Wednesday, July 7, 2010

World Cup Semi-finalists


I should have gone to Vegas before the tournament and made some bets. I could have been a rich man.

Netherlands will play Spain in the final, just as I thought. Most interestingly, a new nation will win the World Cup for the first time since France did so as hosts in 1998. Uruguay is also on that list, they won the first World Cup as hosts in 1930, then won it again in 1950. They didn't add their third trophy this year, but they may well have been the story of the tournament. A tiny South American nation that had to qualify through a playoff ends up reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup. Luis Suarez looked great, and no matter what you think of his handball against Ghana, he was one of the stars of the tournament.

That said, for me, the player of the tournament has been Diego Forlan. He has scored goals, he has created goals, and he has been the leader of his team in every sense of the word.

The team of the tournament so far also lost this week. Spain won the match on Wednesday, but Germany has been a revelation. And their entire midfield will still be in their 20's at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Keep your eye on this team. I would think they will be co-favorites, along with Spain going into the 2012 European Cup.

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