It really came as no surprise to me that Spain beat Germany today - and did so handily. Despite an impressive opening fifteen minutes, Spain did what it has done all tournament long: controlled the midfield, relied on their speed, used their short passing game and made the most of their time of possession. They played creatively, Germany did not.
A few more observations:
- Honestly, what is so great about Miroslav Klose? He was frequently offside and when he had the ball, could barely control it.
- ESPN, please give Andy Gray a full-time job and get rid of Tommy Smyth.
- Gray's insightful comments enhanced the game. Smyth's uninformed biases only make me wonder why he's there in the first place.
- Earlier today Smyth was still touting Germany as a likely winner, citing Germany's number of appearances in championship matches and Spain's consistent underperforming. Why not look at recent history: going into the final Germany had given up four goals after group play and six goals over all. They had a goal differential of plus 4. Spain, meanwhile had given up no goals after group play and only three goals over all, leaving them with a goal differential of plus 8. Spain had not lost a game in twenty-one consecutive matches.
- Thank God it didn't come down to penalties.
Next up is the Confederations Cup next year in South Africa, which will feature Spain, the USA, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, Iraq, Egypt and most likely, New Zealand, if the win the Oceania Football Confederation championship. Should be good.
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