Italy v Germany

I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Both teams deserved to win. In fact, I felt like this was, in a way, the real final game. As much as I admire Thierry Henry's character and style of play (arguably the best striker in the game) and not wanting to denigrate the French or Portugese squads (although I must admit that I don't like the tendency of the Portugese team to commit flagrant and often dangerous fouls), I think Italy and Germany were the best two teams in the semifinals. It would have been better if Italy had played Portugal and Germany played France, but such is life. This way, there's a chance for a Italy-France final, and that's enough for me. It could be billed (in usual hyperbolic fashion) as the world's greatest goalkeeper against the world's best striker or something like that. (Never mind that the Brazilian squad had the best all around footballer, Ronaldinho, but couldn't play as a coherent team and ended up watching the game like the rest of us. In other words, in the end, the best team (including the tactical and motivational skills of the coach) is likely to win.