It was a day of drama in the World Cup yesterday after favourites Brazil were dumped out of the competition after an ill-tempered clash with Holland, which resulted in the subsequent resignation of beleaguered manager Dunga. Uruguay meanwhile, scraped through to the semi-final on penalties after Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan hit the crossbar from the penalty spot in extra time in one of the most dramatic climaxes to a game ever seen at the competition
‘Dung and Dusted’ shouts the back page of the Irish Sun after the Brazilian’s far from dignified exit. The victory did not dull the anger of Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk after the game, when he launched a tirade against the behaviour of some of the Brazilian players. “Brazil tried to provoke us more than we provoked them. The foul on Robben (by Felipe Melo) – look at it – you would be ashamed I think, ashamed for Brazilian footballâ€, said van Marwijk.
‘Uruguay triumph as Gyan learns the hard way that crime sometimes pays’, writes Emmet Malone in the Irish Times, reflecting on a night of high drama in Soccer City, Johannesburg, when Luis Suarez deliberately handled the ball on the line in the last minute of extra time in the quarter final clash between Uruguay and Ghana. Suarez was sent off, but Ghana missed the spot kick and his country subsequently exited the competition after a penalty shoot out.
There is plenty of build up to the eagerly-anticipated clash between Germany and Argentina later today in this morning’s papers. There is some ill-feeling lingering after a controversial clash between the sides at the same stage of the competition in 2006, but Diego Maradona is confident of victory according to the Star this morning.
‘It’s the will of God’, goes the headline on the paper’s back page after Maradona claimed that the big guy himself wants Argentina to triumph. “This time we will not need the hand of God, because it is the will of God that we get to the final,†said Maradona, whose touchline antics and playful banter with his players and assistants at the World Cup so far has been a joy to watch.
Elsewhere, the long wait for a man from Britain to win a grand slam title goes on after great white hope Andy Murray was dispatched in the semi-finals by Rafael Nadal. ‘Just Nad good enough’ in the Star is an example of some of the scathing headlines that the papers have published now that their favourite ‘Brit’ has crashed out of the competition. Nadal will go on to face twelfth seed Tomas Berdych in tomorrow’s final.
