Argentina lost the only real way they could have lost. There was no beating them in play though the German's did admirably for 90 minutes. Jose Pekerman made two horrible substitutions which cost him because Crespo and Riquelme are both penalty takers and would have definitely scored.

Ballack earns my respect for his grit. The German team beat Argentina in this match in terms of pure football. I didn't think that was possible but it happened. Now, the winner of this encounter is headed to the final. It seems like Germany is going to be featuring in it's second consecutive final.