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!
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
World Cup Come Down
In five minutes it will have been twenty four hours since the last final whistle and at least 41 hours till the start of the next match. The come down did start on Sunday (when we stopped having three matches in succession from the group stages) but is only now taking effect. I mean I even went to work today and the below feels like a distant memory
Match of A Sentence: Argentina 1 Switzerland 0
The best player on the pitch desperately tries to get his team mates into the game but Shaquiri can't carry the blands into the quarter finals, so eventually Messi sets up an unworthy team into the next round.
Match of A Sentence: Belgium 2 USA 1
This game could have existed only in extra time and it would include more drama than any other game in the tournament, Belgium actually playing well with a goal from Prince Harry, a striker scoring his point, an American retaliation you felt you could cheer, the most well worked free kick you have never seen, the biggest miss so far and actual shock and awe (in a good non-Rumsfeld way).
Don't Give Up Being A Ghost.... Michael Bradly
USA's Michael Bradly is the whitest man I have seen at the World Cup. You would think it must be an advantage playing the midfielder in such blazing sunshine cause the reflected light would blind the opposition. As well as physically conveying all attributes associated with being a ghost, he is for Villa fans a metaphorical ghost. Michael Bradly played on loan for Villa from the German league in 2011 and did nothing. A ghost in the worst possible sense of the word; Villa fans were not impressed. Now Villa fans will be even less impressed because after Tim Howard, Michael Bradly was easily the best player on the pitch. His running was tireless, it was like he was haunting the Belgium midfield, appearing everywhere in the second half of extra time, and terrified the defense into conceding a goal. The USA have won a lot of friends and that's because we all love a good ghost story.
Man Crush of The Day: Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson has supposedly caused a twitter scrape (not really a fight more a coming together of inane opinions) during his co-commentary of the Switzerland game when he said in response to a weak shot from a Swiss player "he should've put a skirt on." Clearly this was ironic sexism, which does not make it any less sexist,and anyone less upset, but I would much prefer people to complain about the obnoxious tone of Robbie Savage, the lack of vocabulary of Phillip Nevile, and the vacuum of smugness that engulfs Andy Townsend. Lawrenson's comments were just a bit granddad and I actually find his maturity and honesty refreshing. Most modern day co-commentators would berate the Swiss player in such a warped and overly aggressive manner you would think they were to face trail for war crimes in the Hague. Lawrenson actually laughs at football in a very dry manner not succumbing to the 24 hour melodrama in front of him and bringing a genuine (clearly not thought through) personality. Mark Lawrenson does not tow the party-line Premier League propaganda and make vile gaffs off camera; he is not like the rightly disgraced misguided misogynists Richard Keys or Andy Grey. Mark Lawrenson is a man resigned like only a man his age can be and isas British as the rain. He is an ideal co-commentator because a) he actually see's football as entertainment whether it is played badly or played well; and b) he looks like this and should not be allowed to be seen on screen for fear he will scare the kids.
Match of A Sentence: Argentina 1 Switzerland 0
The best player on the pitch desperately tries to get his team mates into the game but Shaquiri can't carry the blands into the quarter finals, so eventually Messi sets up an unworthy team into the next round.
Match of A Sentence: Belgium 2 USA 1
This game could have existed only in extra time and it would include more drama than any other game in the tournament, Belgium actually playing well with a goal from Prince Harry, a striker scoring his point, an American retaliation you felt you could cheer, the most well worked free kick you have never seen, the biggest miss so far and actual shock and awe (in a good non-Rumsfeld way).
Don't Give Up Being A Ghost.... Michael Bradly
USA's Michael Bradly is the whitest man I have seen at the World Cup. You would think it must be an advantage playing the midfielder in such blazing sunshine cause the reflected light would blind the opposition. As well as physically conveying all attributes associated with being a ghost, he is for Villa fans a metaphorical ghost. Michael Bradly played on loan for Villa from the German league in 2011 and did nothing. A ghost in the worst possible sense of the word; Villa fans were not impressed. Now Villa fans will be even less impressed because after Tim Howard, Michael Bradly was easily the best player on the pitch. His running was tireless, it was like he was haunting the Belgium midfield, appearing everywhere in the second half of extra time, and terrified the defense into conceding a goal. The USA have won a lot of friends and that's because we all love a good ghost story.
Man Crush of The Day: Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson has supposedly caused a twitter scrape (not really a fight more a coming together of inane opinions) during his co-commentary of the Switzerland game when he said in response to a weak shot from a Swiss player "he should've put a skirt on." Clearly this was ironic sexism, which does not make it any less sexist,and anyone less upset, but I would much prefer people to complain about the obnoxious tone of Robbie Savage, the lack of vocabulary of Phillip Nevile, and the vacuum of smugness that engulfs Andy Townsend. Lawrenson's comments were just a bit granddad and I actually find his maturity and honesty refreshing. Most modern day co-commentators would berate the Swiss player in such a warped and overly aggressive manner you would think they were to face trail for war crimes in the Hague. Lawrenson actually laughs at football in a very dry manner not succumbing to the 24 hour melodrama in front of him and bringing a genuine (clearly not thought through) personality. Mark Lawrenson does not tow the party-line Premier League propaganda and make vile gaffs off camera; he is not like the rightly disgraced misguided misogynists Richard Keys or Andy Grey. Mark Lawrenson is a man resigned like only a man his age can be and isas British as the rain. He is an ideal co-commentator because a) he actually see's football as entertainment whether it is played badly or played well; and b) he looks like this and should not be allowed to be seen on screen for fear he will scare the kids.
So my hands have stopped shaking, the sweating has decreased and I am no longer hallucinating but I guess I am not quite cold football turkey yet. Got 6 more days before I go clean.
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Where Did All The Other Teams Go!
Match of A Sentence: France 2 Nigeria 0
Young Shoreditch hairdressers get nervous when facing off to less metro-sexual Africans; luckily little Valbreana is too cute (and small), wearing his socks over his knees, seducing the Nigerians into encouraging him to score.
Match of A Sentence: Germany 2 Algeria 0
A team of 80s frat-boy-villains look outdated, almost allowing Algeria to achieve a Mighty Ducks narrative win, only for them to score an early goal in extra time making you lament golden goals..
Don't Give Up Having A Funny Face....... Mesut Ozil is Peter Lorre
Messut Ozil does not have the face to be cheered in the stands but sadly jeered and booed! Like the incredibly talented but forever typecast Hollywood villain, Peter Lorre who share his sick puppy face. Its not that Ozil has the arrogance of Ronaldo to upset or anger fans; it's that he seems to be demoted to classy character roles. Such a big star four years ago, very much the leader of a young German side, he has now retreated into a Noirish shadow cast by the Bayern Munich players, Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Phillip Lahm. Peter Lorre may have never been a star except when he was playing child murders and perverts but often his performance was the best on screen. So Ozil might not be the leading man he once hoped to be but he needs to remember that their are many Christopher Marlows, but there is only one Peter Lorre.
Man Crush Of The Day: Peter Odemwingie
Sometimes you have a love you don't understand. The boyfriend your parents told you not to go out with, not because he was a bad boy but because he was generally a really fucked-up mess of a person. Peter Odemwingie is that boyfriend! The kind of man who is always going to cause drama. Peter is famous for driving to a prospective new club, the uber rich Queens Park Rangers, on transfer deadline day only to be told that he needed to go back to his current club, West Brom. This is the same as the weird kid knocking on your door and offering you flowers he has picked from your own garden and swearing his undying love for you; Peter was just a little confused not actually cunning but naive and embarrassing. My attraction to Peter must be based on that odd sincerity and the comfort in knowing that he would be too thick to ever cheat on me and get away with it. Also we forget after such drama off the pitch that Peter can actually play on it and for the first half against France he dominated the midfield and looked like the player most likely to create a chance. So forget the public embarrassment, forget falling out with every manager you have ever had and forget thanking therapist in post-match interviews. Peter is a mad love, one that makes the world a more interesting place.
World Cup Moral Barometer
Today's judgments using ill informed opinion and invalidated facts from Wikipedia.
Argentina VS Switzerland
Moral Argument: For Sun readers the country that stole the Falklands and gave us Maradonna are second only to the Germans as being sperm of Satan, while they perceive the Swiss as cuckoo clock making simpletons who like pen knifes and bank accounts. When actually Argentina after the economic crash in 2002 have been growing steadily and not seen the poverty gap widen. In contrast Swiss nationals have the right to own fire arms, many homes come with air raid bunkers and they have brought in laws banning minarets, with the public believing "Islam is not compatible with Swiss life." So the country that gave you Maradonna or country that believes the Apocalypse is imminent.
In Football Terms: The Swiss are going to be as defensive as their immigration policy (dam tight) while Argentina are going to play such an attacking line-up that most of their players will be out of position, except the best player in the world.
Argentina 3 Switzerland 0
Belgium VS USA
Moral Argument: So much has been written about the morality of the United States that it seems pointless add to the argument, and Belgium is a made up country.So ask yourself the simple question - hamburgers or chocolate?
In Football Terms: Lots of talented players appear functional while a lot of functional players appear talented. You decided which is which?
Belgium 1 USA 1 (USA win on penalties and burgers)
Soon I will never mention two of these teams again. I would say we have seen two memorable sides be sent home since entering the knock-out stages:Mexico and Chile. Uruguay and bigger sides may have taken the headlines but plaudits for being a memorable World Cup team who no one wanted see to leave belongs to the Chileans and Mexicans. Maybe Switzerland and USA will prove me wrong...
Monday, 30 June 2014
The World Cup Is Killing Me
It could be the eight cigarettes a day or the twenty four units of alcohol in constant circulation in my blood stream but I like to blame the late goal drama for causing my heart to suffer.
Match of A Sentence: Mexico 2 Netherlands 1
We have not seen Holland sweat lthis much, as Robin does a lot of falling over which eventually wins the game, while Ochua continues to audition for goalkeeper of the tournament and Mexico are beaten by drinks breaks.
Match of A Sentence: Greece 1 Costa Rica 1
Greek bald patches and beards look more likely to score but they concede the slowest goal in World Cup history, fortunately Cost Rica feel guilty and get a man sent off, helping Greece nab a goal back until the game is decided in the most exciting and highest quality penalty shoot out in recent memory.
Don't Give Up God.... Georgios Samaras is Jesus Christ
Forgive them Father for the Greeks know not what they do! You sent your son to help them, to perform miracles by turning their turgid defense into free flowing attack. Only for them to leave him out in the Wilderness, tirelessly running with no support to help him. Samaras offered them salvation but instead they worshiped the false idol of Konstantinos Mitroglou. Mitroglou a man who looks like a demonic Arab gentleman from a Victorian novel, part time trickster, illusionist and follower of Satan.
Anyone who as been reading my blog recently will know I am partial to an older man. So after Georgious Karagounis 120 minute performance at the tender age of 37 I was swooning. I love an unassuming appearance, look at that picture and tell me he looks like a an athlete and not like the guy who fitted your last kitchen. The poor man's Pirlo! Karagounis rarely gives the ball away but lacks the flamboyant presentation of the Italian master. Fulham fans must be shocked because Karagounis (like many players at this tournament) is a player transformed for his national side. A heartbeat of the squad and a true leader. These qualities were actually what was lacking at craven cottage and saw them relegated. I am sure he can't possibly keep going but I've been thinking that for the last two tournaments.
Match of A Sentence: Mexico 2 Netherlands 1
We have not seen Holland sweat lthis much, as Robin does a lot of falling over which eventually wins the game, while Ochua continues to audition for goalkeeper of the tournament and Mexico are beaten by drinks breaks.
Match of A Sentence: Greece 1 Costa Rica 1
Greek bald patches and beards look more likely to score but they concede the slowest goal in World Cup history, fortunately Cost Rica feel guilty and get a man sent off, helping Greece nab a goal back until the game is decided in the most exciting and highest quality penalty shoot out in recent memory.
Don't Give Up God.... Georgios Samaras is Jesus Christ
Forgive them Father for the Greeks know not what they do! You sent your son to help them, to perform miracles by turning their turgid defense into free flowing attack. Only for them to leave him out in the Wilderness, tirelessly running with no support to help him. Samaras offered them salvation but instead they worshiped the false idol of Konstantinos Mitroglou. Mitroglou a man who looks like a demonic Arab gentleman from a Victorian novel, part time trickster, illusionist and follower of Satan.
Konstantinos Mitroglou aka Zoltar The Magnificent
Man Crush of the Day: Georgious Karagounis
Anyone who as been reading my blog recently will know I am partial to an older man. So after Georgious Karagounis 120 minute performance at the tender age of 37 I was swooning. I love an unassuming appearance, look at that picture and tell me he looks like a an athlete and not like the guy who fitted your last kitchen. The poor man's Pirlo! Karagounis rarely gives the ball away but lacks the flamboyant presentation of the Italian master. Fulham fans must be shocked because Karagounis (like many players at this tournament) is a player transformed for his national side. A heartbeat of the squad and a true leader. These qualities were actually what was lacking at craven cottage and saw them relegated. I am sure he can't possibly keep going but I've been thinking that for the last two tournaments.
World Cup Moral Barometer
No scientific research, just plain bias subjectivity on who should win today's games.
Nigeria VS France
Moral Argument: I really want Nigeria to have a moral argument but its hard to ignore the accusations of extrajudicial killings and use of excessive force by security forces; impunity for abuses by security forces; arbitrary arrests; prolonged retrial detention; judicial corruption and executive influence on the judiciary; rape, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners, detainees and suspects, harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions. Hey wait a minute this sounds like the French Revolution!
In Football Terms: The French have seemed cute but had the muscle to see off the wrestlers of Honduras and Ecuador. Will be great to see if Nigeria can be as clinical on the break as they were against Argentina.Both teams seemed a little too smug when they eased into the last 16 despite losing and drawing their last games. First team to rediscover their momentum will hold the key.
Nigeria 1 France 2
Germany VS Algeria
Moral Argument: The fourth largest economy in the world with a far better standard of living in comparison to China and America due to its social security and universal healthcare. Compared to country that has laws preventing freedom of association and of assembly, a state controlled press, accusations of substandard prisons, torture and extensive corruption. However Algerians are not the descendants of Nazis so clearly they win the moral argument.
In Football Terms: Germany are painfully good in going forward so Algeria will need to be defensively resolute and hit them on the break.
Germany 3 Algeria 0
So let's hope for no late goal drama or maybe I will have to give up the cigarettes and alcohol.
Sunday, 29 June 2014
More Cagey Than a Prison Visit To A Zoo
What a goal! We all saw it right? James Rodriguez wonder volley on the turn with his back to goal! Don't care how many villainous Uruguayans you have on the pitch your not stopping that goal. And then after greatest individual goal of the tournament we had the best team goal, again scored from James Rodriguez. He is so good, ITV commentator and UKIP spokesman, Clive Tyldesly, continued to mispronounce his name in the hope that he becomes English.
Match of A Sentence: Brazil 1 Chile 1
Howard Webb does not fall for the Brazilian charms and the marvelous midgets of Chile are a cross bar away from the quarter finals, only for the worst penalty shoot out in living memory to decide that the host's party must go on.
Match of A Sentence: Columbia 2 Uruguay 0
The name's Rodriguez, James Rodriguez, you pronounce it Yamus not James, Clive,Yamus, yes I know its not very marketable, but you're going to have to get use to it Clive, because I am here to stay.
Don't Give Up The French Connection.... Phil Scolari is Gene Hackman
Brazil's manager, Big Phil Scolari, is scary enough! He does not need to channel the spirit of Popeye Doyle to intimidate the opposition. Play paranoid in media interviews like he did as Harry Caul in The Conversation. Nor does he need to relive his performance as American Football coach Jimmy McGinty (from the underrated sports gem The Replacements) when attempting to motivate his team before a penalty shootout. Big Phil needs none of the cheap theatrics he picked up in Hollywood but it does make him more entertaining.
Man Crush of the Day: Alexis Sanchez
Maybe its the way he wears his short shorts, showing off his legs while sporting a wedgie. Or maybe its the slick quiff, boyish looks and smooth Latin skin. Alexis Sanchez has been "working it" this tournament, "working it," in the working girl sense.So graceful in possession of the ball and yet not selfish in his distribution to his team.He can give and take in equal measure. Appearing like the perfect prospective purchase for any Premier League club. Alexis has been touting his worth like a high class hooker. Barcelona don't want him and thanks to the World Cup his price has considerably risen, along with his shorts.
He likes Short Shorts
World Cup Moral Barometer
An attempt to politicize World Cup in the hope it can be our moral compass for the future and I get to slag off countries I don't like.
Mexico VS Netherlands
The Moral Argument: Even if you disregarded Mexico's unsuccessful war on drugs (that has left 60,000 dead and 20, 000 missing) it still has a poor international reputation. For example in gender equality it ranked 89th by World Economic Forum in 2011. Mexicans are not just behind on gender politics, they got poor diversity record as well, with the indigenous inhabitants (9% of population) who mainly live in the poor south ,being treated like second class citizens, not having the access to adequate housing, health care and education like they do in the rich north. The Dutch win this argument by having a functional democracy, being less than a quarter the size of Mexico and having far more relaxed drug laws.
In Football Terms: Both teams have been defensive and have got a lot of goals on the break, so expect the game to be cagey with neither team wanting to attack.
Netherlands 2 Mexico 0
Costa Rica VS Greece
The Moral Argument: Costa Rica is like heaven! One of the most stable and prosperous countries in Latin America, it's been a democracy since the 1950s and constitutionally got rid of its standing army in 1949. Costa Rica's environmental policies are amazing for a so called developing country, ranked fifth in the world, and first in the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environment Performance index. In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to be the first Carbon neutral country by 2021. The New Economics Foundation ranked Costa Rica first in its 2009 Happy index and once again in 2012. As for Greece... they like to kill their fathers, have sex with there mothers and rip out their own eyes.
In Football Terms: Costa Rica's flexible pressing has made them the shock of the tournament, turning a dogged attack into the best form of defense, in comparison to the classically cynical Greeks who like to park the bus.
Costa Rica 3 Greece 0
So expect the two matches to have an atmosphere more cagey than a prison visit to a zoo, If you get downhearted by all defending, just watch this...
Love the camera work..
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Can The World Cup be A Morality Play
Men biting each other, the kissing of money to play a sport you once loved, the threat of players going on strike, riots on the streets against the competition, second verses of national anthems proudly sung a capella because organizers will only allow music to play for the regulated 90 seconds.The World Cup without the football makes you despair for modern day morality.
But don't you worry! Because I have formed the World Cup Moral barometer: a way of measuring the morality of the final sixteen teams, so we know who is the real victor.
World Cup Predictor Presents: The World Cup Moral Barometer
Brazil Vs Chile
Moral Argument: Brazil, the most notoriously corrupt country in South America who has reached international controversy over pacification, deforestation and rise in the cost of living in contrast to Chile, the most stable and prosperous nations in the world. It leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, income per capita, state of peace, economic freedom and a low perception of corruption.
In Football Terms: The fun loving team from South America that can only play exciting, passing, attacking football as a form of deference, against Brazil. How the mighty have fallen!
Barometer Reading: Chile 2 Brazil 0
Uruguay Vs Columbia
Moral Argument: Forget all you have read about Luis Suarez and Uruguayans support of him because Uruguay has one of the most moral leaders in the world, in the form of Jose Mujica. Nicknamed the poor man's president, he has legalized abortion, same sex marriage, cannabis and leaves in the most modest surroundings. Don't believe me! How about the BBC
Since Mandela and Tony Benn passed away a huge amount of the media claimed we had lost a generation of moral political leaders born out of World War Two, that is complete cynical bullshit, Jose Mujica is a real revolutionary who became a political hero without being matryed. As for Colombia, they did rank 6th on Happy Planet Index in 2009 but I don't know the name of their leader.
In Football Terms: Remember all you have read about Luis Suarez because their is going to be a Luis Suarez gap up front. Columbia have been the neutrals favorites along with Chile, so expect Uruguayans dirtier players (epitomized by villainous Captain Diego Godin) to be caught out by the excellent James Robrigueriz.
Barometer Reading: Uruguay 2 Columbia 2 (Columbia go through on penalties).
So can the under achievers of South American football, Chile and Columbia, finally beat the historically prestigious teams of Uruguay and Brazil. Its so far been the up-setter's World Cup, so lets hope we get moral victories we deserve.
Friday, 27 June 2014
World Cup Neck Ache
When you reach the final group games you really need two heads to avoid the neck ache. Yesterday in the pub I was caught between two screens while watching the conclusion to Group G. Just like the USA team, I was constantly looking over my shoulder to see what was happening in the other match. Unlike the USA team I wanted Ghana to cover themselves into glories of the past, but instead their performance was shrouded in the corruptions of the present with a pay dispute and bad behavior sending some of the team home even earlier.Forget two heads, you need three, four, a hydra-like mind to keep up with all the stories that surround this World Cup. Lucky I am here to make it simple.
The Walton's John Boye kisses some money before scoring an own goal, only for Ghana to come back into game with good goal; but its highest paid player in the world that cashes in before Ghana and Portugal crash out.
Match of A Sentence: USA 0 Germany 1
Jurgen Klinsmann's team are so efficient you could call them German (actually 8 of them are) but they are not as German as Thomas Muller, the Bavarian Ken doll who scores again and everyone has to admit he is damm good, despite wanting to break his legs.
Match of A Sentence: Algeria 1 Russia 1
Soul stirring stuff as Algeria (the World Cup's resident whipping boys) celebrate as they go through to the last 16 for the first time despite Russia coming out and not only playing but actually being genuinely exciting to watch as they score the first goal, but allow brave Algeria (see Faghouli's bleeding head) to fight back for a draw with the help of a laser beam pointed directly in the Russian keeper's face.
Match of A Sentence: Belgium 1 South Korea 0
Belgium continue to piss off the football hipster by grinding out victories and winning in the most assuming clinical manner, even with ten men.
Don't Give Up My Man Crushes... Best Team Out of the Competition
Amalgamating my two daily sections I have brought the best players in the tournament who are now out of the tournament. Playing the formation 4 4 2 (despite this formation being absent in most World Cup teams) so all positions on the pitch are fairly represented.
Goalkeeper: A.Haghighi (Iran)
Defenders: Asamoah (Ghana), J Guagua (Ecuador), Bonucci (Italy), Chiellini (Italy),
Midfield: Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Rakitic (Croatia), Tim Cahill (Australia), an Injured Ronaldo (Portugal)
Forwards: A Gyan (Ghana), E. Valencia (Ecuador)
So today is the first day without football as we begin the gradual come down from football saturation, sadly for me its like the world is getting smaller not bigger.
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