Downtown Austin
Quarterfinals Report
Down go the pre-tournament favorites. Down go the favorites coming out of the first round. And suddenly, we've got all-European semifinals.
Germany 1, Argentina 1 (4-2 in PK shootout)
It's always disappointing to see a game decided on penalty kicks, but for the most part, the marquee matchup of the round lived up to its billing: hard-fought (but remarkably clean, until after the final whistle), tense, and emotional. German keeper Jens Lehmann guessed right on every Argentine PK in the shootout, saved two, and that was about the extent of the difference between these two squads on the day.
Italy 3, Ukraine 0
The scoreline is flattering to the Italians – Ukraine had at least two balls off the woodwork, and two others cleared off the goal line – but Italy controlled the game pretty handily for the most part, and looked good enough to perhaps go all the way. It's certainly encouraging for them to get striker Luca Toni untracked; his two second-half goals were his first of the tournament, though he's played well throughout. And Francesco Totti looked comfortable playing 90 minutes, and had beautiful assists on the first two goals.
Portugal 0, England 0 (3-1 in PK shootout)
The first stunner of the day wasn't really much of a surprise, given how these teams have been playing. England actually looked better here than they had all tournament, even after Beckham went out with an injury and Rooney stomped off. They survived the overtime, on a hot afternoon, on pretty much even terms. Portugal is being tabbed as the upstart outsider; don't believe it. They may not have won any major championships yet, but they've been knocking on the door for a decade, and they were the favorites to win the Euro championships just two years ago.
France 1, Brazil 0
Stunning, not so much because the old guys, all but written off a couple of weeks ago, extended their recent mastery over the consensus best team in the world, but because of how easy they made it look. France dominated the midfield, won most every free ball, and shut down every attack. Brazil didn't manage a single shot on goal until the 80th minute. Thierry Henri's gorgeous volley in the 57th minute joins Maxi Rodriguez's stunner against Mexico as the top goals of the tournament.
Germany 1, Argentina 1 (4-2 in PK shootout)
It's always disappointing to see a game decided on penalty kicks, but for the most part, the marquee matchup of the round lived up to its billing: hard-fought (but remarkably clean, until after the final whistle), tense, and emotional. German keeper Jens Lehmann guessed right on every Argentine PK in the shootout, saved two, and that was about the extent of the difference between these two squads on the day.
Italy 3, Ukraine 0
The scoreline is flattering to the Italians – Ukraine had at least two balls off the woodwork, and two others cleared off the goal line – but Italy controlled the game pretty handily for the most part, and looked good enough to perhaps go all the way. It's certainly encouraging for them to get striker Luca Toni untracked; his two second-half goals were his first of the tournament, though he's played well throughout. And Francesco Totti looked comfortable playing 90 minutes, and had beautiful assists on the first two goals.
Portugal 0, England 0 (3-1 in PK shootout)
The first stunner of the day wasn't really much of a surprise, given how these teams have been playing. England actually looked better here than they had all tournament, even after Beckham went out with an injury and Rooney stomped off. They survived the overtime, on a hot afternoon, on pretty much even terms. Portugal is being tabbed as the upstart outsider; don't believe it. They may not have won any major championships yet, but they've been knocking on the door for a decade, and they were the favorites to win the Euro championships just two years ago.
France 1, Brazil 0
Stunning, not so much because the old guys, all but written off a couple of weeks ago, extended their recent mastery over the consensus best team in the world, but because of how easy they made it look. France dominated the midfield, won most every free ball, and shut down every attack. Brazil didn't manage a single shot on goal until the 80th minute. Thierry Henri's gorgeous volley in the 57th minute joins Maxi Rodriguez's stunner against Mexico as the top goals of the tournament.