World Cup, 6/26

Hey everyone. More soccer today, though I'm getting tired of the officiating now.

UPDATE: I was playing Mr. Mom yesterday and couldn't update the late match on time. Sorry for the delay.
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EARLY MATCH
*Italy def. Australia, 1-0: First half was lame. Italy lost one player to a rojo late in the first, allowing the Socceroos to play a man up in the second. Things became aggressive during the final 15 minutes as AUS kept attacking the goal.

The game turned at 93', when AUS was called for a foul in the box. That led to an Italy PK. S Francesco Totti put that in the net. Game over. Italy moves on.

The call was pathetic. Seriously. The defender, Lucas Neill, tackled so early that the Italian player, Fabio Grosso, had time to jump over the challenge. Instead of continuing on, the Italian guy fakes a hit and falls down. Ref believes him, issues the foul.

It was the worst officiating error of the tournament, and that's saying something.

The Azzurri are takin' the plunge in Germany. Pathetic.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

I feel the same way you do, young Socceroo lassie.
(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

UP NEXT FOR THESE TEAMS
Italy (3-0-1) plays Switzerland/Ukraine winner on Friday, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Australia (1-1-2) is eliminated.
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LATE MATCH
Ukraine def. Switzerland, 1-0 (penalty kicks): I had a hard time watching this one because I respect the way SUI plays, it's defense-first football, but they cannot score a goal. Just can't. So when the match goes 90, then another 30 and nobody scores, you know how it's going to end. The Swiss failed on three consecutive PKs and that was that. They don't know how to score.

Ukraine is the charmed team in this tournament. Like Turkey or USA in 02, Croatia in 98, Cameroon in 90. It's just working for some reason. Remember -- Ukraine lost to Spain 4-0 in the WC opener. Amazing.

UP NEXT FOR THESE TEAMS
Ukraine (3-0-1) plays Italy (3-0-1) on Friday, 1:55 p.m.
Switzerland (2-1-1) is eliminated.