Day 30 - BRONZE METTLE
Germany outduels a memorable Uruguay team to finish in 3rd place at the 2010 World Cup.

July 10, 2010
by Dan Krier


Germany 3 - Uruguay 2

For the second straight World Cup tournament, Germany took home the 3rd place trophy, this time winning Saturday’s consolation game against Uruguay in comeback fashion by the score of 3-2.

Playing in constant rainfall in the southern city of Port Elizabeth, the contest featured wide-open football for the full 90 minutes with neither team having much to lose.

Absent from the match with flu-like symptoms was German forward Miroslav Klose, who fans were hoping to see break the record for all-time goals scored, something he would have done had he played and scored two. So without their 32 year-old star, the Germans featured a relatively-new lineup, one that performed exactly the same as the old formation did…successfully.

Thankfully, the match was anything but boring, with goals coming early and often. First it was Germany striking with a 19th minute rope of a shot from 35 yards away by Bastian Schweinsteiger, the ball thumping off the chest of Uruguay goalie Fernando Muslera for a wide-open rebound score by Thomas Mueller and a 1-0 Germany lead.

For the 20 year-old Mueller, it was his fifth goal of the 2010 World Cup, something that will surely bring him the honor of Best Young Player of the tournament.

Back came Uruguay in the 28th minute, when Edinson Cavani took a pass from Luis Suarez up the left side on a break-away and sent in a toe-poke grounder for his first goal of the 2010 World Cup and a 1-1 tie, where things stayed until halftime.

Not too far into the second half, the never-say-die Uruguayans found more wizardry from the foot of Diego Forlan, who cooked up a legendary sideways volley that bounced hard into the turf before skidding past helpless German goalie Hans-Jorg Butt for a 2-1 Uruguay lead and Forlan’s fifth goal of the World Cup.

But sadly for the lone South American team left standing, Germany’s best trait is scoring goals, and just five minutes later in the 56th minute, a long cross from right to left from Jerome Boateng swung through traffic and was headed in by Marcell Jansen for the 2-2 tie. It was a highly unlikely combination during open play being that both men are defenders.

From that point on, the Germans seemed to be in command, finally putting away their adversaries in the 83rd minute on a corner kick that bounced through the box before being headed into the top-right corner of the net by 23 year-old midfielder Sami Khedira for his first-ever goal for his country and the 3-2 lead.

As the match reached its final seconds, Diego Forlan had an opportunity to tie things up with a 20-yard free kick, but his shot on goal deflected off the top left of the crossbar, ending the game and a wondrous run for Uruguay, a team that far exceeded expectations in every way possible. Congrats to them, and also to the Germans, who proved once again that they are one of the best football-playing countries in the world year after year after year.

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1st Team All-World Cup
Better than All-Stars, these 11 men performed so well in this year’s tournament that their names will go down in football history forever.

July 9, 2010
by Dan Krier

FORWARDS:

David Villa - Spain

Villa has had a remarkable World Cup, scoring a tourney-best 5 goals leading into the Final on July 11th. He was also a model of consistency for Spain, scoring in a crucial four games in a row to propel them towards what could be their first-ever World Cup crown. I won’t be shocked if he’s the one scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win vs. Netherlands. We’ll see!

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Thomas Mueller - Germany

At 20 years of age, Mueller is one of the youngest players on any team’s roster, so to tally 4 goals along with 3 assists is an even more remarkable feat. The tall German was forced to miss the match vs. Spain due to his second yellow card on a phantom call against Argentina. Otherwise we might be talking about Germany going for their 4th ever World Cup Championship.

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Luis Suarez - Uruguay

Another player whose absence from his team’s semifinal loss probably made the unfortunate difference, Suarez actually earned his suspension in the most noble of fashions when he deliberately used his hand to swat away a Ghanaian goal at the end of regulation time in the quarterfinal round (what?…should he have let the goal just go in?). The flashy forward had great games one after the other, scoring 3 goals with 1 assist going into Uruguay’s 3rd place match vs. Germany July 10th.

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MIDFIELDERS:

Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands

I’ll be honest and say I’d never heard of Wesley Sneijder before the World Cup began. But by the end of his team’s first game vs. Denmark, I knew very well that this was one of the best midfielders in the world. Sneijder proved to be the difference-maker for a very talented Netherlands team, giving his side a balance on both ends of the field while providing pivotal passing and skilled shooting on offense. With one more win by the Dutch, the man will go down as a National Hero, if he’s not one already. 5 goals and 1 assist so far with world-class finishes from his feet…and his head!

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Diego Forlan - Uruguay

Though technically a forward, Forlan spent a vast majority of the World Cup patrolling the middle of the field, serving up perfect crosses to teammates like Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani while leading Uruguay in goals with a total of 4. More than anything, though, Forlan will go down as the man who mastered the Jabulani soccer ball, getting the crazy thing to swerve and knuckle at will with his wicked left foot.

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Landon Donovan - USA

Like Diego Forlan, Landon Donovan is also officially listed as a forward, but served team USA in the role of field general, dishing out passes and scoring goals in the nick of time. Everyone knew Donovan to be a capable player coming into the 2010 World Cup, but there’s no doubting his greatness anymore, along with his grit & determination after scoring 3 goals, including a game-tying penalty kick vs. Ghana.

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Xavi - Spain

Xavi is the ultimate team player, period, and this can be summed up by the following statistic: In six games thus far, he has completed 570 passes at an 81% accuracy rate. I’m not sure if I even comprehend that. 570 passes. That’s nearly 100 per game. Put those numbers next to the fact that Spain is competing in their first-ever World Cup Final, and you’ve got a man whose 4-letter name will last for eternity.

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DEFENDERS:

Gerard Pique - Spain

It’s tough to choose the best defenders since usually you only learn their names if they’ve made a crucial mistake. But for Spain, Gerard Pique provided a lock-down defender that gave them just enough to win every game. His play was always consistent, clamping down on players like Cristiano Ronaldo and helping Spain to four different shutout victories.

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Per Mertesacker - Germany

I’m picking Per Mertesacker because the giant 6’5” German is impossible to miss, meaning the guy can head any ball out of danger at will. Mertesacker spent the World Cup running up and down the field, doing just enough to keep the Germans one step ahead of the competition. Any team would want a player like this on their back line.

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Gabriel Heinze - Argentina

Gabriel Heinze makes the All-World team for being all over the field at all times. Here is a defender that simply would not stop running. Up & down, back & forth, the feisty fullback was the first to celebrate goals, while at all times ready to scuffle with the competition (and camera men too!). Credit Heinze for getting Argentina going in the 2010 World Cup, scoring his team’s first goal in just the 5th minute of play on a blistering header vs. Nigeria that will go down as one of the best goals of the tournament. It’s enough to make you want to stick out your tongue and say Heinze!

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GOALIE:

Maarten Stekelenburg- Netherlands

Choosing Stekelenburg over Spain’s Iker Casillas for best goalie of the tournament came down to the “Save of the Century” that Stekelenburg made vs. Brazil on a curling shot by Kaka that would have put Holland down an insurmountable two goals. Instead, the save was made, and Netherlands are now getting the chance to go for it all. Casillas was wonderful as well, but didn’t have to face the competition that Stekelenburg did. We’ll see who wins out between the two on July 11th.

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2nd Team All-World Cup:

Robert Vittek - Slovakia, Mesut Oezil - Germany, Gonzalo Higuain - Argentina, Asamoah Gyan - Ghana, Dirk Kuyt - Netherlands, Luis Fabiano - Brazil, Miroslav Klose - Germany, Keisuke Honda - Japan, Arjen Robben - Netherlands, Iker Casillas - Spain, Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany.

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Day 27 - SPANISH LULL-A-BYE
Spain defeats Germany, punching a ticket to the World Cup Final for the first time in history.

July 7, 2010
by Dan Krier

Spain 1 - Germany 0

Spain’s national football team has made up its mind to systematically win the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the same exact way an explosives expert goes about diffusing a bomb: slow, deliberate, and surgeon-like. Call it a bore, but it’s a successful bore.

In a match that never saw the Spaniards lose their cool, the men of Germany were defeated 1-0 on a 2nd Half goal that propelled the 2008 UEFA Euro Champions to their first-ever World Cup Final, where they will take on the Netherlands.

Spain rather had things in control from the opening kick-off, consuming a large portion of ball possession, probing just outside the German penalty box almost at a constant clip. But the score remained tied 0-0 at the half, despite a great running attempt by Spanish striker David Villa and a missed header on a corner kick by Carles Puyol that flew over the crossbar.

Germany had its share of chances as well, but nothing that could considered a missed opportunity. Really, the Germans found themselves without much offense at all, most likely due to the loss of Thomas Mueller, who was serving a suspension for his second yellow-card of the tournament during the team’s win over Argentina. Without Mueller around to attract attention, Miroslav Klose became the lone focus of the Spanish efforts on the back-end, and consequently he was shut down all game long. I’ll be the first to say I was shocked by how much Klose was kept away from the action.

So the game moved along, and Spain kept pressing forward in waves when finally, in the 73rd minute, the first goal came at long last. The score occurred on a fantastic out-bending corner kick by Xavi that was hammered home off the head of fullback Puyol, who made the most of his second chance, giving his country the 1-0 lead.

After the goal, the Spanish were able to eat up clock on skilled ball-handling and back & forth passing, displaying a presence that now makes you think this 1-0 trend is exactly what they wanted all along.

Perhaps we’ll have one more of these games to endure on July 11th, or perhaps it will be the Netherlands who score early and force Spain to play with some pizazz. Either way it will be a monumental moment, as both teams get the chance to compete for their first-ever World Cup Championship.

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Day 26 - ORANJE CRUSH
Holland appears marked for glory in reaching their third-ever World Cup Final.

July 6, 2010
by Dan Krier

Netherlands 3 - Uruguay 2

Sometimes the path to greatness is riddled with its share of ups & downs. Other times, it’s smooth sailing from square one.

The latter case represents the way in which the Netherlands national football team have reached the 2010 World Cup Final, this last step completed with a rather dominant 3-2 victory over a never-say-die Uruguay side that overachieved from the moment they got to South Africa.

And truly, this game was par for the course for the Dutch, who entered the World Cup rolling on the heels of a perfect 8 wins out of 8 in 2010 UEFA World Cup Qualifying, scoring a total of 17 goals in those games while yielding only 2. They then strode through the 2010 preliminary round with a perfect three wins and nine points, winning Group E after just two matches were completed.

Next came a 2-1 triumph over a crafty Slovakian squad that had upset Italy just days before, followed by an astounding comeback victory over world #1 Brazil in the quarterfinal round. Clearly stated, the Netherlands’ success is no accident.

So the Men of Oranje took their show to Cape Town on Tuesday night, facing off against a Uruguay team depleted of two of its stars, one due to injury (for Diego Lugano) and the other for suspension because of a Red Card (for Luis Suarez). In many ways this game should have been a rout, but Uruguay were too tough to get pushed around, and made one hell of an effort from start to finish.

The game began with Holland on the attack right away, and just as things started to settle in, Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst unleashed a pulsing sonic boom of a shot that rang true in the 18th minute for a 1-0 Netherlands lead. It was just the sixth-ever goal for the defensive back in 105 career games for his country.

With the goal, Uruguay had no choice. They had to push forward to equalize, and so they tried. But the feel of the game was in hand, and everyone knew this was going to be a Dutch victory. Except Diego Forlan. The Uruguayan striker, who had spent the last month of the World Cup bending shots like a knuckleball from a Major League pitcher, put his left foot to a liner in the 41st minute that beat goalie Maarten Stekelenburg for the 1-1 tie. Relief for Uruguay, fear for the Netherlands.

So back and forth it went for the next half hour of play, no one quite sure of the outcome. But the Dutch began to build, coming close on several occasions when finally, in the 70th minute, secret agent Wesley Sneijder got a shot to glance off a defenders shin, pinballing past goalie Fernando Muslera for the 2-1 regained lead. It was Sneijder’s fifth goal of the tournament, the most by any player thus far (along with David Villa of Spain). Relief for everyone in Holland. It was surely going to be an All-European Final.

And sure enough, just 3 minutes later, a wonderful left-to-right cross from Dirk Kuyt connected perfectly with Arjen Robben, who put the game away with a world-class header, making the score 3-1 Netherlands.

Uruguay’s Maxi Periera netted a very late left-foot goal two minutes into final stoppage time to pull Uruguay within one at 3-2, but even with a couple tense final moments it was too little and too late, so Netherlands move on to their first World Cup Final since 1978. Very very deserved for the players from Holland, who have exhibited fantastic teamwork for over a dozen games in a row. They’re going to be hard to beat on Sunday.

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Uruguay vs. Netherlands

What can you say about this one? Nobody in the world outside of these two countries would have picked either of these teams to reach the 2010 World Cup semifinals, yet here they both are. I’m shocked, but it’s a pleasant surprise since both squads have earned the right to be exactly where they are.

Who has the advantage? Really, I’m not so sure. It could go either way. Or could it?

Advantage-wise, it’s almost comical to bring up the fact that Uruguay is a 2-time Champ, being that their last Cup title came 60 years ago. Netherlands, on the same sad side of the coin, come in off very little recent success as well, having made the finals in both 1974 and 1978, losing both in pretty ugly fashion.

And truthfully, with full rosters on both sides, I would be predicting a 1-1 regulation tie with PKs to decide things. But this match will be far from even due to the two monumental losses that Uruguay will be forced to endure.

One huge void will be star striker Luis Suarez, whose hand ball on the goal line versus Ghana is the reason they’re still alive, but the RED CARD assessed for the do-or-die infraction is accompanied by a mandatory suspension for Tuesday’s game, so no Suarez, who has scored 3 goals in the 2010 World Cup. The other loss is on the opposite side of the field, where anchoring defensive back Diego Lugano is out with a knee injury. As those two go, so go Uruguay, even with rock star Diego Forlan around to cause havoc for Holland.

Therefore, on the back of newly-minted world superstar Wesley Sneijder (who scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Brazil), I look for Netherlands to roll to a victory and their 3rd ever finals appearance on July 11th. Uruguay will still be pleased to reach the third-place game on July 10th.

DK Pick: Netherlands 2 - Uruguay 0

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Germany vs. Spain

Frankly, Spain have been a bore all tournament.

They began things by losing to Switzerland, went on to get a rather narrow 2-goal victory over a massively overmatched Honduras, then finished group play with a sleepwalking 2-1 win over a Chile team that didn’t need a victory to move on out of group play.

Then the Spaniards knocked off the perennially-anemic Portuguese by the thrilling (no!) tally of 1-0, a riotous score that was recreated four days later against puttering Paraguay. ZZZzzzzzzzz!!!

Germany has been the polar opposite of this in every way. Creative, inventive, exhilarating team play has rocketed the young side to the semifinals in the most dominant way possible. Consider this: The Germans’ combined scores in their last wins over England & Argentina add up to 8-1. Immmmmpressive.

Yes, Germany will be without young gun Thomas Mueller, who will be prohibited from playing in Wednesday’s match due to a 1-game suspension for two tournament-accrued yellow cards, but that doesn’t mean Miroslav Klose won’t be racking up more goals in his absence. Look for Klose to break the all-time goals scored record with two against Spain, then watch him add even more in the 2010 World Cup Final, pitting Netherlands vs. Germany on July 11th.

DK Pick: Germany 3 - Spain 1

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Day 23 - CONTINENTAL DRIFT
Europe’s best are rising to the top as Germany & Spain defeat their South American foes on Saturday.

July 3, 2010
by Dan Krier


Germany 4 - Argentina 0

Please cry for me, Argentina. This game was as close as the score indicates.

Call it “The Beat Down in Cape Town”, because at no point in the entire 90-minute span of play were Argentina in control against their well-known German opponents, with whom they’d shared more than a few memorable World Cup matches. In fact, this game could be classified as a total washout, a 100% house-cleaning that solidly puts the young German team down as a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

What happened, you ask? Well…do you like early goals? Germany does. Just three minutes after kick off, the score was 1-0 on a fantastic in-swinging free kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger that was calmly headed in by 20 year-old sensation Thomas Mueller, his fourth goal of the World Cup in just his seventh ever game for his country.

After the first score, things did not change in the least. Germany maintained most of the possession, were able to keep Argentina out of anything resembling a valid scoring opportunity, and most importantly of all, shackled Lionel Messi with a blanketing team defense which made you wonder why he wasn’t doing more to help him team. Because he couldn’t. The Germans were too much to handle.

But the score remained just 1-0 at the half, so the Argentinians and coach Diego Maradona had to have hope. Unfortunately, the action after the break was the same as before, with Germany showing the ability to push forward as a full unit with blind speed whenever they desired.

Then more goals came and all hope for Argentina was extinguished.

First it was Lukas Podolski up the left wing cutting into the box in the 68th minute. A fake and a mini-cross to Miroslav Klose, and the score was 2-0, Klose netting his 13th career World Cup goal, surpassing Pele for third-most all-time. Then it was Schweinsteiger again in the 74th minute, copying Podolski with another run in from the left, his cross finding the foot of a falling Arne Freidrich for his first-ever international goal for Germany in 77 career games, and a 3-0 insurmountable lead. Not a bad way to put the nail in the coffin.

Just for icing on the German chocolate cake, in the 89th minute with the Argentinians ready to hit Cape Town International Airport, midfielder Mesut Oezil made another dashing run up the field, dropping a nifty pass over to Klose, who kicked in his 14th-career World Cup goal, and second of the match, for a 4-0 lead.

Klose is now tied for 2nd-most World Cup goals all-time with the great German striker Gerd Mueller.

So goodbye, Argentina…and hello to a new & improved German machine that will face Spain for the right to play in the 2010 World Cup Final. Who wins that game is anyone’s guess, but being that the German performance on Saturday was just as dominating as the display against England last Sunday, I fully expect the men in red, yellow, & black to be playing for their 4th Championship Trophy on July 11th. Sehr gut!

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Spain 1 - Paraguay 0

Spain did what its fans were waiting so long for on Saturday night, moving for the first time ever into the semi-final stage of the World Cup with an extremely tense 1-0 win over Paraguay in Johannesburg.

Call it jitters, or call it pressure, but the second half is where the action got crazy, leaving two players to wonder if they were going to be the scapegoat for the next four year. Luckily for the now-off-the-hook Xabi Alonso, the poison memories are going to Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo.

In the 58th minute, with the game tied 0-0 and goals clearly hard to come by, a Paraguay counterattack led them up the field to where a looping corner kick sailed into a melee of congestion in the box. Two separate Paraguayan players were pulled down by their jerseys, and to the horror of the Spanish, the team in striped red & white was awarded a penalty kick that would surely give them the decisive lead.

So up stepped Cardozo, hero of the PK shootout versus Japan last Tuesday, when he ended things by calmly sending home the fifth and final penalty shot for his team. Today it was nerves galore for Cardozo, because his left-foot kick failed to move much to the right and was smothered by Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Shock for Paraguay.

In fact, the shock was so great, Paraguay’s defense somehow forgot to mark superstar David Villa, who was allowed to make a clear run down the field just seconds later, only to be tripped up at the last moment inside the opposing penalty box for YET ANOTHER penalty kick…this time for Spain.

Up stepped Xabi Alonso to give Spain the lead, most likely because Villa had missed his PK when he had the chance for a hat-trick against Honduras. Good strategy too, because Alonso’s shot rang out with conviction, banging into the left side of the net for the 1-0 Spanish lead. NO WAIT…HOLD ON! Head referee Carlos Batres blew his whistle for a re-kick, saying Spain’s other players had crossed into the box too early before the kick was taken. Replays showed this to be true. Wow.

No problem, though…right? Wrong. On the second Alonoso kick, nerves struck the Spanard and his shot was weak and to the right, easily saved by Paraguay keeper Justo Villar, keeping the score tied 0-0. It was the first time a game had seen two missed penalty kicks in World Cup play since 1930. Probably’ll be another 80 years before it happens again.

Surely this game was slated for it’s own run into extra time and then more penalty kicks. It’s really the only way to decide things.

Except that David Villa was still on the field. The man with the magic touch connected for the game’s only goal in the 83rd minute after a dazzling run up the middle of the field by Spain’s Andres Iniesta, who shuttled a pass right to new substitute Pedro, whose right-footer plowed into the left post, the carom bouncing directly to Villa, who decided to knock his shot off the RIGHT post, the ball taking a bounce into the back of the net for the real 1-0 lead, Villa’s Cup-leading fifth goal of the tournament. T’was all over at that point.

Great run for Paraguay, who were determined to win the World Cup on the hopes of four straight scoreless penalty kick wins. Thankfully that won’t be the case.

Spain crawls forward by the slimmest of margins yet again, feeling relieved more than elated I’m sure. No Red Fury to be found on Saturday, so clearly some sort of spark will be necessary when they take on Germany July 7th in order to get to their first-ever Final. Efforts like this today won’t cut it if they’re going to go for glory.

What a World Cup!

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With a tournament-leading 4 goals going into the start of quarterfinal play, my pick for World Cup MVP thus far is Spain’s David Villa.

Villa is simply the single-biggest reason Spain is still in this tournament. With two goals in a must-win situation versus Honduras and then a 45-yard masterpiece of a score against Chile, he topped things off by getting the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win against Portugal.

If this continues, Villa will lead Spain all the way to a World Cup Championship for the first time in the country’s history. I’m sure Argentina and/or Brazil will have something to say about that.