World Cup: Match 17 - South Africa vs. Uruguay

Before the game started, my friend asked me, "Which one is Forlan?" I jokingly answered, "Just wait. He'll be the one who scores."

In the 23rd minute, my prediction came true when Diego Forlan found himself some space 25 yards from goal and let a shot rip that brushed a defenders back, arced through the air, and skimmed the crossbar on its way into the net. Kuhne was powerless to stop it and, from what I could tell, started blaming the ball. In the replay, the ball clearly traveled in a parabola, which is the standard trajectory of an earthbound object (for all those concerned analysts). The downward swerve may also have been aided by the top spin caused by the defender's deflection, but in any case, anyone who wants to attribute Forlan's fine goal to the trick of the mischievous spirit that lives inside the Jabulani ball. As my friend put it, "These people need to stop confusing great shots with the stupid ball. Seriously, everything further than 15 yards is met with something about it." Plenty of other players in this game took shots from outside the box, but theirs all went soaring into the stands. Forlan is just talented, and I'm pretty sure his shot was destined for the lower left corner anyway if the defender hadn't deflected it.

Regardless of fluke shots, South Africa was asking to be scored on. To everyone's surprise, they had come out in the same weak manner as they exhibited against Mexico. And they were punished for it, because unlike Mexico, the Uruguayan team had a real killer in its midst.

In addition to Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez also plagued the South African defense and was rewarded for his brave efforts with a penalty in the 76th minute. The penalty not only sealed Uruguay's victory but destroyed what hopes South Africa had left for their final fixture, as they lost their keeper to a mandatory red card for committing the "last man" foul to prevent the obvious goal. From Wikipedia: "The Laws of the Game state a player who commits an offence which denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity should be sent off.^[1] If a goal is scored despite this challenge, referees should award the goal but not send the offending player off" unless the foul is deserving of a card in itself (It's a little strange that the outcome is more important than the intention, kind of like how an attempted murder is a lesser crime than a successful one).

In my opinion, the young and relatively inexperienced Kuhne made a wasteful sacrifice. The game was already lost and regular time penalties are up there with death and taxes, so missing the final game against France was definitely not worth it. I mean, South Africa can still conceivably go through if they beat France and Uruguay take care of Mexico. But without their starting keeper (easily one of their best players), I wouldn't count on it, especially after suffering such a disheartening loss with a brutal, third Uruguayan goal coming in stoppage time. Even the vuvuzelas fell silent as the sweet melody of booing filled the stadium.

Although I was sad to see the hosts fall, I can't pretend I'm not pleased with this result. I picked Uruguay to go through and was a little unsure after their lack of offense or even possession against the French. Long live Diego Forlan!