World Cup Quarter Finals - Italy in Comfortable Win (Italy 3 - Ukraine 0)

I was really dreading to watch this game. I had half the mind to wank myself silly instead, and it would probably have given me more satisfaction than watching a game that's going to be boring. For some reason, I decided to watch the game.

Italy scored in the 6th minute thru a superb strike by defender Zambrotta from way outside the penalty box. Unfortunately for the rest of the half, both teams decided to play themselves, the crowd and me to death. By half time I wished I had chosen wanking. Definitely more satisfying.

Again for some reason I decided to stay on for the second half. This time I'm glad my perseverance paid off. Ukraine actually threw caution to the wind and relentlessly attacked the Italian goal. If not for the brilliance of Buffon, Italy might have been rocked off that cradle that they were so comfortable in. Perhaps Ukraine just didn't have lady luck on their side today. They just weren't able to beat the world's best keeper.

On the hour, Italy's pedigree surfaced. Luca Toni, Serial A's top scorer, scored two simple goals against the run of play to put Italy beyond reach. It was his first goals of the tournament, and for a point in time, I was wondering if he would ever score a single goal in Germany.

Credit to Ukraine, they never stopped fighting, never stopped trying to beat Buffon. It opened up the game with Ukraine pressing for a consolation goal and the Italians hitting them on the counter. Although Ukraine lost this one convincingly, they leave Germany with their heads held high. The quality of the Italians was just too much for them.

Italy now meets hosts, Germany, in an intriguing semi-finals in 4 days time. Whether they can oust the hosts remains to be seen, but their performance have been improving and look like a team that's peaking at the right time.