Despite voicing my disappointment over the teams that got into the semi finals, I woke up at 3am to watch Germany lose to Italy. It was quite evenly matched and was goal less until the last minute of extra time. The game is heading into penalty kicks and with the penalty taking skills of the Germans, it looks like Germany is really getting into the final. Italy had not have much luck with penalties in recent world cups. Suddenly, Italy got themselves a goal. And because of that, and the timing of it, the Germans had to go for broke in attack. They did not succeed and worse, they conceded another goal from the resultant counter attack. The 2nd goal really took the fight out of the Germans and they just collapse onto the pitch, crying. And the game stopped without the referee blowing the final whistle.

I did not manage to wake up for the other semi final where France beat Portugal 1-0. Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal was booed everytime he got the ball. This player had so much skill, and he resorts to unsporting behaviour like dives and taunts to gain an advantage over his opponents. Serves him right. Before the game I was worried about Portugal's dirty tactics might disrupt the flair-based French team. They did managed to contain Zidane and Henry, but they concede a legitimate penalty. The resultant goal is the only goal of the match. It must have felt bad for them.

And this morning, I was watching the quarter placing between Germany and Portugal. I was still angry with the dirty tactics of Portugal, and I betted on Germany to win. Ronaldo is still up to his diving tricks today. There's 1 blatant 1 right in front of the referee. He's lucky the referee did not give him a card, but it was repeated a lot of times on tv. The 1st half finish goalless, with both teams quite evenly matched. I was quite worried in the opening minutes when Portugal had a bright start. But when the Germans got into the game, things become even. In the 2nd half, Germany managed to get 2 goals. Then Ronaldo improved. It's back to the basics for him and no more fancy and dirty tricks. A Ronaldo looking to beat his opponent is so much better than a Ronaldo looking to win the game with all means. Germany managed to get a 3rd goal later and credits to the Portugal team, they never gave up, and they were rewarded with a good goal. It is a waste for German keeper Oliver Kahn. He was such a good keeper playing his first and last game in this world cup. It would be good for him to keep a clean sheet, but he had no chance with that goal.

Now, it's just the final. Italy vs France at 2am on Monday(10/7) morning. Both team's main jersey are blue. I wonder who gets to wear their tradditional colours. My money is on Italy this time. Let's see if they disappoint. This is my greatest bet. The result of this game will determine if I lose by a little or I win by a lot. I'll keep my fingers crossed...