Germany, Argentina advance in games marred by refereeing errors

...and no errors. Perhaps it's fair to say that better teams simply advance...referee error or not.

what a spanking! cripes, Argentina got their ____ served to them.

I can not wait to see what other stupid mistakes these FIFA refs do in the next matches! FIFA is a joke! And a BAD joke at that.

I think nobody noticed or commented, but the terrible referee mistakes on Germany X England, and then, in Argentin X Mexico, are clearly FIFA manipulations. Otherwise, how come they could have been allowed? Joseph Blatter apologized later, but that was just pathetic, and doesn't correct those absurd mistakes. I don't want to see either Germany or Argentin being champions...unfortunately, because of those referee mistakes.

For the sake of fairness, let's all hope more FIFA Folly befalls the Germany-Argentina game. Whoever survives that match truly deserves the finals.

"Klose was offfside for the first goal by a mile" is a bit reaching... No ref error here.

I was however surprised that the goalie stepped back, hesitating actually, when he gave up three steps to Klose. It was an easily stoppable goal (offside or not, which it wasn't), but by the time Klose got around the defender (one reason why there was no call for offside), the goalie realised his mistake only to change his mind. You can see it plainly. Then he attempted to close the angles and get to the ball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePnPJc3rGV4

It was Go Japan; now Go home Japan. It's rotten to go out on penalties.

The refereeing in this tournament has been so diabolical that FIFA has to bring in technology that has made tennis, cricket and American football more enjoyable, exciting and, crucially, fair. In football there is too much cheating that goes unpunished, and where games are won and lost by biased/incompetent refereeing. Regarding the England game, it would certainly have made a huge difference to go into half time 2-2 but the Germans outclassed England. I might mention that at world cups since 1970 England have played well 4 or 5 times, whereas the Germans have been to the finals or semis about 9 times. The gulf in class is staggering, and the fact that England continue to serve up the equivalent of footballing diarrhoea every 4 years without pause to reflect leaves me wondering why I bother following their progress.

The better side won. end of story. please get over it and watch the great teams play out to find out who really is the best in the world. I am glad that Japan is now in the top 10 teams in the world as they are still in it. go japan.

Klose (the first German player to score in the match) said that before the game they discussed England. Player for player, he said, England has more talent. He even went on to state that they possess more talent than a Premier League squad.

Six minutes into the game, he added, they realized (ok...realised) they could vanquish England. It would've been nice to have technology to allow the overlooked goal. The refereeing errors have been a little debilitating, or even deflating.

Refereeing errors aside, it'd be nice to see England focus squarely on it's deficiencies, and not spend another 40 years lamenting over a completely non-decisive goal.

Stupid mistake by these idiot FIFA referees! The goal made by Argentina against Mexico was so off side that it is not even funny! The other goal that should have been counted for England against Germany was also another testimony of how unreliable these stupid FIFA guys are. Time to use the HAWK EYE technology!

Rooney, who I admire for his determination and spirit, seemed to have a penchant for taking dives in the tournament. This only made his sorry performance even more disappointing. Anybody else notice that?

presto345

Of course. The balls are made in Germany. Makes all the difference.

The balls were developed in England(!) and made in China using materials from China, Taiwan, and India. Oh, and Lampard has been a fan of the ball since its introduction. Oops. Next excuse please.

Referree error aside . . .Germany was handling the ball faster than the English team could think.

Of course. The balls are made in Germany. Makes all the difference.

Smithinjapan: "Ummm... when was that? I remember a game where England won 2-1 (thanks to Tulio)."

But I hope this time you don't believe it was Uzbekistan;)

Moderator: Back on topic please.

But only "probably" :-). GO GERMANY!!!!!!

Oh well, for all of Germany's efforts and the help from the ref, it will all be for nowt, as Argentina will probably destroy Germany.

I think that if they had been given the point, then Germany wouldve come out really strong in the final period of the game. it was lucky for England Germany wasn't trying too hard because they already had the game wrapped up.

Could the game have gone differently from 2-2? Possibly, but unlikely. England did not play wide and stuck obsessively to a slow-paced short-ball game and seemed afraid to use pace or attack on the break. The Germans used pace to totally destroy the England defence.

Go Germany.

They were clearly better than England. Yet the score should have been 2-2 with the Germans conceding two goals within 60 seconds. I really didn't think it would only be the English who could understand what an impact that that would have.

We were woeful yesterday, Germany played very well. Yet at half time the score should have been level and the balance would have moved in England's favour. In the second we hit the bar with a freekick and were on the ascendency until an utterly rubbish decision to throw everyone forward at a freekick and we fell apart. But we were very much in the game at that point. And as I said before if we'd gone in at 2-2 it would have been a vastly different second half. Which doesn't mean that Germany wouldn't have walked away with the game however it certainly doesn't mean they would have won it with the ease that they did. Something that a number of posters seem to have difficulty understanding.

Heda Madness

For some reason, over the 30 plus years I've played and watched football, I always felt that 2-2 was a better scoreline than 1-2. And whenever the score was 2-2 we'd have more chance of getting a positive result than when the score was 1-2.

Yes, perhaps between teams of equal ability which was CLEARLY not the case here...

ALL refereeing errors could be easily avoided provided a perfect system is applied in football matches.

See the unfailing solution: www.footballscientific.com

Heda Madness - never try to question the authority or wisdom of a North American football/soccer fan. Their experience of watching the sport for 3 or 4 weeks every 4 years is enough to pontificate.

Germany woulda won on penalties anyway if England had magically escaped with a draw.

For some reason, over the 30 plus years I've played and watched football, I always felt that 2-2 was a better scoreline than 1-2. And whenever the score was 2-2 we'd have more chance of getting a positive result than when the score was 1-2. However ihavearrived has just corrected me on this theory. Apparently being 2-2 doesn't make a difference to a scoreline. Thanks for that.

Nessie, who are you taking shots at? I think that one crossed the line.

To all those who think it wouldn't have made a difference if that goal had been correctly awarded...

At 2-1 down we had an attacking free kick and threw everybody forward. We lost possession, Germany countered and it was 3-1. Moments later it was 4-1. Do you think that, had the game been level at 2-2, England would have thrown so many men forward for a free kick?

We didn't just lose because of the refereeing but to suggest it didn't make a difference to the final result is either naieve at best.

Please get over it. you guys lost so why do you keep thinking that it would've made a difference. Germany were so much better it was a laugh to watch the English play. I couldn't believe the last goal when everyone could see what was going to happen except for the English players walking down and not covering their men.

Beckham sucked wind in his last WC, clearly the Brits as a whole were the same.

It's the ENGLISH, not "the Brits".

To all those who think it wouldn't have made a difference if that goal had been correctly awarded...

At 2-1 down we had an attacking free kick and threw everybody forward. We lost possession, Germany countered and it was 3-1. Moments later it was 4-1. Do you think that, had the game been level at 2-2, England would have thrown so many men forward for a free kick?

We didn't just lose because of the refereeing but to suggest it didn't make a difference to the final result is either naieve at best.

Sorry this is going to be a long post, but it has to be to cover everything.

The phantom "Goal" - a difficult one to surmise because if it had been given, the momentum would have been with England. Germany would have been rocking after conceding two in two minutes and that short period before half time would have been all England. Having said that anyone who thinks Germany didn't deserve to win clearly doesn't understand football.

The players - far easier to surmise: Woeful. James was culpable for the third, but in fairness to him there was a complete shambles in front of him. Terry & Upson looked as if they had never met each other before let alone played together. Johnson might well have not played. Cole tried hard but was given no support.

Gerrard. How he keeps escaping criticism is beyond me. One of the worst England captains I can remember. Always looking for the "Hollywood" passes and shots. Didn't do the simple things right. Should never be England captain again. Milner was nothing better than OK, but his time will come. Barry - Oh dear. Lead-footed, gave the ball away constantly, didn't provide the screen he was supposed to, Let Ozil drift away from him time after time....have I missed anything? Lampard - in one small irony, this was Lampard's best game in what what was England's worst performance.

Defoe just ran around like a headless chicken (as opposed to Klose who chased with intent) and Rooney.....Wayne Rooney. If he put half as much effort into England's games as he did for his Nike commercial he might have been different. As it was he looked disinterested, unfit, lethargic and generally un-Rooneylike.

The future. If this is to be watershed moment for English football then the defeat to Germany will have been a good thing. The "Golden generation" should be moved on. There are good (note the word good, not great or world class) prospects in England. Players Jack Rodwell from Everton, Joe Hart, Jack Wilshere & Kieran Gibbs from Arsenal are coming through. Milner is a dead cert England captain in the future, Adam Johnson is surely the answer to the Imbalance on the left, And England won the European Youth Championship this year. There is talent there, but there needs to be a system in place to let that talent prosper ie teams need to play at least three home grown players in Premier League games, or something akin to that.

The Coach - Fabio will probably go unless he gets the green light to do things completely his way. He has the FA over a barrel: if they want to sack him then they would have to pay out the remainder of his contract - roughly 15 million pounds, give or take; If they want him to stay they will have to give him carte blanche.

But the glaring fact is that it is the players who go over the white line. This "Golden generation" has played for Eriksson, McLaren and Capello - and have done nothing. That should make people realise that although it is partly the managers fault - the blame goes squarely on the players......

The English Media - .....and of course some blame for the media in England, particularly the red tops. Stirring up memories of the War in a disgraceful attempt to whip up some kind of nationalist hysteria. The tabloids build these players up, so the majority of "fans", ie the kind of fans who get their info only from reading the papers as opposed to watching any games, get way over inflated expectations.

So, the end of England's world cup campaign. At least you bet your house that these players will be firing in the Premier League come August. Maybe club is more important than country after all.

England was not all together for whatever reasons from the beginning when they played Japan and lost.

Well i agree with you that England didnt have its chips all together, but are you saying that we lost to Japan in May?

Yes, its sad to see England play the way it did and throughout the Group stage we strugled and just made it through. Germany where the better side and showed the world that we are nolonger ranked 8th!!

Not sure what is next for England.... Get a new manager? Nope! Dont mater if we get another as the players dont seem to work well together. Yets hope they can work it out before the start of the Euro games.

skipbeat: "England was not all together for whatever reasons from the beginning when they played Japan and lost."

Ummm... when was that? I remember a game where England won 2-1 (thanks to Tulio).

If the goal counted, the game would have swung in England's favour for sure...

But with the English defence having such a poor game, I'm sure Germany would've regained the lead sooner rather then later. Seeing Upson get worked by Klose made me cry. :(

blame it on the octopus

England was not all together for whatever reasons from the beginning when they played Japan and lost.

I love the lego videos of England vs Algeria, U.S.A, and Germany. Check out the Youtube videos.

Please use the symbol for "and" instead of the word and the parentheses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXo2nm2ODF0(and)feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXjC0FDsH2A(and)feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHcRd45HW-4 (and)feature=related

I asked my friend if he saw the second English goal. He said no, he'd been to busy refereeing.

i don't think you can say that going tied 2-2 into half time would not have made a difference. it may have made a difference psychologically in the second half.

that being said, germany looked like it played much better than england.

Awesome! GO Germany! i knew the English hooligans would be poor sports and start rioting. Yappari. Get a life, there's more than just the World Cup. poor sports.

Clearly replays are sorely needed in this game, I was a neutral fan last nite, I think both teams wud have started the 2nd half much different if it was 2-2, that said I think Germany wud have won by a goal or 2 as they were playing SO much better as a team, England was playing like a team that just came together for the first time maybe a few days prior, they were out classed from the start

this is beckhams english team now, all flash and no real substance. Beckham sucked wind in his last WC, clearly the Brits as a whole were the same. The last german goal, it was men against boys. Ozil just sprinted past the defenders and passed it over so anyone could have scored.

Germany could have scored more goals than four but saved their stars for the next match.

Goodbye pansies. Time to rebuild from the ground up if possible. Could be sumo replay for england, no real talent left in the country to maintain the sport.

England limped into the round-of-16 with half a pulse and Germany put them out of their misery. Lampard's disallowed goal in turn for their '66 non-goal which was allowed; an eye for an eye. Germany played beautifully and more than deserved the win, refree error or not. Germany vs. Argentina is going to be awesome!

so sad England could not be a match for Germany, the team I dislike but which I should admit plays very well. English gentlemen, you are too much gentlemen to fight in the world cup.

I can't believe Germany v Argentina is a quarterfinal match. Watching the Germs was the only time I actually thought this game of lifeless hands was interesting to watch.

The german Goalie knew the ball was over the line and played on anyway.

I am not sure if he saw it. He was down as the ball bounced from behind the line. Even if he did see it and played on, linesman should have caught it. Noone's fault by the linesman's.

Noone should get hung up on the ghost goal. It was unfortunate but it would have made no difference. England were abysmal. They were really, really bad. Some of the German goals were like taking candy from a baby. It would be have been a great injustice if the English side made to the last eight.

Back to the drawing board for England. FA really has to restructure and re-organize the team. I am not sure what the problem is. Looking at the players individually, one would think they would make an excellent team but apparently it is not the case. Players were a disgrace throughout the tournament. I do not believe it is Capello's fault too much. Players looked as if they were not interested in the World Cup.

Or maybe we have to accept the fact that the English teams are performing at the club level but at the national level England is not World Class.

The german Goalie knew the ball was over the line and played on anyway.

At such moment people do not do things with reason, it is primal reaction and reflexes.

Thats my point hoserfella. Its kinda sad we expect him to play on, rather than be good sportsman.

maxpower, I woulda played on too. What do u expect the goalie to do? It's not his call.

Lunchbox, I think you'd be singing a different tune if your team went out on such a horrible decision. It's not 1950, and there is too much at stake to miss such an obvious goal

The german Goalie knew the ball was over the line and played on anyway. How disgraceful!

For a World Game, the sportsmanship qualities are rubbish! Lying, cheating, and so much diving!

Time for a revamp of all the rules!

That 2nd Tevez goal was amazing. Best of the tournament so far, IMO.

REALLY looking forward to Germany/Argentina. Should be a good one.

Wanderlust, Mocheake:

Football is a game of chance, and that's why it's so popular. It has that party aspect to it that creates a feeling of hysteria amongst the fans.

Fifa doesn't want to use video refs, for the same reason it doesn't want to clamp down on the diving for penalties, or make a better system for advancement into the 2nd round. It's a well know fact that one win, one draw and one loss is often enough to get through to the best 16, and if two teams are tied on goal difference, their fate can even be decided by drawing lots if they can't be separated. Imagine the excitement the day that happens.

The world cup isn't a sport, it's a festival. Fifa makes a lot of money out of it, if they got rid of the chance factor it would become too predictable. Introducing cameras would be a big mistake.

Too much EPL in England's style unfortunately.

England only worry about what they are doing on the ball, Lampard and Gerrard too concerned about scoring rather than helping Terry. The Germans knew this and organised themselves well off the ball. 3 of 4 goals were end to end, which was quite funny to see against England of all teams.

Every player in the England squad plays in England. Is this a problem? Perhaps instead of worrying about all the foreigners in the EPL, England should be sending its players to Italy, Germany and Turkey. Get them out of the media and into a system that gives them a chance to play European football.

Without a doubt, Germany played the better game and deserved the win. Now, are they good enough to beat Argentina and go on to win the cup? I would say that there is only a 50-50 chance of that.

If the goal HAD been given I doubt the results would be different. England were outplayed the entire game. They know this, the mature fans know this. Those who are crying about it need to sit down and rewatch the game. England has amazing players but too many egos on the pitch. Get over yourselves lads and earn your money.

There are certainly some officials who will be trying to explain what's happened during this World Cup... and the tournament isn't even over yet!!! I wouldn't be surprised if some of the officials who've punted calls are being sent home early. Being tied at 2-all will certainly change your game play from being down by one.

AlfGarnett Your posting sums England's whole World Cup campaign. England were totally outclassed by Germany, they had zero defense. Soccer is an international game these days, and this is the world cup. The attitudes of English supporters and bosses is stuck in the 70's, and in the meantime the rest of the world is enjoying the game. "We invented the game, it's football not soccer, we are the best team, we were robbed by the officials" ... we hear the same thing every world cup. Fact is, Europe has all the money, the professional teams there get all the world's best players, and have the most exciting football competitions. But on the world stage, things have changed. It's no longer just Europe versus Central/South America. We now have teams like USA, Australia, Japan and Korea are now consistent appearing in the world cup. English fans need to face reality, England suck, times have changed. Your posting reeks of arrogance and sulkiness.

Germany put in its young at the end and were still dancing in front of the net... Gentlemen as they left it at 4 with clear shots in the last 10 mins.... why humiliate, ne? FIFA is a disgrace with the dodgy refs...

How come the "world's game" still hasn't figured out that replay will help cut down on glaring officiating mistakes? There have been so many that have had major impact on the outcome of games that you'd think FIFA would be looking into using it right now. Maybe us Americans don't appreciate the sport like we should, but, we never stop trying to improve our own major sports, which all use replay in some form to help the officials get the calls correct. Think it's time for FIFA to come into the 21st century.

If the goal had counted it would have been 2 all. It would have been a very different game! England would not have pushed all their men up and had been open to the counter.

As I figured, the German team dominated. The bad call was DEFINITELY a bad call, and would have helped the English if the goal was counted, but I don't think it would have helped them enough to win.

I don't know why everyone is upset. the far better team won which is good for football. the Germany team were sensational with great teamwork. the England players didn't work together at all when attacking. they all tried to do it by themselves. the disallowed goal didn't change the result at all. i am looking forward to going to the pub and listen to the English cry into their beers. hahaha

I watched the first half only and from what I could see, to my regret, Germany was much better, they very quickly organised their defence and their attacks, they had very powerful attacks and dangerous and speedy counterattacks, when the English attacked, all the Germans returned to defend. From the first minutes Germany overpowered England. Rooney was sometimes invisible and sometimes visibly detrimenting presence for the English team. It is a pity that the English goal was not seen by the referee but it does not change the dark outlook for English team. I do not understand how Rooney could be called a footbal star. He was zero in the first half.

Sepp Blatter is increasingly getting to be an embarrassment to FIFA. First his continuing reluctance to adopt modern technology that other sports such as tennis now thrive with, and secondly for his handling of the hotels for the world cup, mismanaged by a company owned by his nephew...

Bottom line: England lacked defense and Germany was almost always one step ahead.

Referree error aside . . .Germany was handling the ball faster than the English team could think.

I hope all the millionaire football players and 'rich' fans leaving the World Cup get a glimpse at the abject poverty a lot of the people are living in in South Africa. I hope that can lead to life changing attitudes.

Rooney's great scoring goals against Hull, West Brom, Stoke, Watford, but when it comes to world class defences and fellow English players to supply him with good passes, well......................

I have always said it, Carlos Tevez is who Rooney should want to be.

From what I have read, the percentage of foreign players in the english premier league is one of the highest among European clubs. If you took most of these foreign players out, the english teams would struggle to get past the first rounds of any european club competition such is the lack of depth in the English game... The EPL owners are only interested in TV viewing ratings so the money is huge to attract the best players. Until the English football association starts concentrating on the football and not the money, England as a team are going no where...

Why use Rooney if he's clearly not 100% fit? If there's someone to blame that's Capello for sure for calling such lame players like James and not being able to build an strong team having very good players to choose from.

Foreigners presence is not to blame, unless you want a league with no so good players filling in, they have to get there because they are better and deserve it not because some silly rule.

England team does not know how to defend. I think they need to go back to the basics and learn team play.

Cosuke, for a start son, the word is football. England rd or 4th rate. Nah, unlucky, cheated against by bias officials. Italy didn`t even get out of its bleeding group, what are they and the FRenchies 6th rate according to your amazing knowledge.

A bad call by the ref or not, the English are a 3rd - 4th tier soccer power in the world when up against the likes of Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. Their skill level is not there to compete with the big boys. Even though the EPL is the best league in Europe, it is dominated by foreign players. At the end of the day, my friend's English jersey will still have that one lone star reading 66, while my German jersey will have three and possibly a fourth.

England let us all down again,regardless of thet error they were spanked..

Somewhere over the rainbow.......................................

Ponderous on the ball,slower in imagination what a joke. Rooney has not got it at international tournament level,he is Emile Heskey's natural successor.As usual there is some sort of excuse(the disallowed goal) for them all to use as a crutch,when the truth of the matter is their footballing abilities look amateurish when compared to most of the other "great" footballing nations. Back to basics boys,look around the country for boys with winners mental strengths then teach them to play football.

The referees ruins the World Cup. Coulibaly, Larrionda, Rosetti, who's next?