last 16

... and now my rantings on the second round of the WC.

Germany deserved every bit of their 2-0 victory over Sweden. They're taking their promise to the world that they're now a force to be reckoned very, very seriously, and are a treat to watch.

Argentina and Mexico nearly gave me a major heart arrest with their psychotic performance. While I truly respect Mexico for their obvious improvements since that shameful game against Italy the last time (you know, the got-the-lucky-goal-so-let's-just-play-it-safe-for-the-rest-of-the-match-by-passing-the-ball-amongst-ourselves-in-our-half, sheesh!), I am even more elated that my favourite team has gone through.

England put me to sleep yet again with their oh-so-bosan display against Ecuador, but gotta admit that my hubby's free kick was a pure beauty.

Portugal and Netherlands, well what can I say? 16 yellow cards+4 red cards (tourney record so far, me reckons)=overflow of drama! Not gonna take any sides 'cause both were equally dirty.

Now, I've said this before and am gonna shout it again: THE REFS AT THIS TOURNEY SUCK! And no other game so far exemplifies this than the Italy-Australia clash. The red that caused Italy to have only 10 men was uncalled for. But more blatantly unjust was the 93rd-minute penalty awarded to the Azzurri, when it was clear that Fabio Grosso's tumble over Lucas Neill was no fault of the Aussie defender. I'm not saying that Australia deserved to win that match more than the Italians. I mean, so what if the former were more resilient, right? What I am saying is that the Socceroos definitely didn't deserve to lose in such a shocking manner. Boo.

Can't comment much on Switzerland vs Ukraine, because I didn't even bother watching this one. Which is mightaswell, since reviews said that it was a blah affair.

Happy to see that Brazil is getting their act together, upping their football levels a notch since their lacklustre 1st-round showing, but it was sad to see Ghana perish so easily after they impressively demolished the Czech Republic. Even sadder was them being so persistent with the (so-called) offside traps. Hello? Your opponents are only the five-time world champs. Of course they're not gonna fall for your lame tricks!

And finally, it's disappointing to see Spain add another chapter to their long history of underachieving as a national team. With that much talent, it's almost pathetic, really. All said and done regarding the French, I'm glad to see them coming on form only for sentimental reasons--it is Zidane's final competitive tournament, after all.

Tomorrow is Germany-Argentina. I sure hope and pray that the referees will not live up to their bad reputation of biasness. Come on-lah, ref, it really isn't that hard. You just gotta let the football do the talking.