This tournament has been historic. It will always be remembered as the first World Cup to go to Africa, in particular, to South Africa – a country that has suffered so much oppression, that has fought to show the world that it is safe and that has shown the world that white people and black people are co-existing in peace.
The semi finals start tomorrow and are heavily dominated by Europe. Having suggested only a week ago that the South American teams were doing so well the dominance by one continent at the World Cup has again shifted.
Once again, the result of Germany vs. Argentina has sided with modern history. I eluded briefly to the history behind this fixture in a preview to the quarter finals and like in 1990 and 2006 it’s the Germans who have emerged victorious. Germany continued their superb form through to the quarter final match and won 4-0 with goals from Muller, Klose (x2) and Friedrich. Germany seem to have the game one in every area of the pitch.
We now know from which eight countries the winner of the World Cup will come. There are four South American nations, three European nations and one African nation.There is the prospect that all four semi finalists could be South American with the draw shaping up like this:
Netherlands vs. Brazil
Uruguay vs. Ghana
Argentina vs. Germany
Paraguay vs. Spain
Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina all qualified for the knockout stages. There wasn’t a South American team that didn’t advance past the groups. Why have they been so successful?I’m not really sure what the answer is to this, so I’m quite hoping that this will trigger some suggestions (type away in the comment box at the bottom of the page).
In his first season with a ‘big’ club, Diego Milito has excelled. After yesterdays Champions League final he has now brought his tally to 30 goals for the season; a very healthy return bettered only in the current Argentine squad by Lionel Messi. Yet, it is feasible that Milito may not feature at all in Diego Maradona’s plans.
