World Cup - Update 6

What a disaster!!!
No team from South America made it to the semi finals. The matches were hard fought but all teams were too cautious in my opinion - none more so than the two South American heavy weights Argentina and Brazil.
I think I should stop supporting Argentina if they are to have a chance at world cup glory. I have been following them since 1990 and they really don't have anything to show for in this period.

Two nerve-racking penalty shoot outs that brought out extreme and contrasting emotions in the fans of the respective teams really shows why this is the number one sport in the world.

June 30

1. Germany vs. Argentina (1-1, 4-2 on penalties): Heart break for Argentina. The coach resigned after the match, I think he was responsible for the team selected and the sub due manner in which they played the first half. The team minus Saviola and Messi looked lacking in ideas as Riquelme also had a mediocre game. Germans will be backing themselves to go all the way now.
2. Italy vs. Ukraine (3-0): Pretty much a one sided game, Italy romped home easily.

July 01

1. England vs. Portugal (0-0, 1-3 on penalties): England should have won this. They were generally the better side. Great defending by the Portuguese side saw them through.
2. Brazil vs. France (0-1): What a crappy performance from the defending champions. The French side inspired by the performance of Zidane hung on to the lead and probably caused the biggest upset in the championships. Match against Portugal will go down to the wire I think.

What’s coming up -

• Germany vs. Italy - Germany looks the better side and should win this, Italy has been solid as ever . It will be a close game.
• Portugal vs. France - I will be again backing the Portugal side (which probably means they will lose)