Day Five - Germany v Portugal

Pre-Match Thoughts
After Lionel Messi made his mark on the World Cup last night (a game I wasn't watching on account of, y'know, being in bed due to having to go to work in the morn), his rival for the title of "Best Player In The World", Cristiano Ronaldo gets his go.

He'll have a tougher task than Messi, having to face the Germans who, as cliché goes, are always there or thereabouts in the World Cup, though they've not won it since 1990, when they were West Germany. There's plenty of quality in their ranks, with their domestic teams being very strong in Europe in recent seasons. Portugal will be looked to Ronaldo to do this "defying logic" tricks, though Man United's Nani on the other wing is capable of magic. Shame he's also equally capable of making you sigh in desperation. He'll be looking to either prove he still belongs at United or sell himself to prospective bidders.

Tough game to predict this, but as we're surely due a draw, I'll go 1-1.

Drink?
As much as my head is banging from a shite day at work, I'll have to turn you down. For now.

First Half
We nearly had our first goalkeeper comedy moment of the summer, when the Portuguese #1 tried to be a smart arse with a clearance, only to pass it direct to a German player, who managed to put it wide with the guilty party scrambling to save his dignity. Shame.

Punishment was soon forthcoming though. A penalty to Germany tends to mean one thing, and Muller put it away with precision. With Portugal failing to get out of first gear, it took a desperate tackle to stop a second goal. Alas, to no avail, as from the subsequent corner, it became 2-0.

Both Ronaldo and Nani have hardly featured in any attacking sense, with promising situations breaking down due to bad decision making. Then they fell victim to some classic German trickery, when Pepe got himself wound up by Muller making the most of slight contact between the two. He stuck his in, and though it was the softest headbutt in the world, the ref had no choice but to show the red.

With the extra man making it even easier, Muller put away a third just before half time. The question now is how arsed Germany are about scoring more - you wouldn't put long odds on seeing the first hat trick of the tournament in this game.

And yes, my prediction is looking incredibly stupid right about now.

Second Half
Somewhat obviously, the Germans turned the second half into a casual kick about, with Portugal trying the odd sortie to no avail, bar a late Ronaldo free kick that was well saved. Muller grabbed his hat-trick after more goalkeeping mishaps. The pressure will be on Portugal to lift themselves back up.

Result
Germany win 4-0

Fashion Tip
I reckon granddad shirts look ace.