Into the valley of sudden death

AND then there were 16… After all the joy, pain, controversy and cracking goals of a hugely entertaining sequence of group games, the World Cup today goes into knock-out mode, as Germany and Sweden in Munich, and Argentina and Mexico in Leipzig, play for all or nothing in the opening clashes of the second round.

Argentina, with their staggering depth of quality, will be the hot favourites to eliminate Mexico. How envious must Sven Goran Eriksson have been when he saw that the Argentines were able to call up such world-class attacking talents as Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi for their scoreless draw with Holland. Neither, you will recall, had been in the starting 11 for that memorable 6-0 thrashing of Serbia & Montenegro — still the tournament’s high water mark — although both did come on late in that game to add a couple of exclamation points to what was a resounding statement of intent.

However, the New World clash in Leipzig will inevitably be consigned to a supporting role here in Germany, where the country is once again set to come to a halt for the host nation’s Old World encounter with Sweden. The latter have blown hot and cold in this tournament but, as England discovered in their crazy 2-2 draw, the Swedes have a resilience and spirit which gives them a fighting chance against the team that’s known, and increasingly idolised, as the Nationalmannschaft in these parts.

With Michael Ballack now cruising in high gear, Miroslav Klose chasing the golden boot and the likes of Torsten Frings and Philipp Lahm outstanding, Germany have the individual talents to capitalise on the brimming sense of confidence and expectation which is now sweeping the homeland.

German football legend turned his country’s Mr World Cup, Franz Beckenbauer is practically being treated as a revered presidential figure these days, while the toothsome Jurgen Klinsmann has suddenly acquired his own gravitas and is no longer the butt of anti-American jokes. For the sake of the infectious atmosphere of national celebration which is adding so much richness to the visitor’s experience on the ground this month, Henrik Larsson and company will have to forgive us if we hope that Germany’s growing momentum carries them still further in Munich this afternoon.

Anyone who cares to confidently predict the result of England versus Ecuador in Stuttgart on Sunday is braver than me since the only lesson one can glean from our dear neighbours’ stuttering progress so far is that, while England expects, the rest of us can expect only the unexpected. But if mad intuition is good enough for Sven, it’s good enough for yours truly, so I’m going with a hunch that aimless and luckless England will somehow hang on for penalties in Stuttgart — and then, just for a change, win the shoot-out. (Which is not, of course, to entirely rule out the equally strong possibility that they will hit rock bottom against the men from the high country, finally exposing their hype and hope preparations to the harsh winds of chronic failure).

Those who viewed Croatia’s elimination from the competition as a shock can only have done so by underestimating the pressing claims of Australia under the inspirational management of Guus Hinddink. Attack-minded, aggressive and showing no fear whatsoever, the Aussies are bound to make life difficult on Monday in Kaiserslauten for an enigmatic Italian side which, thus far, has not adequately answered the question as to whether they are playing to the limits of their ability or keeping something special in reserve.

France’s back door qualification last night in Cologne, sets up a high profile meeting with Spain on Tuesday but one that is much less of a collision of superpowers than it would have been six or eight years ago. The hot-to-trot Spanish should have few difficulties coping with a French side whose often panicky victory over Togo fell well short of the radical transformation required to convince anyone that their stay in the competition will be a prolonged one.

Instead, the second round fixture which has thoroughly captured the imagination is Switzerland v Ukraine. Hey, had you going there for a second.

Sunday’s meeting of Portugal v Holland certainly offers the prospect of fascinating contrast, not least in terms of age, but the game which really leaps out is Brazil v Ghana in Dortmund on Tuesday. After watching them excel even in defeat against the Azzurri in Hanover, my only reservation about Ghana concerned the absence of a cutting edge to provide a suitable finale to their often thrilling build-up play. To a limited extent they have rectified that problem in subsequent games, but in losing Michael Essien to suspension their midfield power base may have been fatally weakened.

It doesn’t help their cause either that, after yet another necessary wake-up call early in the game against Japan, Brazil finally burst into life, administering their first proper samba spanking of the competition. In terms of both style and personnel, the Brazil which finishes the competition may end up being substantially different to the one which began it.

Meantime, media lawyers around the world are frantically trying to cobble together an acceptable wording for an apology to Rip Van Ronaldo, something along the lines of: “Recent headlines in this paper such as ‘Fat Lot Of Good He Is,’ and ‘Overweight, Over Here And Over The Hill’ may have somehow suggested to our more impressionable readers that Ronaldo was not quite himself in this competition. We are pleased to take this opportunity to clarify that Ronaldo is still, in fact, the Phenomenal One, and any impression to the contrary created by our coverage is to be deeply regretted.”

Irrespective of whether Big Ron sustains a miraculous rate of recovery to match that of Wayne Rooney, the romantic meeting of the Superstars and the Black Stars is one to be relished. But it’s not the only potential sizzler in store.

With 48 games gone and 15 to go (oh, okay, plus the third place play-off), World Cup 2006 doesn’t even bother to pause for breath before charging headlong into the valley of sudden death.

Me, I’m starting to feel like I’m one of the competition’s official partners: I’m lovin’ it.