Uruguay and Germany may have fallen a step short of the World Cup final, but both teams still have something to play for when they square off in the Third Place match (2:30pm, ABC) at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Pride and World Cup medals are at stake as both nations look to end their impressive World Cup runs with a bronze finish. Uruguay has not won a medal at a World Cup since winning the tournament in 1950, while Germany will hope to claim its fourth third-place finish.
This is Franco Panizo and I will be providing commentary throughout the match, so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you can leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match. (Commentary is after the jump.)
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FINAL- That's all for me. Please feel free to share your post-game thoughts, opinions and analysis. As always, stay tuned to SBI and Foxsoccer.com for more coverage of the World Cup.
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FINAL- There were lots of great individual performances by players on both teams throughout the tournament. Muller, Ozil, Forlan, Suarez and Perez are just some of the standouts. Managers Oscar Tabares and Joachim Lowe also deserve recognition for their work.
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FINAL- Germany was the better of the two teams throughout the World Cup, but Uruguay had a great, great showing. Outdoing Brazil and Argentina is nothing to laugh at.
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FINAL- A dramatic ending to a very entertaining third place match. Germany claims the bronze medal for second consecutive World Cup. South American teams go home empty handed.
By the way, the octopus was right again.
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93rd minute- Forlan's free kick is off the crossbar! WOW. And there's the final whistle. Incredible stuff.
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92nd minute- FOUL against Germany! Uruguay will have one last look from close range. WOW!
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91st minute- Germany makes a change. Ozil out, Serdar Tasci in. Great tournament for Ozil.
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90th minute- Two minutes of stoppage time added.
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89th minute- Uruguay sub: Sebastian "El Loco" Abreu is in for Cavani.
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88th minute- WOW. Some nice passing for Germany ends with Kiessling rifling a shot over the goal from close range. That should have been a goal.
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83rd minute- The Europeans are up 3-2 after the ball bounced around the 18. Khedira got on the end of it and had enough strength on a header to put the ball over Muslera, who could do nothing about that one.
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82nd minute- GOAL GERMANY! KHEDIRA HEADS IT IN!
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77th minute- Uruguay change: Walter Gargano in for Perez. Great tournament for Perez.
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73rd minute- Germany sub: Cacau replaced by Stefan Kiessling.
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69th minute- This game has been a wide open affair and very enjoyable. Who thinks tomorrow's final will be anywhere close to this in terms of entertainment?
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64th minute- No sign of Klose yet. Wonder how upset he is right now, if at all.
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57th minute- Game is tied 2-2 after Jansen heads home a long cross from Boateng. Muslera is at fault for that one too after misreading the cross and failing to swat it away.
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56th minute- GOAL GERMANY! JANSEN EQUALIZES FOR THE GERMANS!
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52nd minute- Forlan nets his fifth goal of the tournament to put the South Americans up 2-1. Forlan finished well with somewhat of a scissor kick after Arevalo played a great ball to him.
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51st minute- GOAL URUGUAY! AND IT IS FORLAN!
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50th minute- Every time Suarez touches the ball, boos rain down from the stands. Fans are trying to throw him off his game for the handball vs. Ghana. Wonder if this will carry over to his club team and in other Uruguay matches.
48th minute- Cavani put through on goal again, but Butt makes a save. Okay, you can start the rectum jokes now if you haven't already.
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46th minute- The second half has begun.
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HALFTIME- Schweinsteiger involved in both goals so far, and while I'm sure he'll catch some slack for the giveaway that sparked Uruguay's goal, the fact remains that he has had a great tournament.
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HALFTIME- I don't suspect any changes will be made at halftime. Maybe inserting Klose is a move Germany manager Joachim Loew is considering, but that would probably be more so because of the goal-scoring record than anything else. Germany has looked good in attack.
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HALFTIME- An entertaining first 45 minutes come to a close. Both teams have had their opportunities and the second half should see more of the same.
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42nd minute- A great ball is played behind Germany's defense and Suarez hits a shot from a tight angle only to see the ball roll just wide. Good stuff from Uruguay and a nice attempt by Suarez.
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35th minute- Rain is coming down heavy now. Let's see how that affects the game, if at all.
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29th minute- Schweinsteiger is dispossessed by a nice tackle from Perez and that springs a counter attack that ends with Cavani easily slotting the ball home. Good stuff there from Uruguay.
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28th minute- GOAL CAVANI! URUGUAY TIES 1-1!
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26th minute- Uruguay doing a better job of applying pressure the last few minutes, but Los Charruas leave themselves exposed at the back on a corner and Germany gets forward in numbers. Uruguay needs to be careful with plays like that if it wants to equalize.
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21st minute- How much Was Muller missed in the semis? I'd say a good bit, although I don't think he would have helped Germany top Spain. Maybe he would have helped score a goal, but not win.
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20th minute- Schweinsteiger, wearing the captain's armband, shot from distance that Muslera parried away. Unfortunately for Uruguay, Muller followed up the shot unmarked and was there to knock in the rebound.
That goal gives Muller five in six World Cup matches. He's definitely in the hunt for the Golden Boot.
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19th minute- GOAL GERMANY! 1-0! Muller hits in a rebound.
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15th minute- Uruguay struggling in the first quarter of an hour to penetrate into Germany's final third.
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10th minute- FRIEDRICH'S SHOT IS OFF THE CROSSBAR! Friedrich gets on the end of a corner and heads it. but the crossbar denies him. So close there for Germany.
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7th minute- Forlan's shot looked nice, but it was never really on frame.
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6th minute- Forlan's free kick is swatted away by Cacau, who was in the wall. Cacau gets a yellow card and Uruguay gets a closer attempt at the free kick. Forlan will once again take the shot.
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5th minute- Now Uruguay wins a free kick from about 30 yards out. Forlan will step up to this one.
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4th minute- Perez is fouled by Aogo, who receives a yellow card for his troubles. Aogo committed an unnecessary lunging slide tackle.
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3rd minute- Schweinsteiger is fouled on the left flank and Germany wins a free kick.
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1st minute- And we're underway.
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PRE-GAME- Uruguay is pretty much fielding its preferred starters, while Germany is going with its younger players. Tough blow for Miroslav Klose, who is two goals away from becoming the World Cup's all-time leading scorer.
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PRE-GAME- Here's Uruguay's starting eleven:
Muslera; Fucile, Lugano, Godin, Caceres; M. Pereira, Perez, Arevalo; Forlan, Cavani, Suarez.
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PRE-GAME- Here's Uruguay's starting eleven:
Butt; Boateng, Mertesacker, Friedrich, Aogo; Muller, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Jansen; Cacau, Ozil.
Not even close.
Suarez made a calculated decision in the open, no deceit, to save his team. He was punished according to the rules. No cheating.
Henry used deceit to hide an intentional handball that he used to score.
I rather be picked on then ignored.
He’ll be a hero in Uruguay and a villain in Africa. I’m sure he’ll take that trade-off.
I have to say the thing bothering me the most in the commentary is Ian Darkes condemning the booing of Suarez with comments about him doing what any professional would do. Everyone knows if the team was France and the man being booed was Thierry Henry, he’d be chuckling about it and talking about how it was deserved. You can’t call Henry a cheat and Suarez a professional. They’re the same thing.
The booing is getting ridiculous.
The African fans are sore losers.
Somewhere in Germany, an octupus is breathing a sigh of relief.
ha nevermind there it is
God, Uruguay’s keeper just sucks.
He is completely incompetent.
could cross by Boateng. Ade will love those
4 goals for every 3rd place game.
Thanks for the clarification.
Really, couldn’t ESPN have sent JP or Tommy Smith down there. Really,though, Urkel, I mean Harkes? I realize they’ve kept the two pairings, but I really wanted a Darke-Tyler combo for the final.
if there is more than one player with the same amount of goals, the tie-breaker goes to the player who has contributed the most assists if there is still more than one player, the tie-breaker goes to the player who has played the least amount of time
so i dont think landy-cakes will get it
Diego Forlan = my fantasy team.
On the tip, Diego Forskin goal!
Wicked shot. As a side note, if you’re a goalkeeper, please dive even if you dive 5 seconds too late to stop a shot. You really look stupid just standing there with the ball in the back of the net.
germany lost its spark. what happened to the team that ruined argentina?
Forlan is the only player who insists on scoring spectacular goals
Holy Crap. If they all end up on 5, even the guys left on 4, would Landon win the Silver boot on 3?
OMG GOLAZO!!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP FLYING SCISSOR KICK!
Harkes is ridiculous. Cacau had the ball in the middle if the pitch with no support, 1 v at least 6, he said, “Seems like Cacau is running out of ideas, when he gets the ball it doesn’t seem like he knows what to do with it.” He back passed because he had no support Harkes, cmon give the guy a break. It was a smart play.
Suarez is having a nightmare. Score and shush the crowd man!
The Ghanaians should be boo’ed for their diving as should every other player who dives. Diving is cheating moreso than what Suarez did. The fans are just bitter that none of their teams were good enough.
As a Spaniard, I love hearing Van Bronkhourst promise that Netherlands are going to play an open game with Spain.
That was selfish on the break away. 4 v 2 on the breakaway, and instead of passing one player decides to go at the defenders alone.
A solid midfield… is that a joke?
The “baby bulls” sit on the bench in games that matter while NY loses.
I wish Forlan got that
Luis Gil has been with RSL for a year? More like 3.5 months. Nevermind that he’s playing for the defending champs who have a solid midfield.
The baby Bulls got lots of minutes in the Open cup before they went out, and as the season goes on should get more chances with the 1st team.
The guy in front of Suarez tried to grab it too.
Harkes and Dark? keep referring to the ‘booing’ of Suarez as troubling…that ‘anyone would have done what he did’, yet there was an Uruguay player right in front of Suarez who kept his hands down…I get its ‘within’ the rules, that doesn’t keep it from being ‘unsporting’…and I boo silently everytime Suarez touches the ball…
Would like to see Klose get the record…
Good grief, I’m already sick of Harkes and Darke crying about how unfair it is that the crowd is booing Suarez every time he touches the ball. Audiences love having a villain to jeer. And so what if any other player in that position would have done the same, let the people boo him.
When you, guys, have time, click on my name and read my post in foxsoccer.com about this subject. You may like it.
I hope Ives doesn’t mind this comment. If it bothers him. I will stop.
Until Jim Rome really burns soccer wont take off… If only another English speaking network can take over the world cup. No one wants to see Jim Rome badmouth the game on the same channel right before the game starts.
There are incredible players in MLS, but they are not allowed to play.
Luis Gil, Jack Mac, half of the Red Bulls bench. The stupid American mentality that does not allow younger players time just because they are young.
If Luis Gil can dominate international teams, and was/still is actively pursued by the best clubs in the world (Barca, Arsenal), he can sure as hell beat MLS opponents. He has been on the team for a year, and seen like 5 minutes of play.
one the same line, if an MLS team could do well in the Champion’s league or other regional competition that could bring in more money and recognition to the league. As it stands, we can’t compete with Mexican sides (let alone USL sides in the open cup)
I understand these points.
One reason why the game if not becoming big here, is the propaganda war against it in the American media. The purpose of this negative propaganda is to keep fans away from the game and unfortunately, they are successful so far.
American fans need to understand that. You can’t build a big league overnight. We need to be patient.
What a fast break for uruguay.
An amazing tackle by Perez, great passes, a first touch and a finish.
Agree with the sentiment, but not realistically. The players that we sign, are mainly 30+ free agents. More than anything, ticket revenue wont increase teams budgets that much. How many people had to take a cut just to get Beckham to LA? We “trade” players instead of signing them in the league. We don’t have the youth system that can keep making great talent, with many players becoming pros in their mid 20’s vs their teens in leagues aroung the world(more than this too but I’m not writing a book). Our league tables w/the play-offs result in some half-a$$ed games until the play-offs start.
I would love our league to do well, but there is more wrong with it than “signing players” can fix.
I’m not American so have no real interest in MLS, although I do hope Americans who supposedly “fell in love” with soccer these past few weeks – like Bill Clinton 😉 – stick with the game. I just feel that, other than say the later rounds of the Champions League, or the very end of the domestic campaign, games rarely get as exciting or passionate as in the World Cup.
I have different opinion here.
How do you expect the MLS to improve if we, the fans, don’t support it?
The more fans attend games and watch them on tv, the more money the league will make and they will be able to by the best players and improve the league.
We need to support it to make it stronger.
Anyone else wonder what the hell they’re gonna do when the World Cup is over? League soccer seems so worthless in comparison.
No question that Germany should be a man down. He hit studs up, mid shin, over the ball.
There could have been a red card and a yellow card for Germany in 6 minutes. As FIFA said; this is the best refereed cup ever
More successful refing.
That is a straight red card.
Unbelievable that he wasn’t instantly ejected, he almost snapped his leg in half.
Biggest game of the tournament so far. No, seriously. This will see a team actually pick up a trophy.
http://www.atdhe.net/
Uruguay versus Uruguay?
Is there no stream of this game available?
I am “watching” this game from an American Airlines jet flying cross country via the airlines’ wi-fi, so I would appreciate fully descriptive commentary of the action!