South Korea 2-0 Germany

Three of us sat at our desk at 4pm. Second half about to start. Occasional check of the score. Then Sweden get one. Start listening to the radio commentary. They're still through if it's a draw though right? Yeah? Yeah. 2 minutes pass. Shit I've just checked the table they're out if they draw and Sweden win! Actually out if they draw! What? Fucking out? Out! Out if they draw! 80 minutes on the clock. About seven of us huddled round someone else's desk watching it in full screen. First Korean goal. Seven of us jumping and screaming red cherry faced like fans in a stadium. In an office. Offside?! Shit. Offside. VAR? Yeah he's off. Off. Slightly off. No wait. Nah he's off. Ah well. Still time. No wait. No wait Kroos touched it! Kroos passed it can't be off! Can't be off! Can't be off! He's not off! Goal given. Hear the roar from us. The roar from the office next door through the brick wall. People I've never seen and will probably never even talk to ever in my life. But we heard them roar when Germany got kicked out the group stage of the World Cup by South Korea. 

You can't beat football like this and you can't beat England when it's like this. Frowns dissolve into smiles, people who usually lump about start talking and cheering and drinking and even fucking dancing. England's a pretty haggard place to live in and work but when there's football on no one gives a sniff. The bloody weather too.

But Germany. Germany Germany. I said from the start this wasn't a great side. Good but not great. Ozil, Hummels, Draxler, Reus, Werner, Khedira, Kimmich - bundle of good not great players in that first team who are unproven or overhyped or a bit of both. Lucky to win the last World Cup. Lucky. Higuain. A lot rested on Kroos this tournament. He was the man at the base of midfield, directing. An absolutely sublime player, an utter poet of the football and it's lead guitarist too. Hendrix and Dylan. But people at Madrid and Germany seem to have forgotten just how good this guy is, or rather, seem to have come so accustomed to his greatness that they take it for granted. The Kroos of Brazil 2014 and the Kroos who played under Guardiola for a year at Bayern played as a roaming central midfielder, up and down, box to box, with more license to drive at goal. His role today, particularly for Germany is much more restricted. He can sit and knit the play all well and good but I prefer the Kroos I saw at the last World Cup, where he benefited from the freedom of Schweinsteiger's deep-lying passing. At Madrid again, his role of sitting next to Modric and springing the ball forward for Ronaldo, Benzema and co to play, is a more cautious one than before. I'd like to see Kroos in the number 10 position, not behind it. 

But oh well. They're out. They've not deserved to go through, Mexico should have stuck four past them in their first game, and Sweden, who looked nothing other that plain shite in their other games have somehow crept through. Onto the next.