Iniesta was wrong in trying to get Heitinga sent off... The foul was yellow-card (and thus red-card) worthy, but I HATE when players jump up and suggest to the referee that the other player should be carded. It's ridiculous.

His goal looked offside from the first angle on TV, but on replay, the first touch and the shot were perfection.

 

the ball played into the box from torres really set everything in motion, credit where credit is due eh?

 

Yeah Spain deserved it... I think they would've beaten Brazil today, too.

 

Spain is wack. Watching their games is like partaking in the Spanish inquisition. They are painful, monotonous, drawn out periods of frustration. A fan of prior Spanish squads, I looked forward to this team putting up the energetic type of soccer the Spanish are known for but NO, instead I'm watching Puyol muck about, David Villa make a few good runs and well deserved goals, but overall an uncharacteristically boring squad. Spain is punishing its viewers with lack of creativity, lack of set pieces or corners, and a few world cup caliber goals here and there. But mostly, its 90+ minutes of keep away. Good for the betting man, bad for soccer purists. Want to see what Spain was at one time? You tube Spain WC 1998.

In my mind Germany was the true overall champion of this Word Cup. Explosive plays, set pieces galore, high scoring, lots of out of your seat excitement. I have seldom enjoyed a more energetic game than Ger vs Arg. Holland was good, they could have pulled off the win.

Oh well, I suppose the curse of Nike is complete. Lots of things to be said about FIFA WC each 4 years. But as long as the mob has a finger in it, we will never see video replay.

 

Agreed about Germany being the class of the tournament. They definitely opened eyes. The upside? Their squad is relatively young, too.... bring on 2014!

 

What really happened.

 

+1

I wonder how things went if Ballack would have been able to play and lead the team as a captain

 

 

looooooooool!!!

 

Definitely. I don't think they lost to Spain because of his absence. I believe Thomas Muller's absence was the reason... Most influential player of the tournament IMO by a wide margin.