It brings me no joy to write the following: Germany was pretty awesome last night. Their movement and passing was superb. By miles, the best performance of the tournament. They were, as we expect from Germany, a well oiled soccer machine, and not as soulless as they have been in the past. As impressive as they were, let's not forget that Australia was awful. Really, really awful. Their defense was so completely amateur and when it was clear their plan wasn't going to work, they had no plan b. Serbia is going to be a different story-their defense is excellent-and it will be interesting to see how Germany handles inches, not acres of space and a brighter than dimwitted defensive line. Also, Ghana has a real midfield and offense. Basically, Germany wasn't tested at all. My impossible dream of a Germany-less second round isn't completely extinguished (Well, sort of, but if Ghana and Serbia beat Germany...). Go Ghana, go Serbia!

But, thank you Germany for playing good football, scoring some goals, connecting with your passes, and generally showing every other country how to play in the world cup.