...

Half Time Oranjes Do The Trick As Brazil Get Beat!

That's right. Brazil have been knocked out of the World Cup in the quarterfinal stage as the Oranje Army go marching on, on, on! Never thought I would be saying that so soon. Most people expected to see Brazil in the final and perhaps picking up their sixth trophy but the Netherlands made sure that it wasn't to be the Brazilian's year as they produced an amazing comeback after initially going 1-0 down.

A game of two halves - it's one of the most-used clichés in football, but this game was the personification of that cliché. In the first half we saw a Brazil side comfortable in possession, able to pass the ball around easily and effectively, rattling the Dutch defence with every ball forward, keen to get going and generally the stronger of the two sides on the pitch. Robinho scored his second goal of the tournament with only 10 minutes gone, and suddenly it looked like it might be a long afternoon for the Dutch, who I think were largely shocked at conceding so early. I don't think that they were expecting the Brazilians to do that so early on, and I reckon they were expecting the game, at least in the early stages, to be a lot more tighter than it was.

The goal, was conjured via pure simplicity but finished with a bit of Samba flair. Felipe Melo was able to loft a long ball as he found himself in space, when Andre Oojer, starting his first game for the Dutch, and Jonny Heitinga failed to close him down. Robinho timed his run perfectly before slotting the ball in with his right foot. It was a sensational goal from straight down the middle, and the first the Dutch have conceded from open play, in this tournament. Previously, the Dutch had only conceded twice but were totally undone here. Oojer had been called up to the side very late on after Mathijsen had limped off in the warm-up and he was given quite the run-around in the first half as Brazil continued to dominate.

The Dutch did try to respond but it was really difficult for them to penetrate the Brazilian defence as it was rock solid in the first half. They were well drilled, well organised and quick to track back and get onto the ball once they had lost possession. You felt the only way the Dutch could come back into it was if there was a set-piece that they could make the best use of or perhaps a mistake. And this is indeed what did happen in the second half. The first half was a largely fractious affair with plenty of silly fouls and niggly tackles that saw the ref produce a few yellow cards. Players from both sides kept fouling their opposition provoking a stop-start atmosphere to the game. This suited the Brazilians more though, because it meant they were able to break up any rhythm the Dutch might have tried to create and it allowed them to go back and organise themselves. For the Dutch, it was impossible for them to conjure up any real fluency or connectivity in their play because the ref kept blowing his whistle.

It was also really difficult for star-man Robben to get himself into the game. We know that when he plays out on the right, he likes to cut inside and run at defenders before creating space and a good position to shoot from range. However, it all became a bit too predictable as not only did the Brazilians cut off most of the supply to the right but everytime Robben got the ball, the Brazilians knew what he was going to do and were able to block him each time he tried to shoot. Robben was just taking three touches too many to control the ball, giving the Brazilians time to gather and there were like 4 or 5 blocking his shots proving a frustrating first 45 minutes for the Bayern Munich player.

I think for the Brazilians, they all thought that it was looking easy from here on in. The Dutch were unable to find some kind of inspiration to evade the Brazilian defence and the Brazilians were pressing forward to get their second, which they almost did, had it not been for the magnificent saves of Stekelenburg. In fairness, the Dutch keeper hasn't had too much to do in their previous games, compared to this game, and he showed that he was alert to the danger and kept the Netherlands still in with a chance. First he saved from Kaka, whose shot was most definitely curling into the top corner of the net. Had Kaka just put a bit more power into it, then maybe it would have been too difficult for Stekelenburg to get any fingertips too, but it was a fine save nonetheless. And, then Stekelenburg also palmed away Maicon's shot which was also on its way in.

I don't know what kind of oranjes the Dutch boys ate at half-time, but they certainly did the trick as the Dutch got themselves back in the game with only 8 minutes gone off the second-half. It was a flukey-ish goal that shocked the Dutch themselves, as much as it did the Brazilians. I was right in thinking it would take a set-piece or mistake or something for the Oranje Army to get themselves back in it, as Robben took a short free-kick passing the ball out to Sneijder, who whipped the ball into a dangerous area and so it nudge of Felipe Melo's head and bounce into the back of the net, with Julio Cezar looking on in utter dismay. The Dutch had found a way back in and for the second time they had scored via an own-goal. Interestingly, that was the first ever own-goal to be scored by a Brazilian in any World Cup competition. What a record to break.

The Dutch knew they were now in with a serious chance and grasped the opportunity with both hands. The goal came at exactly the right moment - a good response, early in the second half that unsettled the Brazilians, whom defence I had just been praising at half-time and breathed new life and energy into the Dutch play. At half-time I was thinking that this Brazil team could seriously go all the way and win - they were looking great upfront as always, but their defence was sharp too - when you have both bits of play sorted, coupled with a great goalkeeper, well, you're 90% of the way there right?

Brazil launched themselves forward once more to restore their lead and Kaka again came close, sending the ball just wide. But, it was the Dutch that found themselves in the lead for the very first time in the game after yet another set-piece created chaos in the Brazilian back-line. This time the ball came in from a corner which Kuyt flicked on to Wesley Sneijder, who made no mistake in claiming the goal this time, as it came off his head and nestled into the net. It was pure joy and elation for the Dutch and their fans, as they realised that they were 20 minutes away from knocking out one of the tournament's favourites and advancing to the semis with another win under their belt.

The Brazilians then went into panic mode and then total meltdown, as those 20 minutes of madness cost them their place in the next round. The Samba boys (and girls) of Brazil are known for their chilled attitude...relaxing on Copacabana beach...not getting bogged down by the stresses of life, but Brazil's attitude was far from chilled, as they completely lost their cool as they tried in vain to get that second goal. They were frustrated and fouls were happening all over the pitch, which clearly was of no help to their cause. What was of even less help was Felipe Melo getting sent off for stamping on Robben after Robben had been awarded a free-kick. It was cynical and it was stupid and he deserved a red. What madness - your team are trying to score another goal, so how does it help them by you getting sent off? This Brazilian team were looking less and less like the one we saw in almost complete control in the first-half as they threw everything forward to score and left themselves totally open at the back.

In fact, the Dutch could have scored three or four and totally killed the game off instead of making us wait for a bit of a nervy end to what was otherwise a thrilling second-half. In the end, the Dutch did enough to hang on and defend for all their might to get the win that sees their unbeaten run stretch to 24 games. A massive victory for the Oranje army after a stunning fightback and they will now feel that this could finally be their year. As for the Brazilians, well their dream ends here, and the next time we see them play in the World Cup will be in their very own country...

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Only a few short hours after their defeat, the Brazilian coach Dunga accepted "full responsibility" for Brazil's exit from the tournament and has said that he will resign as manager, after failing to reach the semis both in 2010 and 2006. Dunga is not the only coach to tender his resignation - several other managers have done the same following their respective exits from the competition. One of the only managers whose sides have exited early and failed to live up to expectations, but still with a job? Well, Fabio Capello of course.

So where did it all go wrong?

The players have arrived back home. The manager's job is in jeopardy. England are once again trophy-less. Now all our sporting hopes have been pinned on Andy Murray and the inquest has well and truly begun into what was a 'disastrous' campaign. So, where did it all go wrong? Was it the manager's fault? Or maybe the players are to blame? Could it be that the responsibility lies with the FA? Or perhaps simply, it just wasn't our year. Here's my view on things.

Well let's start with Fabio. The man was touted as one of the best in the business when he became England manager after the short-lived reign of Steve McClaren. Capello's popularity hasn't nose-dived that far...just yet. Before he accepted the £6 million pound a year job, he was winning all sorts of trophies and accolades with some of the biggest football clubs in the world: Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus etc... He came into the England job with a reputation for being one of the most strict disciplinarians out there: hard-nosed, ruthless and firm. Exactly what England needed if they were to focus solely on the football and compete at the highest levels. So what could go wrong? I mean here was a guy with some serious experience under his belt, with a strong enough character to deal with the players should they step out of line (e.g. the whole JT thing) and his presence is big enough to command respect. Okay, so his English was pretty much non-existent when he arrived, but he's worked on that. During his reign, and before the World Cup, England had lost only twice to France and Spain prompting a renewal of his contract until at least 2012.

After beating both Mexico and Japan, it was time for SA. Ah, the hopes and expectations of the nation were carried with Capello and his boys with a real sense of anticipation...this could be it! Our year. 44 years and counting but the golden generation were going in with one of the best managers around. Except it didn't quite pan out that way did it Fabio?

Let's start with the 23 man team selection. Capello was heavily criticised for one major surprise omission: Theo Walcott. Having previously used him from the start in the friendly games, it was a major shock to discover that he would not be travelling to SA. I said it before that if England's tournament was a failure, then people would look back on this decision, reflect upon it and might decide that that was where Capello had taken the wrong road. And, if I'm honest, then yes, Capello should have taken Walcott. Yes, he hasn't been entirely fit during the season and his final ball might not always be there. But he's fast, pacy, runs at defenders and makes a big impact even if you choose to bring him off the bench (remember Barcelona at the Emirates?). Furthermore, did Capello make the right decision in the final selection of players? Ledley King and Gareth Barry were major doubts. Jamie Carragher had also returned from retirement - instead of going for youth, Capello chose experience.

So, anyway aside from that, what went wrong for the manager in SA? Well, we didn't get off to the greatest of starts after those 2 disappointing draws. First there was the whole goalkeeping situation debacle. Then we had the whole JT 'big mistake' shabang. Many people i.e. pundits, analysers and fans were calling for a change in system after those 2 draws as well. Capello's willingness to keep using Heskey despite him not having scored in what feels like decades was also another thing to criticise. No one was really happy to see Gerrard out there on the left either, but Capello never once changed it or tried something different and maybe that was where we also suffered. I mean you can't really blame the players for that, as they had to listen to orders and do what they had been told. If it was me, I'd have utilised the player's strengths to my advantage and taken a few risks - it's the World Cup after all. So I would have had a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Gerrard in behind Rooney, or maybe even a 4-1-3-1-1 with Barry in that holding position. Therefore some of the blame has to lie with the manager for refusing to change things and shake it up a bit. England became a bit too predictable in the end, and Gerrard and Rooney would have most probably preferred things in a new formation where they could both get forward, in particular, Gerrard.

Most people seem to think that Capello will stay and despite his obvious mistakes at the World Cup, I'm kinda glad. Why? Well because he is still one of the best in the business. And also, I don't think it helps England to keep having a change in manager and a change in the way things are done. It's better to have a stable foundation and we must now look to the future and getting ourselves a place at Euro 2012.

So we come to the players: well all the big-name stars of the Premier League, in the so-called 'golden generation' were quite simply nowhere to be seen in this tournament. Take Wayne Rooney: for all the good form he has had during his time at Man U, we did not see even a glimmer of how good he is in SA. It was a really poor tournament for him, and there is no one that will know that more than him. Since England made their exit, he has come in for a lot of criticism, and rightly so. I mean, he is supposed to be one of the best players in the world and where else are you meant to prove this than on the world's biggest stage? But, to be fair he didn't look fully fit. He looked tired and it seemed that everything was an effort. He probably wasn't helped by the system Capello employed, and the rigours of the PL but he needed to do much, much better. It was a shame that Capello was too scared almost, to substitute him when things were not going our way.

John Terry and Matty Upson were no better at the back. For all JT's experience, he was responsible for some pretty poor defending against the Germans. As for Ashley Cole, well he's had better games. It's that old saying - if you're team's playing well, then you automatically play better too. I think Glen Johnson and Upson were both slightly out of their depth against Germany, and England's defence was left wildly exposed for all to witness.

I think Milner was half-decent, but again Lampard failed to make any real impact during the tournament. Barry was struggling, after only just coming back from injury and despite Gerrard's efforts to rouse the spirit of the team, he had nothing really to show for it. Joe Cole could do nothing to change the game when he came on and both SWP and Aaron Lennon were really disappointing. Defoe did well to get that goal against Slovenia but remained largely anonymous in the defeat to Germany.

It was a shame Peter Crouch wasn't given the opportunity to score a few of those late goals either. All in all, the players have as much to be criticised for as the manager. For all their reputations and accolades with their respective clubs, they were a shadow of their best and will view SA 2010 as a completely missed opportunity - a World Cup that held much promise, but fell desperately short of expectations. Criticism has been levelled at the amount of money they are paid and how the performances that they displayed at the World Cup have not matched up to how much they earn. I gotta admit that this is true. I have always called for a cap on wages, and maybe the FA will now review the situation.

England were not helped by things going wrong either. We had the Rio injury which spelt trouble from the off. Then the press made things harder by exaggerating the meaning of what Terry had said in the press conferences. Ledley King had his injury troubles. James Milner got a virus. We got put into the tougher part of the draw thanks to our friends, the USA. Need I say more about the "ghost goal"? Jorge Larionda and his mate Mauricio Espinosa have no doubt blown their chances of officiating in the final ... there is still hope for England to reach the finals yet!!! And, to cap it off, the England players had their undies stolen as well as £7000 worth of other things including football memorabilia by hotel workers at their hotel complex. (It was all returned...undies and all...so don't worry).

Finally, the finger has also been pointed at the FA who have been criticised for failing to nurture enough home-grown talent in a proper youth system. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has ridiculed the FA as amateurs, and insists that the team could be properly managed by the Premier League. Not sure, I entirely agree with that one. It's true, no one can deny that the PL is one of the best, if not the best in the world so how is it possible that it's success cannot translate to international success? Some people have pointed to the influx of foreign players but if you look at Tottenham - they finished fourth and supplied a quarter of the players to the final England squad. So, although that may be a factor, it's not the sole factor. There's also been a demand for the FA to review the idea of a 'winter break'. Most other European countries have the break before they get underway for the second part of the season and most of the PL players seem to be in favour of it as well. Traditionalists don't like the idea as it ruins the whole Christmas/New Year clog-up and is what makes the PL unique. I get that, but if that was what was responsible for the fatigue we saw in the players during the World Cup, then perhaps we do need to do something about it. At least, consider having a winter-break every 2 years, in time for the big summer tournaments. Chris Waddle believes the solution is to encourage the PL players to ply their trade abroad - using his own experience in Marseilles, he stated that sometimes players learn more outside the PL and that's what makes them prepared for big tournaments such as these. Well, I'm not entirely sure I agree with him on that one either. It wouldn't be good for the PL to suddenly have a mass exodus of English players as it is an English league after all. As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps old Beckenbauer was right about the players being "burnt out". He did subsequently apologise about his "negative" views of the English team, but it appears he was sort of right in what he had to say.

So at the end of it all, what can we say? Not a lot really.

England will be looking to forget all about this tournament and concentrate on the next.

To be honest, who can blame them?

For England, the World Cup tournament of South Africa 2010 was a tournament that promised so much but produced so very little...

Paraguay's Penalties Propel Them To The Quarters!

The Paraguay-Japan game witnessed the first ever penalty shootout of this year's tournament. I had almost forgotten how nervous I get when watching them no matter who's playing. That could be to do with the fact that England didn't even reach the penalty shootout stage of the game this time around...! But anyway it's a cruel way to go out and this time was no exception.

The game itself was probably one of the poorest we have seen so far. No goals, no ambition, no courage. For both teams a spot in the quarters was going to be a first. Neither Paraguay nor Japan have ever made it out of the second round, so the prospect of each side making national history was clear for all to see. It's a shame then that both sides were so fearful and played so cautiously and tentatively, so that what we got was reminiscent of the opening games of the tournament - a tight, edgy and cagey encounter with few chances from either side and no real prospect of any goals being scored.

In fact, the longer the game wore on, it became inevitable that we would be heading to penalties. Neither side wanted to commit players forward for fear of being undone at the back and therefore either took chances from range, or didn't take none at all. Both sides were trying to play counter-attacking football and this is where they cancelled each other out. We have seen in previous games that the Japanese have been extremely organised and rigid at the back, always playing in straight lines and not really conceding too much. We saw a different Japanese side against the Danes - there they were playing with more fervour and enthusiasm and giving us a really good game. They were fresh, full of energy and adventurous in going forward. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about their style of play in yesterday's game.

As for Paraguay, well they were a bit better at breaking on the counter, but were just too slow at making anything happen. As soon as they got the ball, the pace slowed down completely allowing the Japanese defenders and the goalkeeper, Kawashima to make those vital blocks. Lucas Barrios went closest for the South Americans in the first half, getting in between two Japanese defenders only to see his effort on goal saved. His chance, finally breathed some life into the game 20 minutes in, as at the other end Matsui lashed a ball from distance only to see it whack the crossbar. That all came in the same minute and was about all the excitement we had in a pretty much unmemorable opening half.

It was pretty much the same story in the second half. Paraguay probably came closest to scoring out of the two sides after Riveros' header went wide. The game pretty much just floated from one team to the other without any real pressure or anything exciting happening. The introduction of substitute Nelson Valdez livened things up though. It was clear to see how much he wanted to win the game and get it over and done with, and indeed he came so close to scoring but Kawashima did well to smother.

Neither keeper made a save in the subsequent shootout, but as is so often the case one man's pain was another man's joy as Japan's third penalty taker Komano whacked his penalty onto the crossbar. The advantage was with Paraguay who put away all 5 spotkicks, with Benfica's Oscar Cardozo sealing the win. All the spotkicks, save Komano's obviously, were really well taken and it's always sad to see a side go out on penalties (unless you're on the winning team of course!). Cardozo's coolly taken kick sparked scenes of mass jubilation and tears of joy from the Paraguayan coach, as well as tears of despair from the Japanese.

The win for Paraguay means that now all 4 quarterfinals have 1 South American team present in what is looking a great year for that continent. There are also 3 European teams and 1 African. If Japan had made it through then we would have seen a representative from the Asian continent but ultimately a lack of ambition and an unwillingness to take risks cost them what would have been their first ever place at a quarterfinals. Although they did well, particularly against Denmark, they will no doubt rue the missed opportunity against Paraguay and their failure to take the game to the South Americans instead of sitting back, and hoping for something to come their way.

Brazil Beat Chile To Reach Quarters...

Brazil will now go on to face Holland in what will be one of the most anticipated quarterfinals after their comfortable and relatively untroubled victory over fellow South Americans, Chile last night. Chile, who finished second in Group H, were the first South American team to be knocked out of the World Cup and were unfortunately just not good enough to see off the 5 times winners.

To their credit, Chile have been exciting to watch in this competition, together with their coach, Marcelo Bielsa or "El Loco" as they like to call him. He has ensured that his team are well drilled and finish the job off properly, but they were always on the losing side of the battle coming into this game with key players - Estrada, Ponce and Medel suspended.

Chile started off the brighter - taking the game to Brazil, but it was nothing that the Brazilian defence coupled with the men in front of them - Gilberto and Ramires, couldn't handle. As the game wore on, slowly but surely Brazil assumed the ascendancy, enjoying more of the possession and more threat going forward. However, it was difficult for them to produce their classic moments of flair and style with Chile quick to get on to the ball everytime Brazil had possession. So if you can't do it the Brazilian way, well then you might as well do it the British way - from a corner kick. In what was the most un-Brazilian of goals, Juan headed home brilliantly after making great contact from Maicon's corner kick. He rose higher than the Chilean defenders who failed to mark him properly and Brazil were 1-0 up.

Chile were then forced to score or else go home without trying. This, as always, left them vulnerable to Brazil counter-attacking football, and in the end this was what was to be their undoing. Just 4 minutes after Juan had scored, a brilliant move by Brazil gave Luis Fabiano his third goal of the tournament. This goal was much more Brazilian in style than the first after Robinho was able to collect the ball on the left and square it to Kaka who was back after his suspension. Kaka took the weight of the ball and it was a perfect pass for Luis Fabiano who made no mistake in skipping past Bravo and slotting the ball into an empty net. A sumptious move which pretty much ended Chile's hopes of a comeback.

Robinho got on the scoresheet not long after half-time to really dent any hopes of a Chile comeback scoring a magnificent goal after a great long run from Ramires, who unselfishly passed the ball out to the Man City man to chip delightfully over Bravo who could do nothing to stop that from going in. Bielsa knew that Chile's time in SA was almost up, but he wasn't going to leave without trying. He used all 3 substitutes shortly after the goal, and Valdivia went close with his strike just going high. Suazo, who had been pretty disappointing until then, did eventually force a save from Cezar but it was well and truly out of their reach as Brazil completely slowed the pace down and Chile's attacking options became limited.

Chile have done themselves proud in this tournament, but were just in a different league to their South American neighbours. It probably didn't help that they were missing some of their best players either. I'd like to say something about the style in which Brazil are playing as it makes for intriguing reading, particularly with their game against the Dutch to come. As I mentioned in the post below, the Dutch are being criticised back home for the way they have been playing in this tournament. They have been winning but not doing so in their 'total' style. They have been clinical, efficient and ruthless. Well Dunga and this Brazilian team are very much the same if you think about it. And, Dunga has also been criticised by the Brazilian media for sacrificing the 'samba' style for a more systematic approach. Dunga has also been clinical, efficient and ruthless, much like van Marwijk. So it will be definitely interesting to see the two similar styles clash with each other from teams that have been known traditionally for their flamboyancy and artistry on the pitch.

Also, I would just like to say a word or two about Gilberto Silva. This man is the real unsung hero of the Brazilian team. He may not be the best going forward but boy does he do his job. Like when he was at Arsenal, Dunga employs him as the holding man - the man who must sit in front of his back four and shield them. Every ball that comes his way, every pass that goes astray - he makes sure he's on to it so that his defence doesn't get hit. Wow, he's so great I've even started writing poetically about him. But in all seriousness, he really is Mr. Reliable. There have not been too many cases when he has done much wrong and he definitely does his fair share of the work for Brazil. It's gonna be tough for the Dutch forwards to get much past him so they had better get their thinking caps on, to come up with ways of getting past the solid rock of wall that is, Gilberto Silva.

Robben's Back, Back Again!

The Netherlands made it through to the quarters after a relatively comfortable win over Slovakia, who coming off the back of their huge scalp against the (former) world champions, failed to offer up any kind of a challenge against this Dutch side, who are looking less and less like the Dutch we know and love to watch.

With Robben back in the starting line-up after a quick recovery things were looking decidedly rosier in the Oranje camp. Slovakia were looking to reach the quarter-finals in what has been an amazing first tournament for them, since they attained independence. It was pretty easy for the Dutch to keep possession of the ball and create chances with Van Persie, Sneijder and Robben all having shots on goal. Robben made his count though, in the 18th minute, and scored a goal that showcased the winger at his very best. Credit must go to Sneijder who sent a long ball forward to release Robben, after the Slovaks had lost control of it on the edge of the Dutch box. Robben used all his skill, trickery and mastery to control the ball, draw in the defenders, cut inside and lash the ball from 22-yards out. Injury? What injury? That was Robben's first goal of the tournament, and I'm sure it won't be his last. Slovakia seemed to have no reply, and didn't really give the Dutch keeper Stekelenburg much to do as the first half came to a close.

With the game still at 1-0 though, there was every chance for Slovakia to get back into the game. However, I could see no way back in for them, unless they had a good set-piece and scored from there. They offered no creative input whatsoever, and made it all too easy for the Dutch who were content to stay at 1-0 and were not really tested. Mucha made some fantastic saves in the second half, to keep Slovakia in the game, but his efforts were not replicated up front as a desperate Vladmir Weiss senior, put goalscoring substitute Kamil Kopunek on to try and get them a goal, as he had done in the Italy game. It was only much later when the Slovakians finally threatened the Dutch - first with Miroslav Stoch whose effort was well-saved by Stekelenburg, who did well to stay alert, despite being a spectator for most of the match. The next chance was definitely one to rue for the Slovaks as Hamsik squared the ball to on-form Robert Vittek, who despite being joint top scorer, was unable to finish the move, kicking the ball straight to the keeper.

With about 5 minutes left, the Dutch made sure that they were going to be heading to the quarters, with a coolly finished goal from Wesley Sneijder. Kuyt initially forced the keeper to commit himself, and Mucha, who had been pretty decent with his saves, committed himself out of his box, allowing Kuyt to unselfishly pass to Sneijder who tucked the ball into an empty net. It was a good job he had scored too, as Slovakia were awarded a penalty in injury time, which could have sent the game into extra time. Vittek was tripped in the area and added to his tally of 3 goals by slotting home from the penalty spot. Ultimately, it was only a consolation but a positive one nonetheless as they headed home, with their heads held high after a great debut to the tournament.

I mentioned before, that the Dutch won in an un-Dutch way. What do I mean by this? Well I've been saying before how we have been waiting for the Dutch to step it up a bit in this competition. Arguably, they've had an easy ride up to now and haven't really come out of fifth gear yet. They haven't really been tested and we haven't seen total football! To be honest though, I don't think we will see it anytime soon either. Why is this? Well, the Dutch seemed to have changed their style of play to better their chances of winning the competition. Remember: they have never won it, but have come damn close to doing so on two occasions in the years of Cruyff, Kluivert and van Basten. The Oranje Army has always been praised for its flamboyant, entertaining, aesthetic football but has been criticised for failing to be clinical or ruthless enough in big competitions i.e. failing to 'win ugly'. This time around though things are different. In fact the coach has been quoted as saying that his side are content to 'win ugly' causing a large amount of criticism in the Dutch press about the way their side has performed so far. Gone are the days of flair, flamboyance and fabulous flourishes. In their place we see rigidity, pragmatism and efficiency. The important thing for the team though is that they have won. Not only have they won all their games in the tournament so far, but also all of their qualifying games too. It is an unbeaten record that stretches 23 games. The 'new' style of play might not be all that we want to see, it might not be pretty but it has certainly been effective...so far.

But the question is: is it better for them this way? Will they be able to win things now? Is it a sacrifice that will benefit them in the long term and bring a future of greater promise? Perhaps. Only time can tell...