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Lionel Messi didn’t show up, again, for a big Argentina match, as Germany did to Maradona what they did to England a few days earlier, crushing the Albiceleste 4-0, never allowing Argentina any real threat on Neuer’s goal, with every piece of Low’s puzzle working perfectly, orchestrated by the fantastic Bastian Schweinsteiger, eliminating the second South American juggernaut side from the World Cup, ending the talks about Latin domination in South Africa.

Argentina were the team that kicked off, but the Germans were pretty much the only team that showed up in the first few minutes, and Thomas Muller scored off of Schweinsteiger’s free kick which was poorly defended by Maradona’s men, scoring his fourth goal of the tournament.

Thomas Muller, 1-0

Argentina’s midfield, throughout the tournament, has been pretty much defense only. Any build up plays and creativity bursts only happen when Tevez and/or Messi drop to take the ball and start something. After 13 minutes, it was obvious that Germany have a huge advantage in that department, with Ozil, Muller, Schweinsteiger and Khedira dominating the match rather easily.

Muller, the best man on the pitch, found a wide open Klose in the 23 minute, who sent the ball flying over Romero’s goal in the 23rd minute with a very uncharacteristic miss.

Well, if the midfield doesn’t work, Argentina resorted to a more individual approach, which created a few chances, with Di Maria and Higuain testing Neuer 30 minutes from the beginning of the match, with the German goalkeeper easily handling the situations.

Messi wasn’t exactly lighting the pitch on fire, but Argentina were becoming more and more dominant as the first half winded down, while the Germans hung back, hoping to catch Argentina unprepared with those counter attacks that worked so well against England.

Maradona’s best move during the half was moving Angel Di Maria to the right, faced up against Boateng and not against Lahm, who’s looking like the best full back in the World in this World Cup. Di Maria was able to create some chances and free up Messi to roam in the middle, but without creating any major threats on the German goal (yet).

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Argentina came out strong after the half time break, with Angel Di Maria almost scoring a spectacular goal, missing Neuer’s goal by a few inches in the 48th minute after a powerful shot from 25 meters.

10 Minutes into the second half, Argentina look more and more dangerous as both Tevez and Higuain were able to create chances for themselves inside the penalty box. Germany are relying too much on their D and ability to play the counter attack.

A hectic pace to the game – Messi broke through for the first time in the 62 minute, finding Higuain in the box, but a soft shot didn’t give Neuer too much trouble. The German defenders aren’t letting anyone, especially Messi, get any easy attempts at goal.

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67th minute – Miroslav Klose scored his third goal of the tournament and his 13th World Cup Finals goal, tapping in Podolski’s assist after Podolski carved the Argentinian defense.

Mirsolav Klose, 2-0

74th minute – Arne Friedrich scored his first goal ever for the German national team after a brilliant dribble by Schweinsteiger, the best player on the pitch, carving through a helpless Argentina defense and setting up Friedrich with another easy goal and a 3-0, untouchable, lead.

Arne Friedrich, 3-0

The problem is with this German side is they smell blood and pounce on every opportunity. 12 Minutes away from a third consecutive Semi Final appearance, Low’s side doesn’t seem satisfied with “only” a 3 goal margin.

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Klose satisfied that appetite, scoring his second of the day, giving Merkel another reason to applaud this wonderful German side, after Ozil found him wide open to beat Romero again. Klose now needs only one goal to tie Ronaldo’s World Cup record of 15 goals.

Miroslav Klose, 4-0

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The goal that “was but wasn’t” will probably be talked about for a long long time and maybe, along with the Carlos Tevez goal while being offside, it will get FIFA to wise up and start using Replays, but Germany deserved the win, killing England’s defense which was in total panic and disarray every time two German players displayed the very simple yet efficient double pass.

Matthew Upson is a nice Premier League defender, but despite his goal, he shouldn’t be on a team that has aspirations of a long run in the world cup. Gareth Barry was quite pathetic as well, allowing Ozil to get by him without any resistance in the third goal, which pretty much finished the match.

Germany? They looked awesome for most of the match. England did have a good stretch near the end of the first half and about 15 minutes in the beginning of the second, trying to find the equalizer, but two counter attacks in three minutes finished them off.

Ozil, Muller, Schweinsteiger and the rest deserve all the compliments in the world, before their mega clash with Argentina.

And from European animosity, to some Latin flair and efficiency, although Argentina were a lot more efficient than brilliant – Mexico scored one of their five shots on target and 17 overall, while Argentina scored three of their six shots on target and 12 overall.

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Mexico were the better side in the opening minutes, with Guardado, Hernandez and Salcido testing Romero, mostly from long range, but Argentina did seem a tad lost.

26th minute – Messi found Teves, after a mistake by Oscar Perez (not his first), clearly offside, but apparently enough to hide it from the ref and linesman, putting Argentina ahead.

Osorio was the next in the Mexican team to make a crucial mistake, losing the ball to Higuain who scored his fourth goal of the World Cup in very easy fashion.

Argentina continued with the pressing in the second half, and Carlos Tevez got his brace, scoring a scorcher from 25 meters, the best goal of the World Cup so far.

Maradona seemed comfortable with the result and took out Tevez, putting in Veron. Two minutes later Javier Hernandez showed his scoring prowess with a very impressive goal. Argentina didn’t really try and gain back momentum or control of the match, but Mexico didn’t have anything left in them to make it a real nail biter in the closing minutes.

Top Scorers

1. Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina) – 4 Goals
2. Robert Vittek (Slovakia), David Villa (Spain), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Landon Donovan (United States), Thomas Muller (Germany) – 3 Goals.
3. Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Elano & Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Tiago (Portugal), David Villa (Spain), Lee Jung-Soo (South Korea), Kalu Uche (Nigeria), Brett Holman (Australia), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Lee Chung-Yong (South Korea), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Carlos Tevez (Argentina), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Lukas Podolski (Germany) – 2 Goals.

Picture of the Day – Lampard’s No-Goal

Tough Call...

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WAG of the Day – Toni Poole, John Terry’s Wife

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Tomorrow

We’ll open with Netherlands vs Slovakia, with the Dutch well aware that underestimating Weiss’ team will be a huge mistake. On the other hand, Holland are a much better team, with or without Robben, and if they press the pedal from the get go, which they haven’t done so far in the tournament, should qualify comfortably.

The late show will again be a Latin one, with Brazil and Chile – Chile have had left a lot of impressed fans after the group stage, but when they faced a world class opponent like Spain, couldn’t raise their game. Brazil, despite not being the side that the World wants to see, are good enough to see off Chile.

Next, on to Mali’s Koman Coulibaly, arguably Africa’s best referee. He didn’t seem keen on the United States grabbing a win against Slovenia, and disallowed Maurice Edu’s rightful winner for no reason at all. It seemed that in all the 50-50 calls, he preferred to give the Slovenians the advantage. The United States weren’t very good in the second half and deserved to go down behind 0-2, but they deserved to get the equalizer and the winner in the second half.

Finally, to Uzbekistan’s Ravshan Irmatov, Asia’s finest. He didn’t make any controversial call, but he just didn’t seem to want a flowing game between England and Algeria. It’s not that England were very good, and the 0-0 draw did justice to both teams, but every time an Algerian player fell to the grass, there was Irmatov with his whistle, keen on calling a foul against the English. Just let us watch some un-interrupted football, that’s all we ask.

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Oh, how quickly things change. Just a few days ago, Germany were the hottest team in the World Cup after their 4-0 demolition job against the Aussies. Now? The last 16 doesn’t seem like a sure thing. That’s how one bad referee and Lukas Podolski’s inability to score does to you. Milan Jovanovic and Milos Krasic were the only ones who played decently for the Serbs, who seemed to hang back and let a 10 man Germany keep them on their heels, and were lucky to come out as winners. Still, Low’s team needs to beat Ghana, not such a sure thing anymore. Serbia also need a win, against the apparent weaklings of the group.

The best match of the day didn’t go without its own controversy, as Maurice Edu’s potential winner for the Americans was disallowed for no reason.

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The United States showed another bad start, lacking concentration, conceding an early goal again. Torres and Donovan tested Handanovic as the Americans certainly seemed to improve after Birsa’s opener, but a failed offside trap allowed Zlatan Ljubijankic to send the teams to the dressing rooms with Slovenia leading 2-0.

Second half? Different story – The United States searched for goals, Slovenia welcomed the American comeback, and Landon Donovan’s early goal meant it would be a one-way street in the second half.

It took them more than 30 minutes, but a fantastic combination found Michael Bradley in a comfortable space to make it 2-2. Slovenia still lead the group, and a draw against England will be enough for them, making an historic appearance in the next stage. The United States, facing Algeria, need a win, but if Slovenia beat England, would only need a draw to make it into the last 16.

From the best game, we move on to the worst. England failed to get things going against the Algerians who played much better than in their performance against Slovenia, especially in the first half, when they kept pushing England back, hoping James would do another “Robert Green”. The game never really got going, as England failed again and again to make the Gerrard-Lampard-Barry trio work, and Wayne Rooney produced another very weak outing. Capello threw in two strikers and again that weird Phillips switch with Lennon, just as Lennon started to improve. Now England arrive to their final match needing a win, and from the looks of things tonight, their nerves aren’t up to it.

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Picture of the Day – Klose Sent Off

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Fan of the Day – English Blond

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Group Tables

Group C

1. Slovenia, 4 points (3-2)
2. United States, 2 points (3-3)
3. England, 2 points (1-1)
4. Algeria, 1 point (0-1)

Group D

1. Germany, 3 points (4-1)
2. Ghana, 3 points (1-0)

3. Serbia, 3 points (1-1)
4. Australia, 0 points (0-4)
* Germany and Serbia have played 2 matches, Ghana and Australia just one.

Top Scorers

1. Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), 3 goals
2. Diego Forlan (Uruguay), 2 goals
3. 36 players with one goal, 2 own goals

What We’ve Learned

Serbia – The Serbs won, and their defense looked good, while Krasic and Jovanovic had a nice game. Still, they didn’t impress – instead of going for the jugular against ten Germans, they stayed back and if it wasn’t for some good fortune, their World Cup dream would be over today. Maybe it’s the striker Antic needs to attend – there are none right now.

Germany – Like Spain against Switzerland, Germany played well, got the chances, but got screwed – this time by the ref. Low was right to say Germany will make it through, but it’s going to be much more complicated than predicted a few days ago. Still, Germany look good, just a bit more concentration in front of goal.

Slovenia – Funny thing, how things turn out. After round in Group C, Slovenia only need to draw against England to make it through. They can also lose if the United States and Algeria finish in a draw. Slovenia have a strong defense, and if the English play as nervously and stupidly as today, might cause a huge upset. Problem is, the attack, despite scoring two against a weak American defense, won’t have it easy against England.

United States – When Donovan started playing well, the US looked well. That’s all there is to it – the man sets the tone for the United States, but needs help in the middle to carry the load and dictate the pace. Maybe a more attack-minded approach from the get go could boast well for the United States against Algeria.

England – So many things went wrong, and Capello, a rarity in his career, doesn’t seem to have the anwers. I think he needs to start playing Joe Cole on the flank, take out Heskey and let Gerrard play off Rooney. He can’t do a drastic change, but things aren’t working for England, and if they fail to qualify, the tabloids will have his head.

Algeria – Enjoyed the confused English state to control the match in the first half. If they’re not facing an aggressive and pressing side, Ziani & friends can play some nice football. The United States are a better team, but Algeria still have a chance, and they won’t be easy on giving up their qualification chances.

Tomorrow

Netherlands – Japan
The match for the top of the group. If Robben is healthy, no chance for the Japanese. Still, if he’s not, let Elia play on the wing, the Dutch look much better with speed on the flanks.
Ghana – Australia
Australia just don’t seem to have anyone who’ll score goals for them, and now Cahill is suspended. Hard to see Ghana losing this one, despite not playing a great game against Serbia. They have enough talent to beat the Aussies and repeat their 2006 success.
Cameroon – Denmark
Denmark didn’t look very good against the Netherlands, but if Eto’o is unhappy as the rumors say he is and Cameroon produce another flat showing like the one against Japan, Denmark have enough to beat the Africans.

Last note – 43 Goals, 23 matches. We’re almost at 2 goals per match – looking much better.

Let’s get straight to the goals, beginning with another keeper blunder, allowing Slovenia the 1-0 win over Algeria, giving them the top of Group C.

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Algeria – Slovenia : 0 – 1 (Robert Koren, 79th minute)

On to Group D, where Ghana came out as the surprise winners, after a horrible mistake by Zdravko Kuzmanovic, stupidly giving Ghana an 85th minute penalty, converted by Asamoah Gyan.

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Serbia – Ghana : 0 – 1 (Asamoah Gyan, penalty, 84th minute)

No surprise in the Germany Australia match, which produced four goals, all in Schwarzer’s net, setting Germany as the early favorites (without seeing the Netherlands, Spain and Brazil play) and the first team to put on a really impressive match, finally.

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Germany – Australia : 4 – 0 (Podolski 8th, Klose 26th, Muller 67th, Cacau 70th)

Podolski

Klose

Muller

Cacau

Group Tables

Group C

1. Slovenia, 3 points (1-0)
2. England, 1 point (1-1)
3. United States, 1 points (1-1)
4. Algeria, 0 points (0-1)

Group D

1. Germany, 3 points (4-0)
2. Ghana, 3 points (1-0)
3. Serbia, 0 points (0-1)
4. Australia, 0 points (0-1)

Scoring Charts

13 Players with one goal.
* So far, 13 goals in 8 matches, 1.6 per game. Room for improvement.

Picture of the Day – Richard Kingson sprayed with water

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Fan of the Day – German Bikini

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Tomorrow

The Netherlands – Denmark
Japan – Cameroon
Italy – Paraguay

10 Goals – Six players

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We’ll begin with Batigol, Gabriel Batistuta. Batistuta played in three World Cups – 1994, 1998 and 2002. In 1994 Batistuta opened his World Cup career by scoring a hat trick against Greece in a 4-0 win by Argentina, but didn’t score again in during the group stages. In the round of 16 Batistuta scored another goal for Argentina, who lost to Romania 3-2. In the 1998 World Cup Batistua again scored on Argentina’s opening match, scoring the team’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Japan. A week later, in Argentina’s 5-0 win over Jamica Batistua became the first player to score a hat trick in two World Cups and the fourth player to score two World Cup hat tricks. Argentina made it through to the quarter finals this time, after a classic round of 16 game against England, with Batistuta scoring one of Argentina’s goals in a game that ended 2-2 with Argentina winning after penalty kicks. Holland knocked out Argentina in the quarters, winning 2-1. Batistuta opened the 2002 World cup again with a goal in Argentina’s opening game, scoring the only goal in the win over Nigeria. That was Batistuta’s last goal in the World Cup, as Argentina didn’t make it out of the group stage. Batistuta retired after 2005 as the greatest scorer in the national team history, with 56 goals in 78 caps.

Next is Peruvian Teofilo Cubillas who also scored 10 goals in three World Cups. When he was only 20 he started his World Cup career with Peru at the 1970 World Cup. He scored five goals in four matches, as Peru went on to the Quarter Finals and lost 4-2 to Brazil there. He scored one in the opening win against Bulgaria, two against Morocco in a 3-0 win and one in a loss to West Germany. He also scored in the loss to Brazil. In 1978 he scored another five goals, finishing as second best scorer after Mario Kempes. He scored another two in the opener against Scotland and a hat trick against Iran in a 4-1 win. Peru made it to the second group stage but didn’t score one goal in three games. Cubillas played also in the 1982 World Cup but didn’t score a goal. El Nene is considered the most famous Peruvian player ever and is the best scorer ever for his national team.

Miroslav Klose, born in Poland and member of the German national team is the third player with 10 World Cup goals. Klose has played in two World Cups, 2002 and 2006, scoring five goals in each and also winning the golden boot in the 2006 World Cup that took place in Germany. He is the only player to score five+ goals in consecutive World Cups. In 2002 he started with a hat trick against Saudi Arabia in Germany’s 8-0 win, one in the 1-1 draw with Ireland and another one in Germany’s 2-0 win over Cameroon. Germany made it to the finals but Klose didn’t score another goal in the tournament. In 2006 he opened with a couple of goals against Costa Rica (4-2 win) and another two in the 3-0 win over Ecuador. In the Quarter Finals Klose scored the equalizing goal against Argentina, sending the game into extra time and a penalty shootout which Germany won. They got knocked out in the Semi’s by Italy. Klose has 44 goals in 81 caps for the German national team so far.

Number four with 10 goals, Grzegorz Lato, part of the golden era of the Poland national team. He played in three World Cups – 1974, 1978 and 1982. In 1974 Lato scored two braces, one against Argentina (3-2 win) and against Haiti (7-0 win). Lato scored in two games in the second group stage, but Poland made it only to the third place match, beating Brazil 1-0 win Lato scoring. He finished as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals. Poland made it to the second group stage again in 1978, but didn’t succeed as in 1974. Lato scored two goals in the tournament. Poland finished third again in 1982, with Lato scoring only one goal, in a 5-1 win over Peru. Lato is the most capped player for Poland, with a 104.

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Gary Lineker is the next 10 goals scoring man on our list – six in 1986 (winning the golden boot) and four in 1990, helping England to a Semi Final appearance, where they lost to West Germany in Penalties. Lineker scored a hat trick against Poland in 1986, two against Paraguay in the round of 16 match and one in the quarter finals 2-1 loss to Argentina, maybe the most famous game in World Cup history, with the two (one brilliant, one illegally notorious) Maradona goals. In 1990 he scored one in the group stages against Ireland and two penalties in the quarter final win over Cameroon, including the 3-2 winner in extra time. He scored the equalizing goal against Germany in the Semi’s, before losing the penalty shootout. Lineker is second on England’s all time scorers list, with 48.

The final and sixth player on our 10 goals list is German Helmut Rahn, the man who scored the winning goal in the 3-2 victory over Hungary in the 1954 Finals. Rahn scored four goals in the 1954 World cup, including two in the final. West Germany lost to Hungary 8-3 in the group stage (Rahn scored there as well) but were able to come back from going down 2-0 after 8 minutes in the final. Rahn scored twice, including the 84th minute winner. He scored six goals in the 1958 World Cup, four of them coming the group stage, scoring in all three matches. Rahn scored in the 1-0 win over Yugoslavia in the Quarter Final, but Germany lost in the Semi’s to Sweden. In the third place match that Germany lost to France 6-3 Rahn scored his final World Cup goal.

11 goals – Two Players

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It’s getting thinner as we get closer to the top. We being the 11 goals scorers with another German, Jurgen Klinsmann. He played in three World Cups – 1990, 1994 and 1998, winning the 1990 tournament with West Germany. He scored three goals in 1990 – two in the group stage (one in a 4-1 win over Yugoslavia and one in a 5-1 win over the Arab Emirates). His third goal came in the round of 16 match against Holland, scoring the opener as West Germany went on to win 2-1. That match was mostly remembered for Frank Rijkaard spitting at Rudi Voeller. In 1994 West Germany came as favorites, alongside Brazil, to win the cup. Klinsmann scored four goals in the group stage, scoring one in all three matches, including two in the 3-2 win over South Korea.He added one in the 3-2 win over Belgium in the round of 16, his fifth and final goal in that World Cup. Germany lost to Bulgaria in the Quarter Final, one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. In 1998 the 34 year old Klinsmann played in his final World Cup and scored three goals. Two of them came in the Group stage in the wins over the United States and Iran, and his final World Cup goal came in the round of 16 win over Mexico, scoring the equalizing goal in the 2-1 comeback win. Klinsmann also managed the German national team to a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup.

Second with 11 goals is Hungarian Sandor Kocsis, the Golden Head. He was part of the legendary 1950’s Hungarian national side that finished as runners up in the 1954 World Cup but were considered the best team of that era. All of Kocsis goals came at one world cup and he was of course the top scorer in 1954. He scored two hat tricks during the tournament, the first player to ever do that. Both hat tricks came in the group stage – in the 9-0 win over Korea and the famous 8-3 win over West Germany. Kocsis added two more in the quarter final 4-2 win over Brazil, and another two in the 4-2 win over Uruguay in the Semi’s. Kocsis scored both goals in extra time, his final World Cup goals. He finished his international career with 75 goals in 68 matches. He died at the young age of 49, allegedly taking his own life.

12 Goals – Pele

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Edison Arantes do Nascimento, or Pele, the man declared a national treasure by the Brazilian Government, and to many, the greatest soccer player ever. He is Brazil’s all time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 caps and is the only player to be part of three World Cup winning teams. He missed most of the 1962 World Cup but was awarded a gold medal by FIFA in 2007. Pele made a lot of first in 1958. He became the youngest player to score in the World Cup, scoring the winner in the 1-0 quarter finals win over Wales, the youngest to score a hat trick in the 5-2 Semi Final win over France, scoring all his goals in the second half, and they youngest player to play in the World Cup finals, scoring two in the 5-2 win over hosts Sweden, Brazil’s first World Cup win. In the 1962 World Cup held in Chile Pele started with a goal in the first game against Mexico but was injured in the second match and didn’t play again in the tournament. Brazil won anyway. Pele scored in the opening match of the 1966 World Cup, a 2-0 win over Bulgaria, but didn’t score again, as Brazil were knocked out with two group stage losses to Portugal and Hungary. In 1970 came his final triumph, scoring four goals in what is considered by many the greatest national team ever. Brazil swept through the Group stage with Pele scoring three goals in two games, but kept his final World Cup goal for the most important moment – the Final against Italy. Pele scored the opener, with Brazil eventually winning 4-1 and becoming the first team to win three World Cups and keep the trophy.Pele is one of only two playes to score a goal in four different World Cups, the other being Germany’s Uwe Seeler, also in the 1958-1970 period.

13 Goals – Just Fontaine

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Justo, Just Fontaine, the France player born in Morocco, and the scorer of the most goals in a single World Cup tournament – 13 in the 1958 World Cup. Fontaine won the golden boot in 1958 of course, scoring 13 goals in six matches, scoring in every match he played. He scored a hat trick in the first game, a 7-3 win over Paraguay. He scored two in a 3-2 loss to Yugoslavia and another goal in the 2-1 win over Scotland. France made it to the Quarter Finals, with Fontaine scoring two in the 4-0 win over Northern Ireland. France lost to Brazil 5-2 in the Semi’s but Fontaine still managed to score one. His greatest accomplishment came in the third place match against West Germany. France beat the defending champions 6-3, with Fontaine scoring four goals.

14 Goals – Gerd Muller

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The last German on this list, Gerd Muller, bomber der Nation. Muller won the World Cup with West Germany in 1974, scoring four goals, but 1970 was better World Cup for him personally, scoring 10 goals, reaching the Semi Final. Muller scored in all three group stage matches – one in the 2-1 win over Morocco, a hat trick in the 5-2 win over Bulgaria and another hat trick in the 3-1 win over Peru. Muller scored the extra time winner in the 3-2 Quarter Final win over England and his last two in the amazing 4-3 loss to Italy in the Semi Finals. West Germany equalized in the 90th minute to send the game into extra time. The Germans went up 2-1 by Muller in the 94th minute, but Burginch equalized in the 98th. Riva put Italy 3-2 up in the 104th minute but Muller equalized six minutes later. Rivera scored the winner for Italy a minute later. In 1974, hosted in West Germany, Muller scored only one in the group stage, in the 3-0 win over Australia. In the second group stage Muller scored in two of three matches, helping West Germany to the final. He saved his final World Cup goal for the final against Holland. Holland went 1-0 up after only two minutes, but Breitner equalized in the 25 minute and Muller scored the winner just before half time, giving the Germans their second World Cup .Muller is Germany’s all time leading scorer, with 68 goals in 62 caps.

Number 1 – 15 Goals – Ronaldo

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Today mostly known to many as “fat” Ronaldo, some forget that Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was the finest scoring machine in the world during parts of the late 90’s and earlier this decade. He was part of the 1994 Cup winning team but didn’t get to play. In 1998, at the age of 21, he was considered by many to be the best player in the world. He scored only one goal in the group stage, but made an impressive performance in the round of 16, scoring two goals against Chile, winning 4-1. Brazil beat Denmark 3-2 in the quarter final in a great game without Ronaldo scoring, but he came through in the semi final against Holland, scoring the goal for Brazil in a match that ended 1-1 after 120 minutes. He scored the first penalty for Brazil, who went on to the finals. What happened in the 24 hours before the finals is stuff of speculation and rumors. Did he have a fit? Did Nike force him to play? It doesn’t matter, Brazil lost 3-0 to France, and Ronaldo went on to years of injuries and misfortune. Than came 2002 in Japan and Korea. Brazil started with a 2-1 win over Turkey as Ronaldo scored the equalizer for Brazil. He scored again in the 4-0 win over China, and two more in the 5-2 win over Costa Rica. Brazil beat Belgium 2-0 in the round of 16, Ronaldo scoring one again. In the quarter final Brazil beat England 2-1 but Ronaldo did not score. He scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Turkey in the Semi Final and his best came in the Final against Germany, scoring two second half goals, winning the game and the fifth World Cup for Brazil. Ronaldo won the golden boot with 8 goals in the tournament. In 2006 he was criticized for being fat and slow, but he did score two goal in one game against Japan, tying him with Gerd Muller as the best scorers of all time in the World Cups and the 20th player to score a goal in three different World Cups. He passed Muller in the round of 16 win over Ghana. Brazil lost to France 1-0 in the quarter final. Ronaldo is also one of only two players (Klinsmann being the other) to score at least three goals in three different World Cups.