Fake football

Tonight, Argentina and Holland played a match which was as good as pointless, as both teams had already qualified for the last 16. They played weakened teams and played out a 0-0 draw, which was anyrthing but exciting to watch. Eric and I both decided to imagine that neither team wanted to win (and so set up a quarter final against the hosts, Germany), and so did their best to lose the ball or shoot wide. This greatly increased our viewing pleasure, as every loss of possession and missed chance could be seen in the light of what both teams actually wanted to happen. Also, you had to wonder how much the commentators were being paid NOT to point out that this was, in fact, a fake match, talking the match up instead.

Still, tomorrow we have the real competitions, with the Group E matches of Italy v Czech Republic and Ghana v USA promising real action.

In the hope that England beat Ecuador and Holland beat Portugal, we may have a quarter final between these two teams on 1st July in Gelsenkirchen and I have now booked a train to and from Cologne on 30/6 returning 2/7, with the idea of joining the fans and experiencing the atmosphere.

In the meantime, it was midsummer's day. Grey and wet, most of the day, with a maximum of about 18.7 degrees, which is about typical. Promises to dry up and warm up a bit again going into the weekend.