that's the surprise of the tourney so far

seeing the Germans lose like that. I thought they'd stroll into the finals given the close proximity to their fans. can't wait for the 3rd round of games to start! -bB

German resurgence?

So they beat Austria and sneak into the quarterfinals. They should be playing Turkey, but the Croats were better. Name one person you heard, saw, write, or drunkenly boast Croatia would win three group games? Not even the president/PM (insert name here) of Croatia would make such a claim. Unbelieveable! I have to go with earlier feelings: Portugal wins this match. As Tarzan might say, "German defense good, Ronaldo better."

amazing game

should be a great game. Germany put themselves in this unenviable position, and Portugal will make them pay. 2-1 Portugal. Goals by Nani and Ronaldo sink the Germans.
- Freddie Footballer

game recap: Germany 3 - Portugal 2

The Portuguese showed a lot of great passing combos and fluidity in their game. But the finishing was horrendous. Twice (Moutinho & Pepe) Portugal should have scored from close range. You could say that they did it to themselves, but then again, the Germans showed their strength in exactly what they are known to be strong for. Watching some of their qualies, Germany has always scored lots of goals from free-kick setpieces. Attribute it to their size and strength, but the execution of their setpieces are a joy to watch. Today's display of setpiece dominance, as dangerous as it is, should serve as a warning to their following opponents. By the way, if Lucas Podolski hammered in that pure power distance shot in the 2nd half, then that goal would have been goal of the tournament. Ronaldo was pretty much non-existent. But then again, it's hard to shine in a team like Portugal where alot of other guys seem to want to share the spotlight. Guys like Quaresma, Nani, and Simao are all red-carpet playboy extravaganzas so Portugal's drop was caused by the sheer weight of their collective overblown egos. I can't understand why Scolari decided to play Simao instead of Nani. Both Ronaldo and Nani play well together, and the choice of Simao on the right still baffles me. And boy what is Paulo Ferreira a stinkin heap of cowshit. He basically got owned by Schweinsteiger and Ballack. Sure they say he's more of a rightback, but damn, where are his basic defending skills? Germany is sure to make the final, if and only if, they can find a solution to cracking the solidified Croatian defense. This ofcourse is based on the assumption that Croatia will beat Turkey and right now I don't have a doubt in my mind that Turkey can hang with the Croats. But then again, life's full of surprises....

Portugal disappointed

they've always seemed to be able to make it deep into tournaments but not this time. The Germans were better technically and tactically and actually showed more flair on the ball than the Portuguese team. Poor defending and even worse goal-keeping on the second and third goals. That first goal by Schweinsteiger was brilliant, really world class.
- Freddie Footballer