Klose Call

[cbertsch]

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Neither Argentina nor Germany looked as fluid as they had in previous games, but I think their respective defenses had a lot to do with that. The once-maligned German backfield made many nice stops. In the end, this was more like the old-school German victories, with a few seconds of brilliance in the air -- Miroslav Klose's authoritative goal came off an excellent cross from Michael Ballack and a spot-on flick from Tim Borowski in the box -- compensating for an otherwise stolid performance. Still, it was nice to see Ballack overcome his physical ailments to make his penalty kick and nicer still to see the also-maligned Lehmann guess correctly on every Argentinian penalty kick and make two saves. Germany now has a good chance of making the final, unless Italy can beat the Ukraine and then show better form than they have so far in the World Cup.

Comments

[amackey84.livejournal.com]

Italy certainly looked the better of the two advancing teams, though Germany's consistent play matched with the amazing home advantage could prove to be advantageous. I'm just happy to see games that are decided by players and not refs.

[frostedfuckhead.livejournal.com]

i had the joy of watching the game on a rooftop terrace in downtown beijing. huge projection tv, a light sprinkling of rain and an assload of rowdy germans. the games here don't start till 11 pm (great for weekends, shit for weekdays)

a fantastically fun evening.