World Cup update 2

So the Cup is for Italy or France to win. I have to say, both teams deserve to be in the finals after the some of the best games of the tournament they've shown: France against Brazil and Italy against Germany. I was happy for France. Brazil were just a little too much of a favourite, and quite frankly, France was the first serious opponent to them, which they, alas, couldn't deal with. One has to wonder if that natural, outer-worldly talent that Brazil allegedly has is real. And where was Ronaldinho in that game?

France's game against Portugal wasn't as exciting, but they did what had to be done and held on. So Zidane and Co can retire in style, after the finals.

Germany caused me the greatest disappointment by knocking out Argentina in penalty kicks. I really liked this Argentina team and hoped they would advance. I definitely wanted to see more of Tevez and Messi. It's especially bad because there'd be plenty of Germany to see in the upcoming Euro-2008, but I only see Argentina on TV once in 4 years.

But Italy took revenge for Argentina (after all, half the Argentina's team seem to have Italian passports). The way they beat Germany - 2 goals in 2 final minutes of overtime - was precisely the way they had to do it. Had Italy scored too early in the game, Germany would have bounced back with the fury they are capable of. But 2 goals in the last minutes of the game gave them no chance at all and were a fantastic finish by the Italians. I can't even be upset with Italy for knocking out Ukraine, which was extremely lucky to have advanced as far as they have.



I was not too impressed with Portugal, one of my favourite teams this World Cup. They played dirty, with dives and cheats, and even Deco, their Brazilian superstar, was not too visible in the France game. But I will still support them in the 3rd place game against Germany.

England was a loser once again, and once again the brutal English media will be looking for scapegoats, the most convenient of whom is the outgoing manager Eriksson.

I wish we could see more of Spain, but they yet again fell victim to their complete inability to do anything of mark in elimination stages. Too bad, really.

As for the champions, I have an edge for France, but I won't be too upset if Italy wins it, either. Good luck to both teams!