| OK I'll wrap up my World Cup blog (probably the worst one in history, btw), with some words on the US loss, knockout rounds, and the final. (breathe, breathe).
First off, not the best of games to play against Ghana when facing elimination. Giving up the ball the way Reyna did, then coming back, then losing on a stupid penalty (not a penalty, btw) might not seem that bad, but the US lacked the fire in their bellies with their backs against the wall. Very disappointing.
Um so in the next round - Maxi Rodriguez's goal should probably just be named play of the year now...how the hell do these guys do this stuff?
Brazil losing to France was a bit of a surprise, but, to be honest, this team didn't deserve to win. The team was either too old (Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos) or simply looked awkward (Ronaldinho, Adriano). A bad mesh, meeting a team like France on the upswing...and that Henry goal was pure poetry.
Also, Rooney totally deserved that red card, stomping Carvalho in the nuts was inexcusable. That having been said, props to England for holding off Portugal for a friggin hour while a man down...now time to work on PKs, dudes.
The semifinal between Germany and Italy was absolutely fantastic, the kind of game where you sit in front of the TV for a half hour, unable to believe what just happened.
The final...dear lord, what a game. Zidane knockin in the PK so soon to give France a surprising lead, then Italy coming back to score off the corner, then tons of penetrating runs by Henry and Ribery, a goal called off for offsides, overtime with a fantastic save by Buffon on Zidane, and of course the infamous headbutt. It's too bad they had to settle it on PKs (an awful idea, btw), but in the end, the better team won. Congrats to Italy. Enjoy the celebrations, ragazzi.
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