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ANOTHER OFFICIATING BLUNDER HELPS ARGENTINA BEAT MEXICO 3-1, AFTER ENGLAND ALSO SUFFER AGAINST GERMANY By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Mon, 28 Jun 2010  In a day of officiating incompetence in the 2020 FIFA World Cup, Argentina waltzed to a comfortable 3-1 victory over a never-say-die Mexican side aided by another officiating blunder that gifted one of the top favourites with an obvious offside goal by Carlos Tevez allowed to stand despite vehement protests and slo-motion TV replays that showed the officials had committed a woeful blunder. It was similar to the goal scored by Frank Lampard in a desperate England effort to stave off the German machine when the ball hit the underside of the crossbar and rolled in but the Uruguayan referee allowed play to continue in another incredible blunder. However, if there was any consolation it is the fact that even without the controversial goals both Argentina and Germany won by wide margins and deservedly so. Mexico was impressive in the early stages of the match but never seemed to recover from the Tevez goal which was allowed to stand even though Tevez was definitely offside when the irrepressible Lionel Messi played the ball through to him. Whatever hopes Mexico had of clawing their way back into the match quickly disappeared when Ricardo Osorio played a poor pass that gifted possession to Gonzalo Higuain, who made no mistake as he slotted home his fourth goal of the competition to give Argentina a two-goal spread at the half. A spectacular strike by Tevez in the second half delighted former Argentine ace Diego Maradona whose team set up a mouth-watering rematch with Germany who in 2006 knocked Argentina out in a penalty shootout in the quarter finals. Although Mexico pulled a goal back through Javier Hernandez the two Argentine goals in the first eight minutes of play sealed the Mexicans fate even though they had looked as exciting and impressive as Argentina in attack highlighted by crisp passing and some penetrating runs. But as BBC Sports Paul Fletcher reported. poor officiating and sloppy play had nothing to do with the decisive third goal, which came shortly after the restart when Tevez rifled the ball into the top corner with an unstoppable long-range effort. Mexico might have thrown in the towel but continued to press, with Hernandez heading wide again and Gabriel Heinze clearing off the line from substitute Guillermo Franco. They did pull one back when the previously profligate Hernandez turned beautifully to lose the flat-footed Martin DeMichelis before burying a shot beyond Sergio Romero. Messi, who had a quiet second half, almost scored his first of the tournament late on after a mazy run but his shot was well saved. In the other controversial match, Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistants robbed England of a clear goal that would have enabled the team to even the score at 2-2 at halftime against an inspired German squad . But while attention may well be focused on the bungling match officials that failed to concede a Frank Lampard equalizer it was clear that once again Germany?s stranglehold over England in major tournaments continued. The young German squad showed lots of creativity and confidence in ultimately overwhelming a shattered England squad 4-1 to advance to the quarter finals where they will meet the winners of the match between Argentina and Mexico. BBC Sport?s chief football writer who was in Bloemfontein, Phil McNulty put it succintly when he said England's World Cup ended in a mixture of humiliation and controversy as they were thrashed by Germany . However, Germany?s convincing three goal margin is certain to be overshadowed by the controversy over the goal that robbed Fabio Capello?s squad of all hope of reaching the quarter finals. The infinitely superior Germans grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck with two fine goals by Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski but when Matthew Upson pulled one back for England there was hope among the England supporters. But a short while later in what appeared to be a reminder of G eoff Hurst?s questionable goal that helped England to victory over West Germany in the 1966 finals, the superb lofted finish hit the cross bar and landed well inside the German goal and behind goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but to the horror of the English players and their supporters the referee signaled play to continue. The vehement protests by the England players and David Beckham at halftime couldn?t change the decision and in the end the Germans capitalized on their good fortune. The England defense was exposed by the fluent Germans with John Terry and Upson often at sea against the driving youngsters from Germany who spotlighted their weaknesses in embarrassing fashion while striker Wayne Rooney?s impact in the World Cup could at best be described as almost non-existent. Skipper Steven Gerard and Lampard tried gallantly to salvage what in the end turned out to be a hopeless cause. BBC Sports reported that Lampard struck the bar as England dominated the early stages of the second half, but stunning counter-attacks saw Thomas Mueller score twice in the space of three minutes midway through the second half to send Germany into the last eight. England, with some justification, will bemoan their luck but as Phil McNulty correctly pointed out ?nothing must disguise the manner in which they were outclassed by Germany in stages of this game and also what has been an ultimately bitterly disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa.? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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