The world has been saved from the horrid possibility of seeing Diego Maradona running naked through the streets of Argentina. With Germany's dominating 4-0 victory, the Argentian team has been eliminated from the World Cup for a second straight time by a rival widely hated in Argentina. The two countries have had a rivalry dating back 20 years, and this game was surely not something Argentian fans hoped to see.
Behind Miroslav Klose, who scored two goals in his 100th international game, Germany destroyed Argentina in virtually every aspect of their quarterfinals match up. With his two goals, Klose moved into a tie for second on the all-time World Cup scoring list with 14 goals. Having played in only three World Cups, Klose now trails on Brazil's Ronaldo on the all-time list who scored fifteen. He also put the game game out of reach with the much goal to the 2-0 lead. The German team talked a lot heading into the game, accusing Argentina of disrespecting referees and more, but they definitely backed up their words with solid play.
The Germans have been one of the most dominant teams at the World Cup, having scored four goals in three of their matches. Heading into the game, Argentina hadn't lost a game or even trailed during the tournament. After this performance against such a highly respected opponent, the German team has to considered the favorites to win it all heading into the semifinals. While Spain has played pretty well in the World Cup, David Villa has been their only major threat. Villa has scored all but one of Spain's goals thus far in the Cup, where as the Germans have multiple players scoring.
Behind superstar Lionel Messi, one of the top players in the world, Argentina was favored by a lot of soccer fans. Argentina now joins Brazil in the group of teams on their way home from South Africa. Germany will go on to face Spain Wednesday in what could potentially be the best game of the 2010 World Cup. This their third straight trip to the semifinals and twelve overall. No other country has been in more semifinal matches.
*Note* Check out Tyler's views on the Paraguay-Spain semifinal game that was also took place Saturday @ Paraguay Sent Home Packing After 1-0 Loss // Spain's David Villa has been playing out of his mind so far in the tournament. If he can play like this Wednesday, this will be an amazing match.
