It was a rematch of the Euro 2008 final, and it ended the exact same. Spain beat Germany 1-0 to move on to the final for the first time ever. From what I saw of the match it was a close contest. Spain were able to do what almost no other team could do in this tournament, shut down Germany. The unstoppable German scoring machine was thought to continue it's dominant form in this match but were confounded by the Spaniards. Spain went ahead off a Carles Puyol header from a cross that was a pure classic. They managed to keep the Germans under control for another half hour to win the match by a single goal. Two years later and the same result. Germany will head into the third place match, for the second time in a row, to face Uruguay. I'm expecting a German result here since Uruguay proved so incompetent against strong teams. Here are some shots from the match.
The amazing Iker Casillas punches the ball clear.
Miroslav Klose, which is the best name in soccer, appears to crush a Spanish player.
Spain celebrates their triumph while German heads hang in defeat.
The greatest thing about the whole situation is they will face Netherlands, a country that has also never won the World Cup. Guaranteed new champion! This is a very exciting time indeed and I don't think it matters who wins this thing now. It will go to one of two very deserving teams. I honestly think Spain will win the cup over the Netherlands but would be delighted if I was wrong. These teams play open games which should lead to an crazy match. Netherlands have looked better at scoring goals, but Spain got this far by defending narrow leads (and a bit of luck). Sunday July 11th will be a historic day for one of the two most powerful footballing nations in the world, and a missed opportunity that will never be forgotten for the other.
Only two more matches in the 2010 World Cup and then it's four years of nothing! The European season is only a few months away, which is great but it just isn't the same. The World Cup is special. It's not a traditional season stretched out over 2/3 of the year. It's one month of constant soccer. Match after match after match. Glory and failure at every turn. Each match worth so god damn much that one loss will sink your country for four miserable years. Just ask France or Italy. It's the greatest event in all of sports, and Sunday is 2010's ultimate match. Enjoy the hell out of it because the cup will be gone until 2014 in Brazil.
No comments:
Post a Comment