Saddest day of World Cup 2010

Who would have thought that Brazil would not be featuring in the Semi Final line up in this year's World Cup ? Whose heart might have not skipped a beat when Gyan missed that penalty kick in the dying moments of extra time ? More than half of the football world must have been saddened after seeing Brazil lose to Holland. All because of their poor defense. As if that was not enough, I am sure even more people must have shed a tear or two for the unlucky players from Ghana. What wrong had they done to be denied a victory by the mere margin of the thickness of Suarez's arm ?

Both Brazil and Holland had good strikers and the match lived up to its expectations of being a tight match with plenty of attacks. It was certain that there would be no dearth in the number of hits on target. The winner of the two was difficult to predict. But it was certain that the one with the weak defense would certainly be on the losing side. And so it was. Unfortunately, it was Brazil who did the mistakes and exposed their weakness in defense. People had so many expectations from Brazil. They were already assumed to be in the Finals. Many even believed that all the knockout matches being played were only to decide the contender against Brazil in the finals. But, just as it happened 4 years ago in Germany, Brazil were knocked out in the Quarter Finals. Robben was the nemesis for Brazil. The match was a tad rough, though I dont know why the teams resorted to it. Robben was marked very well but he succeeded in gaining the highest number of free kicks. These fouls accompanied by the referee's sympathy for free kicks, meant that Brazil would not be able to play their free flowing football. They did have their share of luck, but ended up on the wrong side of the fense. It was a very sad day for me to see Brazil do such mistakes in their defense and lose the match.

I was somehow recovering from the shock of  Brazil's early exit, when I witnessed the Ghana - Uruguay match. The brilliant confidence displayed by Ghana, helped me lift up my spirits. The first goal coming just 15 seconds before the end of first half, that too from a long range shot, was so thrilling to watch. As expected, second half provided even more excitement. The match started picking up more heat after Uruguay equalized. The match progressed to Extra Time. Both the teams were equally attacking. More drama was yet to unfold. With less than 2 minutes to go for the second half of Extra Time to complete, 4 players of Ghana moved ominously towards the Uruguan goal. They struck, but were denied the goal. Not by the referee, but the Uruguan player Suarez. [ Hero or villain ? Thats the biggest debate going on around the World Cup now ] Suarez deliberately handled the ball on the goal line and denied a certain decisive goal to Ghana. He was red carded and Ghana were awarded the penalty. Their experienced player Gyan took the penalty kick, but succeeded in only striking the ball to the top of the goal post !!! Every person watching this match skipped a heart beat. If Suarez hadnt hand balled, Ghana would have scored a goal and qualified for the Semis. If Gyan would have scored, then too Ghana would have qualified for the Semis. But destiny was with Uruguay. Suarez hand balled. Gyan failed to score. Match moved into Sudden Death. Fernando Muslera was the hero for Uruguay who saved 2 goals and made sure that Uruguay qualify for the Semi Finals. For me, this was a very sad sight. More sadder than seeing Brazil being knocked out.

By the time I wrote this, I also witnessed the clinical thrashing of Argentina by the ruthless and young German attack. If it was not for Spain, it was the end of stylish, sweet and beautiful football in this World Cup.