Glimpses in black 038; white

They didn8217;t win the World Cup but they won five straight matches playing a brand of football that can only be branded the 8220;New Germany8221;. Their game depended on the phenomenal chemistry between Lukas Podolski 8212; winner of the Young Player award 8212; and Miroslav Klose, the precision passing and all-round game of Michael Ballack, the expert mopping-up of Torsten Frings and the unbelievable to anyone who8217;s seen him play for Arsenal shot-stopping of Jens Lehmann. They didn8217;t win the World Cup but this relatively young side has gathered enough experience to be very serious contenders in South Africa four years hence.

Italy

Whatever happens tonight, Italy have defied fate and thumbed their noses at the Damocles sword hanging over them by simply being in Berlin on Sunday. Thanks to the match-fixing scandal, more than half the squad faces the prospect of their clubs being relegated to Serie B, perhaps even Serie C. Yet they have focused on the task ahead of them 8212; and haven8217;t done too badly for themselves. There are no obvious stars, instead excellent teamwork. Buffon in goal, Cannavaro and Zambrotta in defence, Pirlo in midfield and Totti and Toni farther up ahead: If they fire on Sunday, that8217;s the end of France.

Australia

Yes, this sounds odd but you had to be here to see the effect of Australia8217;s success at WC 8217;06. Much of it was down to Guus Hiddink. But the gritty, gutsy players 8212; strongly reminiscent of a certain SR Waugh 8212; responded to whatever he asked of them. Their win over Japan summed up the Aussie spirit and though they lost to Italy on a dodgy penalty, in the dying seconds you could see that they would be the better for the experience.

The touts

No laughing matter: For all their high-tech security systems on ticket sales, FIFA could end up losing around 160 million because of black-market transactions. Reselling tickets is not illegal in Germany and as touts and genuine fans jumped on the opportunity, so too did some FIFA officials. Some, however, refused to give in: One German with a ticket for the final said he had been offered 5,000 euro by an Italian fan once Italy qualified.

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Shootout penalty-takers

They shot themselves in the foot, didn8217;t they? Switzerland were pathetic, netting not even one against Ukraine; England were less so but you8217;d have expected Gerrard and Lampard to score. Germany, of course, were Germany: Methodical, efficient. And they had Jens Lehmann.

Graham Poll

One of the world8217;s best referees, we were told; so good, he gave Croatia8217;s Josip Simunic 3 yellow cards in one match. His usually solid refereeing is undermined by a too-flashy style. Has since retired from international football.

Hooligans

The big losers. There was enough potential for violence, with Dutch, German and English fans all in close proximity with each other, the beer flowing and tensions rising. But, to everyone8217;s surprise and delight, nothing happened. There was obvious delight among Germans when the Dutch were dumped by Portugal but it didn8217;t go beyond loud applause and cheers at every public TV-watching spot.

Juan Roman Riquelme

Landed in Germany with the reputation of being a passmeister; left with the reputation intact, though we would have loved to see more of him. His ability to thread passes in every direction, through the eye of a needle or 40-plus yards crossfield, was a huge factor in Argentina8217;s brilliance till their fadeout. Helping him in his exploits were Javier Saviola, Maxi Rodriguez, Esteban Cambiasso and, when he was given the nod, Lionel Messi. Special mention must be made, though, of Javier Mascherano, without whose steel the silk would have folded.

Brazil

They left their sharpness, their skills and, it appears, their will to win the World Cup back home in Brazil. Ronaldinho was patently off form, perhaps worn out by the long season past; Ronaldo was patently overweight, and the few times he showed his sublime skills only made us yearn for what might have been. Adriano was patently unsuitable to their system, Cafu and Roberto Carlos patently past their sell-by date and even Kaka was less than lustrous. Only Lucio was his usual self, and the frustration at seeing them struggle was heightened when their second-string came off the bench to demolish Japan. Next time, you suspect, Cicinho and Juninho will make more than cameo appearances.

Messi and Walcott

They were two of the young brigade, one with a growing reputation, the other a surprise pick given that he8217;d barely played for his club. Messi was let down badly by his manager Pekerman, who gave him no more than 122 minutes spread across three matches. We longed to shake up Pekerman, make him see the light. And Walcott didn8217;t manage a single minute of play, not even when England were dire and in dire straits.