World Cup Sobriety

So the hands have stopped shaking, the head aches have passed and I am no longer hugging the toilet because of the prospect of two mouth watering World Cup Quarter Finals.  The curse of football sobriety is your mind is left thinking constantly about football and the most productive but utterly pointless outlet for this addiction is to form lists. Every football nerd loves a list, because a list brings structure and significance to the last three weeks. So here is my validation....

Teams I Want To Win The World Cup, Who Still can, And Why (love a elongated title)

1. Columbia: Even if Columbia play three bad matches and win the World Cup in the most underwhelming manner they have already played four outstanding matches.

2. Germany: The best international team of the last four years have still not won a trophy. They deserve the confirmation that this is a great team that plays a very distinctive brand of football: a mix of Spanish styled possession with a high pressing physicality of their own. 

3. France: Despite the over use of hair products these fair weather travellers (yet to play in a hot climate) have been surprisingly good. You could complain they have not played anyone good but the style of their victories cannot be ignored. 

4. Argentina: They have not played well, seriously they have been awful, but they have the best player of his generation. If he is to win a World Cup to crown his greatness I would love him to do it in Brazil. 

5. Belgium: Another functional disappointment! They have only played well in the last game despite never losing. Full of players who could be great but are currently not.You could say they are in good Kompany.

6. Netherlands: They may be the smuggest team in the tournament with the most brilliantly arrogant manager but they have contributed to the most exciting games. If they win I will have to cover my eyes from their shit eating grins and self-congratulatory hugs.

7. Brazil: It's taken one controversial tournament for Brazil to lose all the love they have built up over sixty years with the neutrals across the world. They play like a bunch of weeping giants led by a boy king with a terrible hair cut. As soon as they win, as I think they will I will run away. 

8.Costa Rica: Everyone loves Cost Rica but their best performance came in their first two matches and I just feel the whole tournament will be cheapened if they won. Let the hate mail start flowing. 

Best Games From The Group Stages

1. GHANA 2 GERMANY 2: One of the best forty five minutes of my life! Forget first halves as long as all games finish like this. Germany did not play badly, Ghana were simply really good. It had dancing, literally blood sweat and tears, and technically it was the best match of halve of the tournament.

2. NETHERLANDS  AUSTRALIA 3
This game was so good I was cheering Australians! A team that everyone expected to lose every game and be the whipping boys of the tournament actually did lose every game but played some of the best high tempo football of the tournament. Netherlands and especially Arjen Robben played the come back villains, rubbing off Tim Cahil's swan song wonder strike. Forget the Dutch's glamour victory against the Spanish in the second half, this was a real contest.

3. PORTUGAL 2 USA 2
Ronaldo desperately tries to pull his team through the game with an amazing dance routine against the collective brilliance of the United States. 

4. GHANA 1 USA 2
Clearly Group D lived up to the hype as the group of death and this game had an incredible ending with two teams again waking up in the second half to bring form an amazing climax. I may have awoken my neighbours at midnight but it was worth it. 

5. ENGLAND 1 ITALY 2: Tactically we should have played for a draw and not exerted our selves in the heat but did'nt we play well. If you look at the stats both teams had a high level of pass completion which proved that this was technically a great game as well as a drama. From the heart break opening goal, to Sturridge's well deserved equaliser, England narrowly not taking advantage, Balotelli living up to his own hype and everyone (even when we were losing) purred over Pirlo's free kick. Both teams never played better and were out of the tournament within a week.

TOP FIVE LIST I HAVE NOT GOT TIME TO WRITE

1. Co-commentators who sound like Post Man Pat Characters: Clarke Caryle is Postman Pat (seriously close your eyes durring the match), Ted Glenn is Mark Lawrenson (they look similar) and Robbie Savage is Jess the cat (just so he shuts the fuck up). 

2. Players with accidentally Offensive Names: Shatoff, DJerkoff and that's just Russia.

3. Most Pun-able Player:  I personally love the cleverest player of the tournament, Jonathan Mensah.

4. Best Hug of the Tournament: Been a huge amount of love in this tournament and its good to log this male appreciation to prove all the macho types wrong. 

5. Things I should of Done With The Last Three weeks: No regrets. Really!