Greatest World Cup Matches: Germany-Argentina 2014

The 2014 World Cup final will be remembered for two things: it made Germany the greatest footballing nation of all time and it made Lionel Messi the greatest player never to win a thing for his country.
Argentina entered the tournament by winning the always-difficult South American qualifying group (Brazil did not take part as they were hosts). Manager Alejandro Sabella had built up his team around the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who he had made captain of the team. While Messi had scored 10 goals in qualification, he kept being criticised for not being as good with his home country as he was with Barcelona. But truth was that Argentina had been struggling with setting a style where Messi could be used optimally in a team. It was not because Argentina lacked strength in other positions: an ageing but experienced defense around Manchester City's Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta, alongside Benfica's Ezequiel Garay and Sporting's Marcos Rojo, in front of Monaco goalkeeper Sergio Romero. The difficulty of finding midfielders in support of Messi was not because of lack of choice: Fernando Gago from Boca Juniors, Lucas Biglia from Lazio, Enzo Perez from Benfica and Maxi Rodriguez from Newell's Old Boys were all in the squad, and complemented the sure starters Javier Mascherano from Barcelona and Angel DiMaria from Real Madrid, the only two players on the squad, besides Messi, of superstar quality. To play up front Argentina had what on paper looked like luxury choices with Inter's Rodrigo Palacio, PSG's Ezequiel Lavezzi, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain. These choices proved to be purely on paper.
Sabella was an intelligent manager who knew that a team, to win the World Cup, needed to balance play with defense and pace itself for the tournament. Argentina won its group with three victories against Bosnia-Hercegovina, Iran and Nigeria. Despite Messi scoring four goals there was criticism of their slow defense and over-dependence on Messi, as their apparent star strikers could not score (the two other goals were an own-goal and one by defender Rojo), and Messi, despite it all, looked tired, and only showed his brilliance occasionally. In the last-16 Argentina struggled to defeat Switzerland, with DiMaria providing a 1-0 victory late into extra time. Against Belgium in the quarterfinals Argentina won a hard-worked 1-0 victory with Higuain's only goal of the tournament, and in the semifinals Argentina again worked through a penalty kick victory against a difficult and cynical Dutch side. Although they had not looked impressive Argentina were nevertheless in the World Cup final in none other place that in their big rival's home, Brazil. Argentine fans were ecstatic as Brazilians clearly feared the humiliation of Argentina winning in Brazil. Of course, a Brazil-Argentina final would have been what everyone wanted, but this was not to happen when Brazil suffered the greatest humiliation in World Cup history when losing 7-1 in the semifinals to the other finalist, Germany.
This was the third final between Germany and Argentina following 1986 and 1990, with one victory for each. And Germany probably entered the final as favourites, not just because of their Brazil trashing, but because the had been impressive throughout the tournament: they opened with a 4-0 trashing of Portugal, an exciting 2-2 tie against Ghana and a routine 1-0 victory over the USA. They had fought hard to defeat Algeria in extra time in the last-16 and then went on to defeat France 1-0 in the quarterfinal before the now infamously legendary semifinal against Brazil.
Brazilians were surely supporting Germany before the final, and their final lineup had at this point also become admired by the entire world: Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer was the best goalkeeper on the tournament; in front of him in central defense he had Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels and Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng. On left back was Schalke 04's Benedikt Howedes and on right back the Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm, who had been one of the tournament's best players. A young Christoph Kramer from Borussia Monchengladbach was a surprise starter alongside Bayern Munich's veteran Bastian Schweinsteigger in central midfield, just behind the young Toni Kroos, who had been the best midfielder of the tournament and man-of-the-Match against Brazil. Behind the veteran striker Miroslav Klose (who against Brazil had become the most scoring player in World Cup history) were the splendid pair of Mesut Ozil from Arsenal and Bayern Munich's versatile Thomas Muller.
Argentina had been seriously hurt in the quarterfinal when DiMaria got injured. His replacement, Ezequiel Lavezzi, was nowhere near his level, and this proved crucial for Argentina's offensive capabilities in the final. That said, Argentina could have won a very tactical final with few chances: Gonzalo Higuain missed an open chance, alone with the goalkeeper, not even hitting the target, in what has become an infamous miss for a striker that has missed other crucial final goals for Argentina. A goal he scored in the second half was correctly disallowed for off-side, while Rodrigo Palacio, who came in for the hapless Higuain, also missed a big chance at the end of the match. Despite Argentine chances one always had the feeling that a German strike could prove deadly, and it was certainly close when Howedes hit the post following a corner.
But the match ended 0-0 in ordinary time, the third final ever with this result, and it could look as it was going into extra time when two substitutes constructed Germany's winning goal: Chelsea's Andre Schurrle had come on for Cristoph Kramer (who had been injured) and Bayern Munich's Mario Gotze had come in before extra time for Miroslav Klose. Schurrle crossed from the left and inside the area Gotze elegantly controlled the ball with his chest before hammering the ball into goal with a first-timer. He was the first substitute to score the winner in a World Cup final, and at only 22, the youngest as well.
Argentina did not really have any response in the last minutes, and Thomas Muller instead almost made it 2-0. But 1-0 was enough for Germany to be crowned World Champions for the fourth time, and the first European team to win in the Americas. To everyone's surprise (not least to himself), Lionel Messi was named best player of the tournament, a title which seemed more to be for the sponsors than for the player, who had seemed tired throughout the tournament.

Match Stats:

• 10th July, 2014 Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro 
• Spectators: 74,738 
• Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)   

Germany-Argentina 1-0 
Goals: 1-0 Mario Gotze (113)

Teams:
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Howedes, Cristoph Kramer (Andre Schurrle, 31), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil (Per Mertesacker, 120), Miroslav Klose (Mario Gotze, 88)
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia, Enzo Perez (Fernando Gago, 86), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Sergio Aguero, 46), Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain (Rodrigo Palacio, 68) 

Juventus rises

After Juventus disappointing 2-2 at home to Tottenham in the first leg, most people were expecting Tottenham, who were undefeated in the CL, to put the last nail in the ageing Juvnetus side. And after first half it surely looked they were on the way to the quarterfinals as a splendid Son Heung Min brought them ahead 1-0. Tottenham were the best team in the first half, but the experience of Juventus players and the intelligence of Massimiliano Allegri proved too much for Tottenham.
Allegri introduced Kwadwo Asamoah and Stephan Lichtsteiner to give more power on the flanks, where Tottenham had shown some weakness. And this changed the match. Shortly after the players were introduced, Gonzalo Higuain first made it 1-1, and Paolo Dybala made it 1-2. Even though Tottenham attacked heroically, Juventus were just too experienced, with a splendid veteran Giorgio Chiellini taking everything in central defense.
Another example that in football experience and intelligence counts most.
This was the first match Tottenham lost in this seasons' CL, which must make it so much more bitter for the English side. Nevertheless, no neutral football fan can be disappointed that Juventus are in the quarterfinals.

Champions Legue playoffs

The only bad thing about living in El Salvador is the time difference for the Champions League matches. I am normally at work, and have been trying to get a system not to hear the results, and watch the games later, with mixed results.
In this time of neverending information streams, that is very difficult.
But of the matches I did manage to watch Juventus-Tottenham and Bayern Munich-Besiktas.
One cannot help to like Tottenham's side, that came back from 2-0 to tie Juventus and to have a good chance (but don't take it for granted) of beating Juventus at home. However, what I will most remember is Gonzalo Higuain, a player that I find impossible to like. His first strike was amazing, and his penalty acceptable, but in the end he must be the only striker in the world who is more remembered for his misses than his goals. And his misses were indeed so appalling, that if Juventus don't make it, it will be remembered as due to Higuain's misses. As he is being talked about for a return to the World Cup for Argentina, I certainly hope it won't happen.
Bayern Munich crushed a Besiktas side that had perhaps hoped for more with their excellent group stages. But as with Liverpool's trashing of Porto (in Portugal) and Manchester City's of Basel (in Switzerland), these results are perhaps pointing to the more worrying tendency that the Champions League has finally become the playground of the Mega-Teams of Europe, the ones with the money: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, and Bayern Munich. These teams will win the Champions League for the next 10 years, with the occasional incursions of "smaller" Mega-Teams once in a while, who may make it to a semi-final or so (Tottenham and Sevilla are examples this year).
Sevilla tied Manchester United 0-0 after a splendid performance by David de Gea, who may be the one to save a Manchester United side that under Mourinho is playing only for the result. An Argentine commentator on ESPN said Mourinho was driving a Ferrari on a dirt road by playing this way, and I can also only wonder whether Manchester United fans are seeing their team do. Were it not for De Gea, they would surely be out, and one cannot expect them to defeat better teams purely on the goalkeeper.
One of the most refreshing results was Shakhtar Donetsk-Roma (a match I managed to watch the second half of) with the Ukranians taking a meager lead. The return match in Rome may be the match to watch in the second leg, although Paris St. Germain at home, trying to get back from Real Madrid's 3-1 lead, will be another thrill, as the Parisians have to show what they are made up, while the Merengues have everything to play for, as the Champions League is the only title left for them this year.

Juventus to challenge the title

It all points to it being a fantastic Champions League final. After Real Madrid made fun of Atletico Madrid with a great display, Juventus showed at least as much quality when defeating AS Monaco 0-2 in Monaco. Monaco are a young side that has won many friends in the tournament and for its young players there are surely great years ahead. But Juventus' combination of quality and experience were simply too much for Monaco, who may have attacked optimistically and with skills, but were punished by any mistake to such as degree that Gonzalo Higuain ended up scoring both Juventus goals! (always poor in finals, one can almost not expect him to do anything there if they reach that far).
If any team can defeat Real Madrid it is Juventus. If any team can defeat Juventus, it is Real Madrid.
Of course, there is still a second leg for both semi-finals, but if the final is not Real Madrid-Juventus it will be an enormous surprise!

Argentina in the final

Argentina, led by a splendid Lionel Messi, are looking more and more unbeatable just as they reach the final of the Copa America Centenario.
Despite improvements and a big home support USA stood no chance of challenging Argentina, who won 4-0 with goals by Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lionel Messi, and two by Gonzalo Higuain.
Colombia or Chile will play for the honour to face Argentina in the final.

The day I became Napoli fan

I have never had a favourites Italian team. Many years ago I used to follow the Serie A closely, but this ended with the corruption scandals surrounding Juventus in the mid-00s. As an avid Maradona fan I had also always sympathized with Napoli. But the lack of results and the fact that I had never visited Naples, caused me not to become a fan.
That has changed today.
I am visiting the beautiful city of Naples for the first time in my life and when I learned that Napoli was playing Lazio I immediately got a ticket for the legendary stadium of San Paolo, the temple where they adored Maradona. As much of the city, the stadium is somewhat worn down, but remains beautiful and imposing, and with a fantastic atmosphere provided by the Napoli supporters.

The team itself has not started the Serie A in the best way, without victories in their first three matches. But that changed tonight when they resoundingly defeated Lazio 5-0. What most impressed me was how they achieved the victory: high pressure and good passing. There were certainly some signs of weakness in the defense (which stronger teams than Lazio could punish), the attacking combinations were flowing through Hamsik, Allan and Jorginho, to very mobile offensive players like Insigne and Higuaín (Higuaín is not a player I am fond of, but I must admit that he played a great match scoring two excellent goals. He certainly loves playing against Lazio!).

The new coach Maurizio Sarri has now led his team to score 10 goals in the last two matches (last week they defeated Brugge 5-0 in the Europa League), and his side is starting to show the potential for what could be a great season for a great team and a great city.
And I will be cheering on them all the way!

Chile Campeon

The dream came true for Chile: they won the Copa America. It was one of those excellent 0-0 matches which any of the sides, Argentina or Chile, could have won. In the end penalty kicks had to decide the match, and after Messi's goal, it was Higuain who was to miss; as often happens, Higuain did not even hit the goal in a goalscoring position. When Ever Banega's shot was saved by Claudio Bravo, Alexis Sanchez scored coolly to give Chile their first title ever. Alexis Sanchez has had a rather anonymous tournament so it was highly deserved that it was him who scored this important goal.
Congratulations to Chile, but another huge disappointment for Argentina.

Higuain the missing machine

Napoli are one semifinal away from a European final, and are surely favourites against the Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. And in the first match in Naples tonight Napoli had 70% possession and 22 shots on goal. Still they only got a meager 1-1. Although Dnipro's goal was a clear off side, it does not take away that Napoli can only blame themselves for not taking advantage of their enormous pressure, and their striker Gonzalo Higuain, who missed some big chances.
This is not the first time Higuain misses chances. In fact, throughout his career in different teams, he has almost been more known for his misses.
In the other semifinal Sevilla seem to be underway to their second final in a row after trouncing Fiorentina 3-0. 

The final: Argentina

I support Argentina and I am wearing my Argentina shirt today. It will be a long-held dream to see them again lift the trophy, as I still remember their last triumph with nostalgia. 1986; when football became my passion.
That said, I have been very critical of their play in this tournament. They are not that offensive side that many expected with the players they have. Perhaps it is understandable: this tournament has proven that headless attack is not a way to go, and Argentina has unfortunately, much before the tournament, been struggling with defensive weakness. In fact, I always thought that defensive weakness would be their problem. However, they have proven far better, if not careful, in defense. Marco Rojo and Martin Demichelis have been surprisingly solid, and Sergio Romero in goal has been one of their best players. Besides this Javier Mascherano has come out as one of the best players of the tournaments, playing splendidly as a holding midfielder.
The apparently strong attacking has been more of a problem. While we have seen glimpses of brilliance in Lionel Messi, he still looks tired, far from his best form, where he would be fearful to the Germans (remember his five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012?). Sergio Aguero's eternal injuries has made him into a non-player in the tournament; not only absent, but even poor when he has come in. Ezequiel Lavezzi has been a better replacement, and worked harder in the last matches than in the first, where he seemed to think he was still on vacation. The same came be said of Gonzalo Higuain, who worked like a horse against the Dutch and scored the winner against Belgium. However, Higuain is still a poor striker; he was in Real Madrid, and he still is one who needs ten chances to score a goal. You don't get ten chances in a World Cup final!
Angel Di Maria has been one of the better Argentines, and his absence will be felt, although Benfica's young Enzo Perez has been a strong replacement. He does not provide the same offensive prowess as DiMaria, but has given the defensive midfield depth, giving space to the attackers.

Although I support Argentina, Germany are big favorites. But they do have weaknesses, and the team that exposed them most in this tournament were none other than Algeria, a side that fought bravely and had a style that is somewhat similar to Argentina.
Germany has played the entire tournament with a high defensive line. This also gave Ghana golden opportunities in the first round, and forced the brilliant Manuel Neuer to play almost as a sweeper. It worked but it was risky. Throughout the tournament, Argentina has faced very compact back lines that have given little space to their strikers, perhaps except for Nigeria. The Argentines do have the potential to exploit the high German defensive line.

Anything can happen in a final! I hope Argentina wins, but know it will have to be the match of their lives! The Germans are an amazing team!

Argentina in the semifinals

Argentina are in the semifinals after defeating Belgium 1-0 on an early goal by Gonzalo Higuain. Although Argentina played well the first half hour, second half saw them holding to the result, defending well against a rather toothless and disappointing Belgian side.

So Argentina did not impress, but have now made it the furthest they have made it in a World Cup since 1990. They will be seriously weakened though: Angel DiMaria went out with an injury and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. With Aguero out as well, Argentina will miss more pace. They already play very slow and players other than Messi are not keen to take on more responsibility.

I can still not get Argentina making it, but they have made it this far, and with this I only become more hopeful...

Papal football

Settling in a new country and with leagues slowly starting up, I have not had time to dwell much on football lately. However, last night I enjoyed watching the Papal match in Rome, between Argentina and Italy.
A match in honour of the first Argentinean Pope was indeed appropriate for two countries that share so much outside the pitch, and certainly also inside the pitch, where Italy played with the Argentinean Pablo Osvaldo as a replacement for Mario Balotelli.
Argentina also missed their greatest star, Lionel Messi, who could not give his divine touches due to an injury. However, Argentina seemed in control without him: they had more possession against an Italian side that seemed without concentration, in particular in defense, where a giveaway resulted in Gonzalo Higuain's opener for Argentina. Higuain has recently changed from Real Madrid to AS Napoli. I am of the opinion that this can only be a good deal for Real Madrid; in spite of a good goal and being a decent fighter, Higuain also misses too many chances; last night he had one huge miss.
Argentina without Messi or Aguero worked well, in spite of the poor Italians. In general the weakest part of Argentina is defense, and in spite of them not suffering too much (they could do nothing against Lorenzo Insigne's elegant goal), they have still not found a magic formula.
Argentina will surely be going to Brazil, and can already book their tickets in September in their qualifier against Paraguay. However, no matter Messi or the Pope, or any form of divine intervention, Argentina will not become world champion. They are far behind quality sides such as Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands, and light years behind Spain, the world champions of 2014 (who defeated Ecuador 0-2 in a friendly in Guayaquil, one of the strongest South American sides).
An interesting friendly Papal match, but one that is not worth much to anyone.

South American Qualifiers

I wore my Argentina shirt to work yesterday, as I was excited about Argentina getting revenge for the 1-0 away defeat to Venezuelan in the first round of the qualifiers. While Venezuela has been rising over the last years, the one thing they have still not achieved is to get a point in Argentina. And it was not to happen: Sabella's Argentina was superior to Venezuela in all respects, and in spite of Gonzalo Higuain's last goal being a clear off-side, Argentina's 3-0 victory was fully deserved. Argentina is quite certain to be in Brazil, and will be a contender for the title.
Venezuela is fighting for the fourth and fifth places in the South American qualifiers with Uruguay and Chile. One of these teams will lose out about Brazil. With Venezuela's loss, they had to hope their contenders did not do well, and they were lucky. Uruguay, who has been struggling lately, only managed to get 1-1 at home to Paraguay, who equalized late after Luis Suarez had brought the Uruguayans ahead. In the meantime Chile lost 1-0 to their arch-rivals Peru, so they remain in sixth place with 12 points, the same as Venezuela in fifth place (the play-off spot) and with Uruguay in fourth place with 13 points.
To make it all more interesting, Peru now has a chance to contend for one of the spots with 11 points.

Together with Argentina, Colombia is playing awesome football. Yesterday they played Bolivia at home and won 5-0 in an impressive performance with goals by Teofilo Gutierrez, Pablo Armero, Carlos Valdes, Macnelly Torres and Radamel Falcao. The team is attacking and possessing, and under Jose Pekerman they will be a team nobody will like to face in Brazil.
The pressure on Colombia will be from their passionate fans, who can go from the greatest expectations to the deepest depths of ingratitude to their team.

Next Tuesday Colombia will come to Venezuela in a match that is crucial for the home side, while Chile and Uruguay are facing each other in what will be another dramatic match.
There is no doubt that the South American qualifiers are the best qualifiers in the world in terms of quality, drama and excitement, and this will continue for the next matches!

Rise of the lamas

I do not have much sympathy for Peruvian fans: their whistling of the national anthems of Venezuela and Argentina in their recent qualifiers are just disgraceful. But I guess that is what you can expect if you are a lama.
That said, Peru has risen in this qualifying round. Their home win against Venezuela brought them back in the race for the World Cup, and in their last game against Argentina, in spite of the 1-1 tie, they showed that they surely have the quality to compete for the World Cup spots. They fought very hard, bordering the illegal, but with spirit and passion against an Argentinean side which looked dangerous by Higuain and Lavezzi as the Peruvians successfully annulled Messi. Argentina's defense nevertheless had to fight hard against the incursions of Farfan and the threats of Pizarro (although he missed a penalty). Peru went ahead on a goal by Eintracht Frankfurt's Carlos Zambrano, before Gonzalo Higuain equalized. In the second hand Peru came closest to the win, but Argentina pulled through to a useful tie that keeps them in first spot, while Peru keeps a door open on 7th place.

Venezuela, who had lost to Peru, came back with style by defeating Paraguay 0-2; another historic first for Venezuela, who had never won in Paraguay before. Paraguay, who has qualified to every World Cup since 1998, seems unlikely to qualify with their last place in the South American qualifiers.
Ecuador surprised Uruguay, who is apparently entering a crisis period, by 1-1 in Asuncion, and the surprising Ecuatorians are on third place behind Argentina and Colombia.
Colombia were surely the team of the round: after their resounding trashing of Uruguay, they played wonderfully and defeated Chile 1-3, in one of the most difficult away matches there are. Having made a hugely talented team work, Jose Pekerman is looking more and more likely to take Colombia for their first World Cup since 1998.

The worst day

I had a bad feeling about today. And indeed, today was a horrible day. It seems all teams I support always lose, and this continues. Colombia lost, but much, MUCH worse, Argentina was eliminated by Uruguay from the Copa América today.
I knew it could happen. Uruguay is one of the best teams in the world, and matches between these two giants are notably unpredictable. However, I was hoping, together with many Argentineans, that this would be the Cup where Argentina would blossom with its team of wonderful players.
But these were simply not very wonderful... First half was Argentina's, but in the second half a ten-man Uruguayan side played with the tenacity and stubbornness that their coach, the legendary Oscar Tabarez, has said characterizes Uruguayans. Argentina seemed unable to break the disciplined Uruguayan side, and if they did, Gonzalo Higuaín would miss, or the outstanding Lazio goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, would take it.
Uruguay was obviously happy when the match ended and it went into penalty kicks. As in South Africa two years ago, when they defeated Ghana in another match that kicked out one of my favourite sides,the Uruguayans are very sure of their spectacular cool. And indeed, they were far superior and never seemed to miss a beat, winning by a narrow margin when Carlos Tevez missed for Argentina.

This is a time for reckoning for Argentina. A team of superstars that is obviously not working, least of all Lionel Messi, who is more or less mediocre when playing somewhere where they don´t speak Catalonian. There is no doubt that the much-criticised Maradona was a far superior coach to Sergio Batista, who seems to think that football is only about dressing up and calling up guys with a high salary.
This is a very, very bad Saturday.

Argentina wakes up

Argentina's national team had their backs against the wall against Costa Rica in a match that they had to win if they were not to be the first host-nation ever to be eliminated in the first round of the Copa América. Costa Rica, although playing with a youth side, had in previous matches proved well-organised and disciplined, while Argentina had looked like a mess.
But there was really never any doubt about the result after Argentina went ahead 1-0 at the end of the first half with a goal by Kun Agüero. Until then, Argentina had also dominated against a solid Costa Rican defense, who had nevertheless been lucky in some situations.
In the second half Costa Rica seemed to fall apart, and after Agüero made it 2-0 it turned into a walkover for Argentina, who completely dominated, and 3-0 was not one goal too little for the hosts, who now take the second spot in the group behind Colombia.
Argentina's coach Sergio Batista had made three important changes to the starting lineup: Carlos Téves, Esteban Cambiasso and Ezequiel Lavezzi were replaced by Kun Agüero, Ángel Di María and Gonzalo Higuaín (who nevertheless missed some huge chances!), and this obviously worked much better for the Argentinean side, who although facing a rather lame Costa Rican side, seems much stronger with this lineup. Lionel Messi, who has been criticised a lot seemed much more comfortable with Higuaín in front of him, and in particular with Agüero and Di María running deep (two of the goals came from from Messi passes).
Although I am very happy for Argentina, they still have to convince against stronger opposition in the coming quarterfinal. That said, it is a characteristic of great teams that they are best when they have their back against a wall, and Argentina today showed that!

Interesting friendlies

The world cup is soon starting, and this week's friendly matches can perhaps give us a small indication of what forms some teams are in:

• The defending world champions from Italy tied another world cup participant, Cameroon, 0-0 (repeating their 1982 world cup feat). While both are looking solid in defense, the match said little about their offensive capabilities.
• Spain again showed that they must be considered favourites for the title after a 2-0 away victory to France on goals by David Villa and Sergio Ramos.
  
• England, immersed in scandals about some players, had a difficult time defeating the African champions of Egypt, and even went behind 0-1, but managed to pull back a 3-1 victory.
• Ghana, one of the African hopefuls, lost 2-1 to Bosnia in a match where they did not play too well, but were also missing many of the stars.
• Another African participant, Algeria, was destroyed 3-0 by Serbia. In the meantime, the Serbians, who qualified in an awesome manner, are cementing a position as an important "Dark Horse" for the World Cup.
• Uruguay defeated another World Cup participant, Switzerland, 3-1 away, where three of their extraordinary strikers scored a goal each: Diego Forlán, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Uruguay will also be a team to watch in South Africa, particularly due to their awesome strikers.
• Another of the favourites for the title is surely Argentina. Although coach Maradona has been heavily criticised their 1-0 away victory against Germany should send warning signs to anyone who underestimates the Argentineans. The entire team stood well, played intelligently, and their strikers gave the Germans trouble. Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuaín, who is currently in great form, scored the Argentinean winner.
• The Netherlands defeated the USA 2-1.