Round of 16 - Luka Podolski's Early Goals see Germany Thru to the Quarters (Germany 2 - Sweden 0)

Germany, the firm favourites in this game, went thru easily without much of a fight from a terrible Swedish performance.

The game started with a blast with Isaksson saving brilliantly off the feet of Klose, but the ball went loose. Podolski was the first to react and passed the ball into the empty net in the 3rd minute of play. 7 minutes later, Klose bisected the Swedish defence with a thru ball right to the feet of Podolski who slammed home his second of the game.

The Swedes were honestly non-existent in midfield. Ballack and company had all the time in the world to make passes without being harrassed much. The only Swedish danger came from long balls but neither Larsson nor Ibrahimovic could find a teammate or the net.

Things didn't get any better for the Swede when in the 35th minute, Teddy Lucic was sent off for a second bookable offence. I thought the decision looked a little harsh but it somewhat turned to Sweden's advantage. It broke the momentum of the German onslaught on the Swedish goal.

Early in the second half, the Swedes were given a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty. However, a dramatic comeback was not on the cards as Larsson shot hard and high over the bar, completely deflating the Swedes.

At this point in time, I decided to switch off the computer and catch a couple of hours of sleep before meeting the Cow at Rideout Garden to catch the Argentina game live.

The game did end at 2-0, and I'm glad I didn't miss much. To be frank, the Germans have impressed me alot in this tournament. I wasn't expecting them to get this good this fast. I'm going to have a hard time rooting for them in the next game if they face my personal favourites, Argentina.