Part 86 - From Each According to His Ability
2006 FIFA World Cup - Remaining Knockout Stage
Midway through the opening half, the Soviet Union made it 1-0 versus Argentina, who were in a third consecutive World Cup quarter-final. Indeed, their routine at this stage perhaps played a role in their 49th-minute equalizer. Nevertheless, it was the Soviets who went wild as Shevchenko restored their lead after 80 minutes of play, in front of close to 100,000 spectators.
Denmark were back in the quarter-finals for the first time in 20 years, while Brazil's experience at this stage is nigh unparallelled. The game was even, being won by a single Brazilian goal in the 65th minute.
Following a goalless first half, Germany opened the scoring against Portugal in the 56th minute, and doubled it almost exactly minutes later. The European champions did fine a consolation, but never the equalizer. Germany were in the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, when they went all the way. Could they do it again?
People also pondered whether Italy could defeat Korea again, as in the 2002 semi-final. As it turns out, yes, in unexpectedly one-sided fashion. Though the score was 1-1 at half-time, following Italy's opener, the title holders scored twice in the second half to run out 3-1 victors against the Asian giant.
Ronaldo gave Brazil the lead in the first semi-final against the hosts, who made it 1-1 in the 57th minute. With penalties approaching, the Soviets found the winner in the dying minutes of extra time to send the home fans wild.
Extra time appeared imminent in the other semi-final too - until the Italians found their breakthrough in the 90th minute. Italy became the first team since 1990 to reach consecutive World Cup finals. That 1990 team was Germany, the opponent Italy defeated in this semi-final. Italy of course hoped to take things a step farther by mounting the first successful title defense since Brazil in 1962.
Unlike their 1962 rendition, this Brazilian team had to settle with bronze instead of gold, following their blistering 3-2 triumph over Germany.
The final could be described as a modern one, featuring the respective champions of the two preceding tournaments. The Soviets took the lead thanks to an early penalty, only for Italy to level the scoring not long thereafter. And not long into the second half, the hosts restored their advantage. An intense match followed, with many opportunities and would-be chances undone by heroic Soviet defending. The scoreline was ultimately final, and the Soviets were world champions for the second time in history.
Knockout stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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Credit to
@KingSweden24 for impressively getting every remaining prediction right!
Stay tuned for Euro 2008 which will be quite different from OTL.