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...

Maradona Marches On...

Yet another controversy. Yet another indefensible refereeing decision. And yet another shout for video technology. Sepp Blatter are you listening? I jolly well hope so because if yesterday's two matches, did not convince you of the need for some kind of technology, then I have no idea what will.

Argentina beat Mexico 3-1 last night to seal qualification to the quarterfinals, but the scoreline could have been so very different had it not been for a massive mistake by the referee's assistant. In a match that replicated the last 16 match in 2006, El Tri were hoping to take revenge on their South American neighbours and book themselves a place against Germany in the next stage of the tournament. And, it certainly looked possible, particularly in the opening stages as Mexico saw a great deal of the ball and had some clearcut chances to get themselves on the scoresheet. Concerns have been raised about the Argentinian defence as being the only chink in their otherwise formidable armour, and this certainly looked to be the case, as Mexico played their short, sharp passes in between the last line. There was really good movement by the Mexicans who were unlucky not to score first, when Carlos Salcido's shot crashed against the post and Guardado shot narrowly wide. It was a great start for the Mexicans but soon the tide turned against them with the aid of the referee's assistant.

Before Argentina's first "goal", they hadn't really looked to threaten in the opening stages of the game but Messi had done well to find some space and send the pass through for Tevez, who missed his first chance at goal which was smothered by Oscar Perez, but then was on hand to head home the rebound from a great pass by Messi. However, there was just one problem. Tevez was clearly offside when the ball was being played to him. The mistake was clear to see by everyone in the stadium, as it was replayed out on the big screen. That, in itself, was a mistake, as controversial decisions are not supposed to be shown like that, because of what happened next. As the referee, Roberto Rossetti went over to discuss with the linesman, Stefano Ayroldi a whole gaggle of Mexican players surrounded them and protested vehemently at the decision. Ayroldi knew that he had made the wrong call, but FIFA rules prevented them from ruling the goal out as he had not raised his flag.

At half-time, things got worse as a huge melee of players, managers, staff and referees were involved in altercations, no doubt, about the unfairness of the decision. 2 hugely controversial decision in 2 matches on the same day. And they could have made a massive difference to the outcome of the result. In the England game, the relatively inexperienced Germany side could have failed to get over the shock of leading 2-0, and then getting pegged back which might have affected their game somewhat. And, in this game Mexico who had started off the better of the two, could have at least been real contenders right to the very end. Instead, much like England, Mexico failed to recover from that goal, and as they went forward to score, they were left open at the back, making stupid defensive errors (exactly like England) and allowing Argentina to score and ultimately win the game and book their place against Germany.

Argentina's second came shortly after the first, when Osorio lazily tried to pass it to his fellow centre-back partner, but the ball was pounced upon by Higuain who worked it round the keeper and coolly slotted in to get his fourth of the tournament. Tevez scored a magnificent third goal not too long after the restart, doing well to control the ball, evade two defenders and create enough space to shoot from 25-yards out. It was a wonderful goal and some real, piece of Argentinian style. SAF's new recruit, Javier Hernandez got his second goal of the tournament, and what turned out to be nothing more than a consolation after he squeezed past Otamendi and Demichelis to finish off beautifully. There is still some weakness in that Argentinian backline - particularly Demichelis who appears to be a weak link. Messi, who is still yet to score in this tournament, produced a bit of magic very late on as he went on one of those marauding runs of his only to see his shot saved by Perez. For the Albiceleste though, a 2 goal cushion was enough to see them safely through to the next round, with Mexico, again failing to make the quarters.

Absolutely shocking decisions on a day of real, real controversy. Before the "Hand of Gaul" incident I must admit that I wasn't too sure about video technology. Only because once you start using it, people might demand for every single decision to be looked at rendering the referee pretty much useless. But since then, my mind's been changed. The handball incident did not affect one team but one nation. It prevented one whole nation from reaching the World Cup finals and basically allowed the other to cheat their way into it. And after the England/Mexico refereeing blunders, I cannot, for the life of me understand how, in a world where modern technology is so central to almost every aspect of our everyday lives, football is still living in the dark ages. I understand that there are people out there who do not want the controversial aspect of the game to change, because, they argue, that there wouldn't be any more talking points but this is the World Cup for goodness sake. Mistakes are being committed here at the highest level and that is just not acceptable, nor is it fair.

Sepp Blatter has stated that the reasons for not using video technology are that it is too expensive to implement on a global scale, it will take too long slowing the game down in the process, when viewing a replay the decisions are still going to be taken by humans and it takes the fun out of the debates that fans have over controversial decisions. Well, about the cost - quite frankly, that's rubbish. FIFA has enough money to set aside for this, and with the number of people and clubs that want video technology, I'm sure they will all be willing to donate to make this possible. It doesn't take long at all to view it on replay - in the England game, it took all of about 2 seconds - that's shorter than the time it takes for free kicks to be taken. Yes, the final decision will be made by a human but the whole point of a video replay is to spot something that did not get spotted before, or to verify a controversial decision made by someone else. As for the fans, well they'll still be able to find things to debate about. It's all about where to draw the line with video technology - should it just be for things like whether the ball goes over the line? Or should it be used to determine other things such as offside decisions, corner kicks, throw-ins, red card offences? That's something that needs to be seriously thought about and real guidelines need to be set before video technology can be implemented. I think that's what FIFA is scared about - where to draw the line. They don't want to kill the game entirely but something needs to be done. Maybe one solution is to have a system like "Hawkeye" in tennis, where each player gets a maximum of 3 requests to have a video replay. This ensures that the game is not spoilt by the player who can't keep disrupting the game everytime he is unhappy with a decision, and also makes sure he uses his 3 calls wisely instead of flippantly. However, there is absolutely no doubt about it. We need some kind of video technology, because two huge mistakes in the space of one day is two too many.

Argentina Top Group With 9 & SKO Take Second Place...

Argentina rounded off a triumphant group stage by beating Greece to top the group with 9 points out of a possible 9. The Greeks, who had come from 1-0 down against Nigeria, to beat them 2-1 had to either win the game, or hope that Nigeria beat South Korea, in the other Group B game to stand a chance of going through.

The Greeks have been criticised for their defensive strategies that they have employed in their last few games, but coming up against a strong Argentina side, knowing a win would get them through, they decided to go with the tried and tested method as they knew that they could not afford to concede too many goals.

Greece therefore opted for a 4-5-1 formation, with Georgios Samaras as the lone striker up front. As the match wore on, it proved more and more difficult to get the ball out to him and for him to create any kind of chance to get the Greeks ahead. Greece were content with Argentina having the ball and being the more dominant in possession and in advancing forward. They made sure that they defended well and then tried to break on the counter.

Before this tournament began, many had been hoping to see Messi really set the World Cup alight however as I mentioned in an earlier post, it has been difficult to do so, because he has been man-marked. This was also the case in the game against Greece. Papaststhopoulos followed Messi around like a dog on a lead...seriously, wherever Messi went, he went too. It was a largely frustrating encounter for Messi, who was captaining his side in the game, after Maradona decided to rest some of his key players ahead of the last 16 clash against Mexico this weekend. Messi was forced to shoot from distance and didn't really do enough to trouble Greek keeper, Tzorvas. Tzorvas played a big part in keeping the Argentinians out for so long, making some great saves, keeping the danger out and providing a great safeguard for his defenders.

Greece's chances were few and far between. The play was almost always in their own half, and when the ball did find its way to Samaras, aside from a few rare occasions, he was unable to control the long, overhead balls and weave his way past the two central defenders. Romero was largely a spectator in this game, and it wasn't until shortly after half-time when he was finally forced to be alert to a great chance for Samaras. Fortunately, for Romero and Demichelis, who had let Samaras get past him too easily, Samaras shot wide.

Thereafter, it was all Argentina and Greece were made to rue that chance and their lack of attacking ambition, when Demichelis who had come from the back, smashed in a rebounded effort from 6 yards out. Greece, had to go forward. They didn't have a choice, especially as news was filtering through from the other match that South Korea were winning 2-1, after initially having gone down 1-0 in the opening 12 minutes, thanks to another Uche goal. Unfortunately, they did not seem to have it in them to make something and lacked that killer pass to get themselves back in with a chance.

For Argentina, the game began to resemble something of a training ground exercise, as they just passed, passed and passed the ball some more. They were happy to just make the Greeks run and run after the ball. The Greeks soon began to tire, and were unable to dispossess Argentina, who looked miles better than their opponents. Even Messi was given a bit more freedom to run around in. And, it was he who was responsible for the pass that found its way over to substitute Michael Palermo, to slot home with 1 minute of normal time remaining.

In the end, it was a comprehensive victory for Argentina (and for attacking football, some might say) over a very poor Greek side. In the other game, Yakubu had levelled things up for Nigeria after scoring from the penalty spot in the 69th minute. And, there was a great chance right at the end for Nigeria to win the game. But, a draw coupled with a defeat for Greece, was enough for the South Koreans to bugsy second place and they will now go on to play Uruguay in the other last 16 encounter.

Unfortunately for the Nigerians, another African side exits the competition along with Euro 2004 winners, Greece, who just weren't daring enough going forward to see them through to the next round. You know what they say, "you'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take"...

Higuain Hattrick Rounds off 4-1 Win over South Korea

Well we asked, and hoped, for more goals, after something of a goal drought in the opening group games and we have certainly had our prayers answered. There were 3 last night, and 5 in the second game of the second round of matches, played today. This surge in goals is clearly evident of a more positive style of play, rather than the tentative, nervous play we witnessed earlier on. Teams know that this is the time to step it up a gear and take risks, otherwise they can say goodbye to the competition.

After a narrow but largely one-sided 1-0 victory against Nigeria, Argentina were coming into this game with the intention of showing the world exactly the kind of football that we expected from them to begin with. Argentina got off to a great start when a set piece fired in from Messi, out on the left, accidentally came off Monaco's Park Chu-Young and settled in the back of the net to give them the 1-0 lead. Before that goal, Argentina had been the team with the most possession and attacking threat, as South Korea decided to sit back and defend. You could tell that South Korea came into this game meticulously prepared and organised, and knowing exactly what to expect from an Argentina side brimming with talent. They were very structured in their defending, always sticking to their lines and as soon as Messi got the ball, a swarm of South Korean players were immediately hounding him. This was clearly a tactic that they had devised specifically to control the likes of Messi in this game. That's probably why Messi has failed to score a goal so far in the tournament. He's had chances, but he's been reduced to shoot from distance because he get's crowded by the opposition. That's the price you pay for being the world's best striker.

Still, with all the attention on Messi, the other players often get forgotten about and it is they who end up getting the goals. Messi would be quite happy to sacrifice his own goal scoring endeavours for the sake of his team. And this is exactly what happened during this match. The second goal came after some great strength and determination shown by Carlos Tevez to win the ball, eventually getting fouled and receiving the subsequent free kick. The free kick was taken by Messi again, and after some fine build-up play, found its way over to Gonzalo Higuain, who unmarked, had the simple task of nodding the ball into the net. Argentina were 2-0 up, thanks to some poor defending and some great attacking. But, it wasn't to be quite plain sailing just yet. South Korea, out of nothing and totally against the run of play were able to pull one back, when Demichelis failed to do anything with the ball at his feet, with 2 minutes of the first half left to go. He allowed Lee to steal the ball off him, and then with cool composure slot the ball past Romero. It was an unexpected goal but one that gave South Korea hope as they went into half time. During the first leg of the CL match between Bayern Munich and Man Utd, I noticed that Demichelis was quite shaky in defence there too. This time, I think it was just sheer complacency. His side were 2-0 up, it was nearly half-time, he clearly switched off but unluckily for him, South Korea were switched on and able to take advantage of his carelessness. No matter what the scoreline, be it 1-0 or 5-0, as a defender you have to have total concentration for the full 90 minutes, otherwise you're gonna be caught out.

As the players emerged from the tunnel for the second half, you could tell that the late goal had given South Korea a real boost. They were raring to go and you could see they believed that they had it in them to get another goal. And, they almost did. They started off the game much better than Argentina and were able to get forward and create chances for themselves, something we hadn't seen much off in the first half. Hun had an amazing chance to level the scores, when he was one-on-one with the Argentinian keeper, but could not get his aim right, and shot wide. He was then made to rue that chance as Argentina, once more, began to dominate in possession. Before Hun's chance, Argentina did have a few shots on goal but the South Korean keeper did magnificently to keep them out. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so for the third goal that all but put the game to bed. He was able to stop Messi's shot, which was hit again, only to be saved by the post. But, he could not prevent it from finding its way to Higuain and the Real Madrid striker had the simple job of guiding it into the net.

Higuain got his deserved hattrick after some great play by Messi and Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero. It was the first hattrick of the tournament and capped off a pretty comfortable win for Maradona's side. Although Messi didn't get a goal, he was central to most of Argentina's creative play...he is the playmaker after all. There is this strategy taken on by some teams, of simply targeting Messi, but that's what gives other players like Higuain the chance to score. So maybe, those tactics need to be somewhat revised. Also, it would be nice to see some more Messi magic and a few Messi goals to really light up this tournament! As for the South Koreans, well, all is not lost for them - they can still qualify, and they have some good counter-attacking moves too. Despite, ruffling the feathers of Argentina slightly, they were unable to capitalise on their chances which would have surely turned the game around. They need to be more ruthless in front of goal if they are to go further in the tournament.

Maradona's Men 1 - 0 Super Eagles

Argentina got their world cup campaign off to a winning start by beating Nigeria with a goal from Gabriel Heinze in the 6th minute off the game.

The South Americans immediately got themselves off to a good start after taking advantage of some really poor defending by Nigeria from a corner kick. Heinze found himself in acres of space 12 yards out with no one marking him and was able to head home from Veron's corner. It looked like Nigeria were in for a long game from that moment on, but this wasn't quite to be the case.

Nigeria themselves had some good chances particularly down the left, with Obasi but it was Argentina that dominated possession, particularly in midfield and created the best chances. Barca's star man, Messi had at least 3 fantastic chances in the first half, which were saved by Nigeria's keeper, Enyeama. Higuain also missed several shooting opportunities and had Maradona up from his seat several times during the game.

It was a bit frustrating for the Argentinians, because for all their possession, chances and shots, they were still only ahead by 1, when in fact it could have been 5 or 6. Credit must be given to Nigeria though, in particular their keeper, Enyeama who was their hero on more than one occasion. Messi did what he does best - run at defenders, make them quiver in their boots and fashion some chances for himself. It was just a shame he couldn't finish them off, but his play was absolutely brilliant to watch, as always.

It was pretty much the same in the second half with Argentina, again being the more dominant of the two but unable to score another to seal the match. With 15 minutes of the game left to go, Nigeria actually began to provide a threat to Romero's goal and the Argentinian defence. Obafemi Martins was brought on by coach Lars Lagerback with 50 minutes of the game gone, and he had a great chance from outside the box. Uche also had a magnificent shot at goal when he was left unmarked in the Argentinian third but was unable to control his volley and shot over. For all Argentina's possession and chances, Nigeria could have really thrown a spanner into the works and nicked an unlikely draw. With Nigeria pressing, Argentina were forced to try and keep hold of the ball for the remaining minutes of the game. To the Nigerians' annoyance, Argentina simply passed the ball about with ease in midfield and managed to hold on, seeing out the win, putting them second, behind South Korea on goal difference.