The final group matches served up some great goals and tense finales. There were certainly some surprise results and a few unfamiliar faces managed to qualify for the last sixteen. And yes, my dark horse Serbia didn't quite cross the finish line. Oh well, there's always Euro 2012. Anyway, let's hand out some awards.
Best Performance
Denmark v Japan
What a show. Three fantastic goals and some great movement on and off the ball. They limited a strong Denmark team to only a couple of clear cut chances. Japan have been good throughout the group stages. Takeshi Okada has a great bunch of players to work with. This team could cause some serious upsets in the next round.
Worst Performance
Greece v Argentina
Congratulations, Otto Rehhagel. Your team probably needed to win to reach the last sixteen, so instead of giving it a real go, you played for a draw and still lost 2-0. What a way to bow out as coach. I can't understand why teams who reach the World Cup don't give it everything they've got. Even after Demichelis scored for Argentina, Greece still seemed to be sitting back and relying on the outcome of the Nigeria v South Korea game, but I still can't figure it out. Where was the spirit of the team that won Euro 2004?
Best Goal
Yasuhito Endo - Denmark v Japan
Any of the three Japan goals are worthy of this award, but the reason the second free kick just edges out the first is because I think Thomas Sorensen made a mistake with it. It was a wonderful strike by Honda, but Endo's curled high around the wall and ended up in the bottom corner. That's a nightmare for goalkeepers. Japan looked really impressive against Denmark.
Biggest Surprise
Italy
Admit it. Even though Italy drew their two opening games, we still thought they would beat Slovakia and qualify, right? Wrong. The World Cup holders are going home. Why did they need to go 2-0 down to start playing well? They haven't really looked threatening all tournament. What happened to that defence? This team needs a complete overhaul. I take nothing away from Slovakia, though; they were fantastic.
Best Game
Italy v Slokavia
This was wonderful to watch. Not simply because there was a giant killing, but because of the unbelievable tension towards the end of the game. Four goals in twenty minutes is always exciting. Quagliarella's audacious chip in injury time ensured a dramatic finish, and if that cross at the end had fallen on Simone Pepe's other foot, it surely would have finished 3-3.
Worst Game
Portugal v Brazil
Tough one. There were a few howlers, but I'll pick this one for the way it just drifted off into nothing in the second half. I know both teams were pretty much through to the next round, but so were Mexico and Uruguay, and they both still went out for the win. This one could have been more interesting if Brazil had been down to ten men as Portugal might have put more pressure on in the second half. Either way, they're both in the last sixteen.
Best Moment
Duda being booked for gesturing a red card to the referee
The only thing that annoys me more in football than inconsistent officiating is when players 'gang up' on referees in an attempt to pressurise them into making a decision in favour of their team. Yes, Juan's handball was cynical and could possibly have been more than a yellow card, but it's down to the referee to decide that, not the four Portuguese players who ran half the length of the pitch to try and make his mind up for him. I'd love to see more of this happen.
Worst Moment
Yohann Gourcuff's sending off against South Africa
Seriously? That's a red card? He might be leaning in with his elbow a bit, but I genuinely see him going for the ball and nothing else. 90 percent of other referees would have given a booking at most. I guess it summed up France's tournament really. Credit to South Africa for pushing on and winning this game because France actually showed like they cared a little for this one.
So that's the end of the group stages. I think the best is yet to come in the next round. England v Germany and Spain v Portugal are the two games whicn catch my eye, but brace yourselves for some excellent football. I'll do a piece for the last sixteen at some point, so watch this space. As always, your thought and comments are appreciated.
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