Spain 0-0 South Korea AET
(South Korea win 5-3 on penalties)

I'm really struggling to know what to write here. I don't want to sound an ungracious loser - nor do I want to suggest (too much) that Spain only have themselves to blame. But I am PIG SICK! And mainly I am pig sick at the darned pundits and commentators who insist that it's no good blaming officials etc etc etc, you just have to accept things. WHY? I can't say that I'm all that impressed with the way that some of the Italians have reacted to the way they were dumped out of the competition. But, heaven's above, they have a GOOD POINT! I mean, now even FIFA have come back and said "sorry" Totti shouldn't have been sent off - and "sorry" your disallowed goals should've stood. "Sorry" for the shoddy officiating. The Italians have a darned good reason to be absolutely furious. I wasn't so sure that they had the right to suggest that there was some "fixing" going on though. But I'm a bit more on their side on that one too now. Helguerra's "goal" was disallowed for shirt pulling by Morientes. OK. But how come when the Korean's pulled shirts it was "natural exuberance" and "it's all part of the game these days"? Morientes's "goal" was disallowed because the ball had gone out of play, when it hadn't. Then all the experts said that it was OK that the perfectly good goal had been disallowed, because the Koreans had "stopped". SO???? Whatever happened to "play to the whistle"??

And then, they that know all, suggest that Korea are great and sportsmanlike and play wonderfully fairly. OK. But they can afford to be like that when they have the officials doing the unfairness for them!

GGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

OK, I'm not happy with those things - but I am also not happy with Spain or with Camacho (has the man never heard of anti-perspirants or does he think those pit stains are "manly"?). Spain were good enough to win this world cup; I know that they were. Well, that is, they should've been good enough - but they weren't. Hands up; they weren't. Valeron, Mendieta - hugely disappointing - playing way under their capabilities. Morientes playing up front on his own AGAIN. Why? Where was the mighty Luque today?? If he wasn't good enough to play, why did you bring him Camacho? The Spanish league is the wonderful spectacle of attacking football that it is, because there are some wonderful attackers. Couldn't you find any? And, goodness me - is this another love-child of yours? Romero???????????? He is blasted USELESS! And WHY did Joaquin take a penalty kick when he was obviously suffering from a groin strain? If he was fit enough to take one - why didn't you bung on Raul, for at least a few minutes? (And why was that penalty kick not taken again when the Korean goalie came about 10 feet off his line??????)

End of rant. I am hungover and migrainous and miserable. And what's coming up? Senegal v Turkey. Wow!!! How I HATE football!! The Germans and Brazilians were always going to be in the final. Well, I'm going for Turkey!!!



RIP

Teams

South Korea: Lee Woon-Jae, Choi Jin-Cheul, Kim Nam-il, Yoo Sang-Chul, Kim Tae-Young, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Lee Young-Pyo, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Hong Myung-Bo (capt), Park Ji-Sung, Song Chong-Gug.

Spain: Iker Casillas, Puyol, Fernando Hierro (capt), Ivan Helguera, Romero, Joaquin, Baraja, De Pedro, Valeron, Nadal, Fernando Morientes.

Referee: Gamal Ghandour (Egypt).

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