World Cup Photos: Germany 0-1 Spain – The Psychic Octopus Was Right

Ollie Irish

8th, July 2010

6 Comments

By Ollie Irish

pa-photos_t_germany-spain-world-cup-2010-semi-final-photos-0807c

Picture 1 of 25

Spanish television presenter Sara Carbonero, girlfriend of Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas prior to kick off

Paul the psychic octopus was spot on. I was right too, in as much as I predicted a Spain victory (2-1, not 1-0 though). Without the suspended Thomas Müller, who Germany missed A LOT, I had a feeling Jogi Löw’s young team would struggle to deal with Spain’s intricate, tip-tap passing. And so it proved. Germany also struggled to break down Spain’s defence (Mesut Ozil finally ran out of steam), which has been just as impressive as its feted attackers. Carles Puyol was the man of the match – he was immense at the back, so visibly determined to keep the Germans out at any cost, and also scored the winner with an unstoppable header. An admirable player, despite his terrible hair.

So Spain deserved to win and move on to their first World Cup final; Germany face the awful prospect of a third-place playoff with Uruguay. No one wants it, except perhaps Diego Forlan and Miroslav Klose, both of whom could yet win the Golden Boot.

With Holland awaiting Spain in Sunday’s final, we’re guaranteed a new World Cup winner. Which is nice. I tip Holland to pull off a minor shock and win the WC at the third time of asking. Who do you think will lift the trophy?