England out of the World Cup

"It's no shame to concede 4 goals to Germany... as we found out."

- anonymous Aussie guy talking to SBS news about the Germany vs England match

I had two patients today, one English, and the other German. I asked them about the Germany vs England 2nd round match. The Englishman lamented the disallowed Lampard goal, saying that England was level with Germany until that moment, but fell apart afterwards. The German also said that Lampard's goal should've stood, but that it wouldn't have mattered anyway because England were crap.

It's strange how you can get such contrasting opinions about the same match.

I'm glad that England are out. In the World Cup, I support three teams: Australia, Argentina and Anyone But England. While Australia didn't get past the group stage, and Argentina are on the difficult side of the draw, at least Anyone But England managed to put Ingerland to the sword. It's always a good tournament when England gets thumped in the knock-out rounds. It's even better when there's an unjust refereeing decision. About the only thing that would've made this result even better would be if Terry broke down and cried again. But then I suppose that's asking for a bit too much.

I didn't watch the match, by the way. Like the rest of the world, I was more interested in Argentia vs Mexico. It was a shame that the referee allowed the Tevez offside goal. It knocked the stuffing out of Mexico, probably contributed to the ghastly defensive error that led to Higuan's goal, and ruined the match as a competitive contest. Mexico played well. I was impressed by Hernandez; his goal was superbly taken, and Man Utd have a hell of a player on their hands.

I've got the feeling that Argentina have a chance in this World Cup. They're brilliantly attacking, defensively solid, play with passion and flair, and when on form, they're completely crazy. But most of all, they're lucky. You need a fair slice of luck to win the World Cup, and Argentina have it spades.

So on the 299th last day of my 20s, I went to work, worked, and drank a lot of coffee to keep awake. I bought a big tin of instant during my lunch break, didn't bother with a spoon and poured it straight from tin. The first cup of coffee was so black and thick it looked like a pint of Guinness. Tasted a bit like a Guinness. I hope it's just as good for me as well.