2010 FIFA World Cup: Germany Hammers Argentina, While Spain Squeaks Through

Unless you've got both games TiVoed and I've just ruined the results for you, Germany hammered Argentina 4-0 and Spain squeaked by Paraguay 1-0.

Germany 4-0 Argentina

It's well over 24 hours after Germany absolutely destroyed Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and I'm still stunned.

This wasn't just a clinical performance of counter-attacking and passing football. It was, to use a British footballing cliché, "just like watching Brazil." Because you know what? It was.

They knew that they were playing an awful Argentina defense, and unlike the other teams that pressed but didn't punish Diego's 'D-Line,' the Germans didn't just punish their ineptitude. They crushed them with the sort of iron fist last seen in yellow and blue in the 1970s.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (or "Pig Climber," to use an English translation) was fantastic, causing trouble whenever he touched the ball, and Miroslav Klose finished beautifully - twice.

The Germans also kept Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez relatively quiet, restricting them to shots outside of the penalty area, which eventually came to nothing.

Some might scream that this German team, which has put up THREE four-goal efforts in this World Cup alone (they scored more than double the amount of their next opponents, Spain), has succeeded because the Bundesliga had the ball in January whereas some countries only had the ball a month ago. But when a team's playing glorious football like this: who cares?

Spain 1-0 Paraguay

Let's sum up the first half of the Spain-Paraguay encounter: dull. Let's sum up the second half of the Spain-Paraguay encounter: bizarre.

The referee (we couldn't google his name) managed to award two penalties in the space of a minute. The first penalty was given to Paraguay, and was saved by Spain 'keeper Iker Casillas (it was awful). Spain was given one. Xabi Alonso scored it, but it had to be retaken because of blatant Spanish encroachment. Alonso retook the 'peno' and missed it.

Then, Spain's goal. A sumptuous move from the Spanish midfield (if they pass like this, the Germans could be in trouble) fell to the feet to David Villa, who fired goalwards. Bizarrely, the ball hit one post, screamed across the face of the goal, hit the other post, and went in. While Spain celebrated, the rest of us said: "Did I just see that?"

Yep, you did. But if Spain play as badly as they did in this game, we'll also see Spain dumped out of the World Cup by Germany.