WHAT a FANTASTIC SUPER LONG RANGE SHOT!!!!


GHANA LEAD 1 - 0 at 1st Half Whistle!!

HALFTIME WHISTLE -


URUGUAY - 0


GHANA - 1
(Muntari 45' + 2')


Ghana always had that goal coming at anytime during the first half, TBH. They were clearly the better side on show as their attacks were relentless. The Uruguayans started off positively and looked really good for the first 20-25 minutes and had a few chances at goal, but once the Ghanaians started off, there was no stopping them.
The ball possession was almost equal between both sides but Ghana clearly had the better chances at goal.
One of the best efforts was an audacious overhead bicycle kick by Kevin Prince Boateng which sailed merely millimeters away over the top bar of the Uruguayan goal. An example of the confidence the Ghana team were carrying into this match.
And what a fantastic way to end the first half, with a terrific long ranger which had the Uruguayan GK lunge to his left just a wee bit late, after the ball had shot past him. Superb kick by Muntari.
Ghana will be coming out with more guns blazing, I suspect. As for the Uruguayans, they need to pull up their socks asap or their road to WC glory ends here tonight.

And what do you have to say about THAT AMAZING JAW-DROPPING FREE KICK FROM DIEGO FORLAN?!

WEEHAW!


Itsssssssssss 1 - 1!!!

I hope Ghana win this one.

Would be nice to finally have an african team in the WC semi finals.

Like I said, they are clearly the better side on show tonight.

And it would be a real mouth-watering prospect to see this Ghana team take on the Netherlands in the Semis!

FULL TIME - Match #58 (QUARTER - FINAL #2) -



Super match so far. Uruguay pulled one back through a wonderful free kick from Forlan from the near side of the box which curled in majestically and eluded the outstretched hands of Kingson, the Ghana GK and went into the net.
Truly, both the goals scored in this match so far have been absolute gems.
There was some truly frenetic action after that as both teams were desperate to get the winning goal. But they couldn't break the deadlock, even after 90 minutes and the added time.
We go into Extra Time, folks. 30 more minutes to see if a decider goal can be scored by either team. I dare say if and when it comes, it will be another moment of individual brilliance from someone.

Oh happy day!! :D

The Uruguay keeper looks japanese, don't ya think?



Uruguay..... sounds like something from Lord Of The Rings. :D

Could be a cross-breed.

I am really impressed with Kingson, the Ghana GK. It would help his career immensely if he is signed up with one of the top clubs after WC 2010. Looks like a GK with plenty of potential.

If he's good enough he COULD join a danish team. :p

And be a part of a losing side? No thanks! :D

HALFTIME WHISTLE OF EXTRA TIME -


URUGUAY - 1



GHANA - 1


Hmm...I don't see either side relenting. A Penalty Shootout looks very likely, folks. Let's hope not.

Most definitely. And fuck you! :D

Only when Denmark wins again. :D

WOW!!!

Penalty!

Missed penalty!!


That's fair. No more Ghana penalty wins.

FULL TIME + EXTRA TIME - Match #58 (QUARTER - FINAL #2) -



Oh my GOD!!

What a bunch of SUPERCHARGED 2-3 minutes to end Extra Time!!!


Wow!


Ghana were standing right in front of the Uruguayan goal and hit 3 times with the GK nowhere near and just TWO defenders standing in front! The first header was parried off, and the second thundering header was PALMED OFF by an Uruguayan defender who was promptly shown a straight RED CARD!

And the Ghana team got a PENALTY KICK!!!

Gyan, the most impressive Ghana player on show throughout the match, came forward to take the kick. And would you believe it?! He hit it straight up to the top bar of the goalpost, and the ball flew up and over!!!


Dare I say a jaw-dropping end to an extremely charged up 30 minutes of Extra Time!


We go into the Penalty Shootout, folks. Only the second time in this WC so far.

Damn Ghana... you were so close. :(

FULL TIME + EXTRA TIME + PENALTY SHOOTOUT - Match #58 (QUARTER - FINAL #2) -



Heart-breaking, is the best emotion to describe these moments. Not only for a nation but for an entire continent.

Ghana, you will be missed. Thank you for the wonderful memories of some truly outstanding and fantastic football you displayed in WC 2010. Be proud of your showing, sons of Africa.

Wonderful scenes of wild celebrations for the former two-time Champions though. The Uruguayans should be over the moon right now, because they have made into the Semis of a WC after a VERY long time.

Too bad that such an outstanding match had to come to this and had to be decided by the Penalty Shootout. Uruguay was always fancying their chances in it because they are more experienced in Shootouts than Ghana, who sadly found their Penalty Kick skills lacking.

In the end, you are left with one single thought - What if?...What if Gyan had converted that last minute Penalty Kick during Extra Time?

What if...indeed.

Tomorrow's other two Quarters will be...




Let's see if you are still sticking to your original predictions.


Even after the shocking defeat of Brazil today, I am still going with my original choices for the final 2 Quarters - Argentina & Spain.

It has been a very unpredictable WC in many departments though, and takes some real nerves of steel to sit through some of these absolutely delightful and stunning matches. But this is what WC football is all about. Nervy, edgy, gritty and pacy.

Until tomorrow, folks. Good night!

When will that penalty taker be able to sleep? When indeed.. :rolleyes:

Not tonight for sure. He was totally inconsolable when the match was over.

My heart went out to him. Poor guy. Easily the best player Ghana has produced so far.

That PK will haunt him for days...who can give any sort of solace to him I wonder?

Oh well, I'm sure he has a goat in his village he can sacrifice. :D

YES, I'm an ass!! :p

So...now do we have to wait for a Netherlands-Germany final? :mad:

Damn you, Brazil, you had a easy road to final and you have ruined it with unnecessary high temper & shockingly less ball possession than the Netherlands. Anyways, you'll be missed in the final IF my favorite Argentina CAN make their way to final.:confused:

"This is painful. It's a miserable pain," said a sobbing, bikini-clad Maria Elisa as she left Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach where about 20,000 fans, most wearing canary-yellow, endured the 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands shown on a giant screen.

"Felipe Melo shouldn't spend his vacation in Brazil," Ronaldo, the former striker who led Brazil to its most recent World Cup title in 2002, wrote on his Twitter.

Here's the detail reaction report from the Brazilians after their defeat in 1st QF of WC 2010.

Isn't this little game over yet? Seriously, this thing takes longer than one of V's tournaments!

We're aaalmost there. Just one more week to go.

hehehe...sometimes I think it'd better if they could make the 2nd round in a group format like the 1st round (I even made a fixture like that once) instead of the existing knock-out round of 16.:)

Yea, like the former Champions league.

Sure was a shit lot of matches.

FIFA took it away and gave the goal to Sneijder. One of the few officiating decision they've gotten right all month.

The general rule for OGs is if the shot is on target before it hits the opponent then the player gets his goal. If the shot is off target and the deflection from a defending player sends it goalwards the its counted as an OG.

One of the very rare bright spots of what has been a terrible world cup for FIFA and all its officials.

HALFTIME WHISTLE -


ARGENTINA - 0



GERMANY - 1
(Muller 3')


I know this is an unexpected scoreline at the end of 45 minutes, but Germany were clearly playing better football and the score could easily have read 2 - 0 or even 3 - 0 in Germany's favor, if they had made the most of some very good chances at goal.
Argentina look out of sorts and pretty jaded so far. Even Messi hasn't been in the best of touches, but hopefully the second half will provide some real fireworks from them. Maradona should come hard at his team during this break, and they will be raring to equalise asap.
And an early goal in any match is only an indicator of some more goals to come.
A mouth-watering 2nd half awaits us.

Andddddddd GERMANY ARE UP 2 - 0!!!


Where art thou, Argentina? Will this be curtains for them too?! :eek:

Oh my...


ITS 3 - 0 NOW!!!!!!!


Surely the final nail into the Argentinian coffin. Vive la Chancellor!! :eek:

4 - 0!

Germany have ripped Argentina apart!

FULL TIME - Match #59 (QUARTER - FINAL #3) -




And how many of us predicted THAT result and THAT scoreline?

Nobody.

Argentina were caught with their pants down in every aspect of the game. Their defenses were shoddy and they kept losing possession repeatedly, plus letting the German forwards so many times into their half cost them dearly. Messi, Higuain and Tevez were barely visible - and everytime they looked a very pale version of themselves. It has been a really forgettable World Cup for most of the star players of all teams, particularly for Messi who ended WC 2010 without a single goal. Even though they started the second half very strongly, once they conceded the second goal they simply collapsed and withered. Totally.
Argentina have nothing to take away from this, except a big bagful of humiliation and a fuming Maradona all the way back to Buenos Aires.
Germany were simply exemplary. They were very clearly the better team today and they showed it in their football. They had all the Argentinians marked and Muller, Schweinsteiger & Boateng were simply brilliant. Klose was his usual flamboyant self and he was spoon-fed a goal which had the Argentinian defense torn to shreds.
Michael Ballack must be really delighted watching from the lines. Caught a glimpse of Charlize Theron looking on, too.
Germany look very strong and very determined. They should have a HUGE boost of confidence now that they have beaten one of the best teams in the world, and with that thumping margin.

I DID predict Germany would go through to the semis. But i had 4-4 and a penalty shootout, so.. Was halfway right. :rolleyes:

Make that 12.5 % correct.

:D

I picked 'em both and don't see why Netherlands and Germany going through to a semi final is so shocking. If Paraguay beat Spain that would be a big upset, but hearing Germany beat Argentina and Holland beat Brazil doesn't sound so unbalanced.

I think the shock is more related to the form the teams have shown in the WC till now.

Sure, a Brazil loss was in the cards but the way they lost without even giving a fight till the end and stretching the game into extra time was unexpected. That too after displaying some cracking football throughout the tournament.

The bigger shock came through this Argentina defeat. 4 - 0?! You don't expect a team like the Argentinians to take such a pasting. They were well and truly thumped, just like a big team beating some minnows in Round 1 - say like Brazil drubbing North Korea or something.

A scoreline of 2 - 1 is halfway acceptable by Brazilian standards (maybe), but losing 4 - 0 when you are regarded as one of the top 4 teams of the world and have the Golden Boot of the Year holder in your ranks...it's a stinging defeat.

I guess it all came down to the teams who played more as a team than just a bunch of individually talented players. That's why teams like Uruguay and Paraguay made it this far. And a main reason why Germany and Netherlands managed to upset the applecarts and all calculations of the football pundits.

HALFTIME WHISTLE -


PARAGUAY - 0



SPAIN - 0


Well, both teams are holding strong in their defenses so far.
Spain has had more of the possession but it's been Paraguay who have played the more attacking football of the two. Valdez scored for them but was ruled offside so the goal didn't count.
Paraguay looks impressive.
Spain needs to wake up and soon. I think we might have a late goal in this one and that will be the decider. And expect a burst of individual brilliance to provide that.
Need I point that over 50 percent of all fans watching the match right now will be predicting David Villa to come through again? That should include some worried and fearful Paraguayan fans too.
We shall see.

That indeed.