As two of the certifiably luckiest humans on earth, Loreli and I have now attended a combined four Cups to date. And after just a few days in South Africa, we are already quite enamored with the beauty and hospitality of this country. What a great tournament so far for Africa's hosting debut. We wanted to write sooner but the last 48 hours have been consumed by quarter-final madness and this has been the first opportunity to debrief and, let's be honest, cry a little bit. As hardcore Mexico and USA fans, we felt the sting (yet again) of having our beloved teams eliminated in two of the most heart-wrenchingly cruel round of 16 games we've seen this year (or ever). To think that the Uruguay-Ghana match that we saw on Friday night could have been USA-Mexico....you're right, let's not go there. There is a sad, sad place. Regardless, the Uruguay-Ghana match was unbelievable. The entire stadium--scratch that--the entire continent was behind Ghana and the Albas have never been prouder bandwagoners. (I know, I know...Ghana defeated USA, why would we wish for their success, right? Well, Uruguay defeated Mexico, positioning them against Argentina and we all know how that ended so...) We really were hoping Ghana could represent Africa in the final four and that sentiment grew stronger with every passing minute in which the Black Stars really seemed to have the semi-final in their grasp.
We'd never seen a game that had a penalty kick as the very last play of the game--not to mention, the very last play of extra time. The play that very well could have been the very last play of the match had Ghana's Asamoah Gyan's shot not hit the crossbar. Instead, the match went into nail-biting penalty kicks in which Uruguay won 4-2. A serious heartbreaker for Africa but certainly one of the most exhilarating games we've ever seen.It was truly a day of upsets, with the Netherlands knocking out powerhouse Brazil just a few hours earlier. In reality, everything you'd expect and desire from quarter-final madness and then some.
Of course, Paraguay-Spain was no exception. Can you say...Heart. Attack. As huge Barca fans and originally of Spanish descent, the Albas were rooting para España hasta la muerte. La Furia Roja was really our last hope considering our other top picks were out. It was a phenomenal match.
Spain controlled the ball so well that we were surprised they couldn't put one in the back of the net sooner. And then, insanity ensued...two penalties! But wait, two saved penalties! (After an unfairly annulled goal by the Spaniards, in our humble opinions) And then, because every quarter-final needs a soap opera ending, the goalpost gets in the way of multiple Spanish finishes before David Villa propels Spain into the semi-final with his goal that--yes, you guessed it--luckily caught the good side of the post to put Spain up in the 83rd minute. It was the first (and last) quarter-final that truly went our way...smiles all around...
We cannot wait to see Spain face Germany in the semis, though it must be stated that after Germany's insane victory (what we call a "paliza" in Spanish) over Argentina, we are indeed Scared for Spain (with a capital S). Also looking forward to Netherlands versus Uruguay...we predict the Flying Dutchmen will reach the final, especially considering that Uruguay is down a few starters and the Dutch have never won the Cup. Our dream scenario would be a Netherlands-Spain final. Here's to hoping. Oh, and also...what he said :)
Tomorrow, we head to Cape Town. Until then, goodnight and a very happy 4th to all as the night winds down here in Joburg!
Great post!!! MIss you guys! Can't wait to read more :).
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