Over the weekend Spain, the Netherlands, Uruguay and Germany made it through to the semi-finals of the World Cup, but the qualifying matches were not without a few surprises.
t3 y! O2 ~1 F One of the biggest shocks at the weekend was Germany's 4-0 triumph over South American heavyweights Argentina.) A/ w, |4 Y, z$ l- n4 L$ N
The young German team coped with everything Argentina could throw at them,which left the South American team with their worst World Cup defeat in 52 years./ e4 b5 j9 ]( r5 c f
After the game, Argentina coach Diego Maradonna, was left emotional on the sidelines and is now contemplating his future with the team.: g: W% u: i! y1 F# P/ W" _( i
Maradonna says he needs to talk with the players and his family before he makes a decision.2 D# ]2 x0 U# H6 x8 g
The fiery coach also spoke about how the Argentine people will feel about the team's performance.
- R3 [" P' a! e8 F* | "This is a country where you live and breathe football. I don't think that anybody will be happy when the team loses 4-0."/ O: O! n: d; E- C! C& v z3 b
Another shocking outcome of the weekend's matches was hot favourites Brazil being knocked out of the competition by the Netherlands.
0 ?$ o) }! C6 d/ m1 d+ J y The dramatic game saw Brazil playing with 10 men, after Felipe Melo was given a red card following an altercation with the opposing team's Arjen Robben.
- {$ r3 A: T- f4 u3 e# x After the game Brazil coach, Dunga talked about the team's surprise defeat.
* r1 n2 A0 ]3 t "We're all extremely sad, we didn't expect this. We played well in the first half but we weren't able to maintain that rhythm。": M+ B* i+ n- |5 N1 d; z1 P% G
The shock exit of the five time World Cup winners has resulted in the team's coach, Dunga getting the sack。
6 d( X) d* F: s0 ~; O! P/ G Just over three weeks ago the World Cup started with 32 teams and now it's down to the final four. Uruguay will play the Netherlands and Spain will face Germany.' _! F# S% s9 S- s5 \9 r I
Spanish player, Andres Iniesta is looking forward to the game saying, "It will be a game between two rivals who enjoy having the ball and I think it will be a beautiful battle。" |