England vs. Germany, 27 June 2010

Watched the game between England and Germany last night.  The game was a disappointment for me at various levels.

In the first place, what should have been a final clash was advanced to Stage 2.  For this, I am sorely upset with England – having seen them play like a bunch of bumblers in their Group.  If England had topped their group, it would have meant they would be advancing from the left-hand side of the grid (see here)

Being an avid follower of the EPL (and rooting for the “Gunners” there), my natural choice of team to support would have been England, or so my heart said.  My head said, Germany – because of the way I had seen them play in the group stages and for the evident fact that they had practised well with the new Jabulani ball – a key feature being its weight is almost in the higher end of the FIFA approved spectrum – they knew how to make the ball work for them.  I went with my head ahead of the game and was rooting for Germany.

The game itself was a second disappointment.  I have never seen a more inept English side, fumbling to take control and retain possession of the ball at critical moments.  The German side was simply brilliant, their passing and mechanical teamwork evident in the way they got past the English defences time and again.  It’s been proven again that the football played on the “other side of the pond” is certainly a couple of notches ahead of the EPL.  The EPL is for a bunch of overgrown schoolkids who’ve never really outgrown their knickers.

Finally, the third disappointment – Lampard’s “not-a-goal”.  FIFA has this to say and this as well and I politely disagree.  Take other games (read, Cricket primarily), they clearly appreciate and recognise the need for video technology, especially in crucial games such as these.  Whilst it helped Germany, it was unsportsmanlike.

I would like to believe that if England had been given the equaliser (on Lampard), the course of the game could have been altered and would not have been the linear 4-2 victory for Germany as pundits predicted.  For all we know, it could have been an English romp home but hey the cookie crumbled differently last night.

In other news Argentina beat Mexico 3:1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Germany.  Again, an outcome I am disappointed about as this is a potentially classic semi-final stand-off.  As I can’t have every game play out my way,  I take solace in the fact that there is a great game ahead to watch next weekend.

Cheers

S