Thank you France

The Great El-ahrairah just got back from another quick trip to the island of Malta (it didn't rain this time). Since the Maltese are big-time supporters of England, I was hoping that Portugal would beat England, just to shut up all the boorish English fans. I also wanted the French to win against Brazil since everyone (including Brazil) thinks that all they need to do is show up for the tournament and they will be awarded the World Cup.

Well, it seems that great gods of soccer heard me as England lost to Portugal on penalty kicks and the French showed Brazil that World Cup 1998 wasn't a fluke by beating them 1-0. I wasn't able to watch the England-Portugal game, but I did watch the France-Brazil game as the only French supporter at the bar and it just warmed the cockles of my heart to watch France beat the Brazilians at their own "joga bonita" game.

Now, with the German and Italian wins, the final four teams will be an all European affair. Three of the teams have won before but Portugal never has. The Italians play Germany on the 4th of July and the French play Portugal on the 5th. I'll pick Italy over Germany by the score of 2:1 and the French over the Portugese by 2:0. Allez les Bleus!!! Forza Italia!!!