This game was like watching a heavyweight boxing match between two sluggers. The Poles, nursing a long-time, not-always-pleasant rivalry with Germany, came ready to play. Of course, so did the Germans. Throughout the entire game, Poland played near-perfect defense, repelling everything Germany threw at them, including the disappointing Michael Ballack. By comparison, Germany's defenders had an easier day of it -- Poland never really mounted a threatening offense, although they repeated brought the ball to the German end of the pitch. But every Polish attack lacked a convincing finish. In the end -- literally -- Germany's subsitute winger Odonkor raced toward the corner flag and drove a perfect cross to fellow substitute Oliver Neuville to score the winning goal in stoppage time.

The Poles didn't deserve to lose this game. But they didn't deserve to win it, either. The final deciding goal wasn't a defensive mistake; it was a clinically perfect cross and shot by a couple of talented substitutes with fresh legs. I guess if you absolutely have to choose who earned the win, you'd have to pick Germany ... but not by much.

Sometimes low-scoring games are thrilling. And then, there are games like this one. Even with the star-studded English line-up, the biggest excitement in the first half was seeing Wayne Rooney jog up and down the sideline warming up in case he was needed. T&T have had pretty good success against powerful teams by going immediately into a defensive shell and repelling attacks, hoping for a miraculous opportunity to counter-attack and get on the scoreboard. Sounds a lot like classic Italian teams, doesn't it? And they were boring to watch, too. England's finest continued their apparent attitude of "we are England and you must yield to us, even though we're not actually playing very well." First half ended, appropriately enough, tied at 0-0.

The second half started about the same way, but coach Sven Boring Erikson figured out he'd have to wake up his side somehow, sending in Wayne Rooney to replace the torpid Michael Owen in the 58th minute (thank goodness!). At least Rooney's energy seemed to stir things up a bit and give the English the look of a team with an offense. Even so, it took until the 83rd minute for England to score on a lovely long crossing ball from Beckham to the stork-like Peter Crouch ("Stretch" Crouch?) who played the role he was hired for and headed it into the Trinidad goal. In the second minute of stoppage time, Steven Gerrard put icing on the cake with a blast from just beyond the penalty area, giving England a not-well-deserved win, 2-0, propelling England into the next round in spite of themselves.

This was the other kind of low-scoring game -- the good kind. The first half ended scoreless, but not without plenty of entertaining action. Sweden came out very strong, but faded somewhat toward the end of the half. Paraguay, with less finesse than the Swedes, made up for it with scrappiness, pit-bull defense, and what can only be called "heart". They grew stronger as the half progressed, even as Sweden got more sluggish. Perhaps it was a case of the Paraguayans gaining confidence that they were equal to the vaunted Swedes. There were no memorable shots from either side, although Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic managed to dub what should have been a lethal strike. He was, however under huge pressure from the Paraguayan defense, proving that "pressure always works".

Zlatan's game was so ineffective, however, that he was subbed out at the half, replaced by the much smaller, but much, much faster Allback. Finally, in the 89th minute, with both teams looking like they were near exhaustion, Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg headed in a goal that gave Sweden the 1-0 win. Paraguay will need a win over Trinidad and Tobago to avoid elimination.

To cut to the chase, let's just say that Serbia/Montenegro (henceforth known as S&M) left long before the final whistle. Shame on them. Yeah, they were losing and Argentina was chopping them into small, ugly pieces. But this is the World Cup, and you don't just quit. But they did.

In the 6th minute, Maxi Rodriguez scored. It was a nice, neat goal, and it showed that Argentina knows how to play the game. But it was still just one goal. At that point, S&M pretty much conceded the match. And when Argentina's Cambiasso put in a second goal at the 31st minute, whatever spirit was left in S&M hissed out like a punctured balloon. The rest of the game was just an exhibition with Argentina shoveling in four more goals against a flaccid opponent who just wanted it all to end. Phooey and Feh!

So, how good are Argentina? Who knows! They're definitely pretty good, at least. Maybe even very good. But you couldn't tell anything from this performance. A junior high school girls team could have beaten S&M the way they played in this one. Shame, shame, shame!

And here was the contrasting game -- entirely well played from start to finish. Ivory Coast, unfortunately were eliminated as a result of losing to Holland, but they have nothing to be ashamed of, and lots to be proud of. This was a very tough group with both Argentina and Netherlands. The Ivorians probably would have advanced in most other groups. Such is life.

So ... in the 22nd minute, Holland's teen wonder Van Persie took a free kick just at the top of the penalty area. He got every bit of the ball and -- there's no other way to say it -- just plain beat the Ivory Coast keeper. Four minutes later, Ruud (the Dood) Van Nistelrooy slipped behind the Ivory Coast defense who were drawn to the attacking Arjen Robben. Ruud did what he's known for and tucked the ball neatly into the net, giving the Dutch a 2-0 lead. The Ivory Coast responded in the 38th with a terrific drive across the penalty area by Kone. He evaded a group of Dutch defenders and buried a sizzling shot in the upper left corner of the Dutch goal. Score at the half: 2-1.

In the second half, Ivory Coast came out even more energized and determined. They attacked furiously the entire half while the Netherlands mostly retreated into a defensive shell and repelled the onslaught. In the end, Ivory Coast were unable to score again, losing a game they deserved to draw, at least.

Whoo-ee! What a game! This one had everything (except goals, but that's okay) -- drama, strategic importance, technique, energy ... I laughed, I cried, I fell out of my chair!

As the game began, Mexico came out strong; Angola was a little tentative. After all, Mexico is considered one of the best sides in the world, and tiny Angola had already lost their first World Cup game ever. But as the half progressed, Angola realized they were playing the Mexicans even. By the end of the first 45 minutes, Angola were showing real confidence and even getting the best of play most of the time. Neither team substituted any players to open the second half. In the 79th minute, though, Angola's Andre received his second yellow card of the match and was sent off. Angola had to play the final ten minutes, plus stoppage time, with only ten men. Somehow, they hung on to earn a 0-0 draw.

So what does this mean? Well, Mexico have to play Portugal next, a side that certainly has the potential to beat them. Angola will face Ivory Coast, a game that could go to either team. Should Mexico lose and Angola win, then Mexico and Angola will be tied for the second spot in their group with four points each. Goal differential will decide things. Fasten your seat belt!