It took a dodgy penalty from Shevchenko to earn Ukraine a 1-0 win over Tunisia in Berlin, but not before yet another contentious sending off when Jaziri got a second yellow just before half-time for pulling out of a tackle. The refs are getting worse instead of better! That completely spoiled an already poor game, although fair play to the Tunisians for sticking at it and, even after the loss of the soft penalty, they still put their opponents under some pressure. Hammy Namouchi certainly put in a fair shift and his lot were denied a spot kick of their own when a free kick was clearly handled. Surprise, surprise, the referee didn't see it.
Meanwhile in Kaiserslautern, Spain rested all their top men but still beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, thanks to a Juanito header. Indeed, it took a heroic performance from Saudi keeper Mabrouk Zaid to deny the Spaniards a more emphatic win but, having already secured top spot in the group, it was more of an exhibition performance from Spain's reserves who know the established first choice players will be back for its-a-knock-out.
Without the suspended Zinedine Zidane, France went into the game against Togo knowing their World Cup future was on the line and, although they created chance after chance, there was a nervousness about their finishing. But just when it looked like they'd never score, Patrick Vieira fired them into a 55th minute lead and Thierry Henry eased their worries with the second goal not long afterwards.
Always expecting the French to win in Cologne, South Korea knew they had to beat Switzerland in Hanover to stay in the competition but, having twice come back from being behind, they wouldn't have been too worried when Philippe Senderos headed the Swiss into the lead. They did have a right go in the second half but were always vulnerable to the counterattack and Alexander Frei killed the game with a controversial second goal when, with the linesman flagging him offside, the striker went round the keeper to score. The Koreans made the mistake of stopping for the flag but, with the ball having come off a defending player, the ref rightly overruled his colleague. Hey, a ref doing something right - do you think it will ever catch on?
The World Cup started for real with Germany v Sweden and, having been over there and seen the people so hyped up last week, I wished I could have been amongst them again. I could picture the scenes in the streets when Podolski shot them into a fourth minute lead and, when Sweden's most overrated player fouled his man, got the benefit of the doubt from the ref, then scuffed his shot into the side-netting, I had good vibes about this one. Podolski's second goal in the12th minute, after good work from Klose, confirmed my feelings were sound.
The Swedes must surely have expected to be pushed more than they had been in their group games so once more I'd hoped to see Karl Svensson in action. No deal. No probs, Rangers can only benefit from getting a fresher player when he joins up with his new team-mates. When Lucic was rather harshly sent off, again I thought our man might have been brought on in a damage-limitation exercise but it would appear Karl was only with the World Cup squad to make up the numbers.
Early in the second half, the unsteady one did what he does best, diving to buy a penalty, but he was found out as the fake he is when he could only give some poor bugger high in the stand a sore face with a Dixie Deans-like penalty kick. Can't you feel Britney's pain? It was the wake-up call Germany needed. For the rest of the afternoon the game was played in the Swedish half and only the Germans' inclination to present Podolski with his hat-trick kept the scoreline respectable.
Argentina booked their quarter-final tie against the Germans by seeing off Mexico in Leipzig but if ever a match highlighted the difference between the group games and the knock-out phase it was this one. Mexico had been unimpressive against Iran, held by Angola and beaten by Portugal but they sure gave the Argies a helluva run for their money and, if Heinze had been sent-off just before half-time, they might even have beaten them. For the past fortnight we've seen guys walk for the most innocuous of challenges but, when faced with a cynical 'professional' foul, Swiss referee Massimo Busacca bottled it.
Mexico made a dream start with a goal from Barcelona's Rafael Marquez in the sixth minute but Argentina hit back and were quickly level when Hernan Crespo's presence caused Jared Borgetti to head into his own net. In a frantic first half, with the play swinging from end to end, Heinze fell asleep in possession of a pass from keeper Abbondanzieri, he was robbed by Fonseca, so he ruthlessly chopped the attacker down as he sprinted towards goal. A clear red card…unless you're a coward/collaborator/cuckoo-clock maker (delete where appplicable).
The second half was a lot more cagey, with Argentina steadily getting more and more on top but, with the scores still level going into the last five minutes, Mexico grew bolder again and looked to snatch it. It could have been costly when substitute Carlos Tevez got behind the defence but, with Messi unmarked in the middle, he hesitated and was quickly crowded out. The last moment of note in the 90 minutes? Don't you believe it! Argentina sprung the offside trap again, this time Aimar used Messi in the middle, only for a muppet with a flag to rule it out.
And so for the first time in this World Cup, but surely not the last, I settled down for an extra half-hour. Quality settled the issue at the end of the day. Maxi Rodriguez's clever control on the chest then 20 yard volley into the roof of the net had 'class' written all over it There is no Golden Goal rule in this World Cup but Maxi's screamer was a goal fit to win any game. In the driving seat at last, Argentina had the ability and the experience to control the remainder of the game. They invited Mexico on to them, used the ball cleverly and just let the clock tick away.
It will be very interesting to see how the quarter-final between Germany and Argentina pans out on Friday. One thing is certain, if Gabriel Heinze indulges in a similarly suicidal brainstorm against the Germans, he won't enjoy such a charitable response from the referee. Again the incompetence of the officials might have detracted from a superb game but even they couldn't spoil my enjoyment of the fitba at start of the cut-throat round.
I've a funny feeling there is more of the same on the cards as the knock-out phase progresses. Bring it on!
LITTLE BOY BLUE