Football World Cup

So finally the Football World Cup has arrived. Over the last two nights, there has already been joy and sadness for the teams that have already played. Germany kicked proceedings off with their match against Costa Rica. Germany won as expected but not without a fight against Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans made the most of their opportunities and scored two vital goals. I saw in the news that the people back in Costa Rica celebrated each goal like they had won the tournament.

The first upset of the tournament has also occurred when Ecuador beat Poland, and beat them convincingly they did too, scoring a goal in each half. Another upset is that the minnows of the tournament, Trinidad and Tobago, managed to hold Sweden to a 0-0 draw. In football, there's never such a thing as a certainty since each game can be swayed by such tiny things. A missed tackle here, a slip up there and the result of the match can be turned around. I guess its that fine line that attracts people. The thought that things can suddenly change in the matter of minutes. Ecstacy can turn into agony. Dreams can become nightmare and vice versa. When Australia were trying to qualify for the World Cup in '97, they were 2 goals up against Iran and had numerous other opportunities to score. They looked to be in total control, but a lapse in concentration after a field invasion by a guy saw Iran score 2 goals in a matter of a few minutes. Australia's dreams were shattered since Iran had more away goals and qualified for the World Cup. I was so disappointed that night and kept replaying the match in my head and wondered what could have been. Well this time Australia are in the World Cup and hopefully will do well.

I've been watching the matches at night and am so tired during the day. Due to the time difference, the first match starts at 11pm over here, the second 2am and the last 5am. On Friday I was at a friends place and we all managed to watch the match at 2am through to half time. Then I went home and stayed up until about 70 minutes into the game. I just couldn't stay awake after that and fell asleep. The score of 3-1 when I fell asleep ended up being 4-2 to Germany.

Yesterday I was at another friends house and we saw England win 1-0 against Paraguay. We had eaten lots of pizza, chips, garlic bread and drank German and Mexican beer and all that was starting to take affect. By the end of the match, I think the beers were starting to get to me and I was really sleepy so went home and to bed. I couldn't possibly stay awake for the Sweden Trinidad match let alone the Argentina Ivory Coast match. I guess I have to be selective and only watch some matches. Of course I will have to stay up for the Aussie matches.