Germany Tops Uruguay in See-Saw Third-Place Match

On Friday a couple people asked me why they still play a third-place match at the World Cup.

My best answer: money. FIFA can sell the broadcast rights and tickets to one more match, to milk a little more green out of the biggest sporting event in the world.

That's obviously not the only reason for the game's continued existence, even if it's the sporting equivalent of the appendix inside the human body.

Regardless of the overall irrelevance, the 2010 version in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, proved to be a fun, open match with Germany beating Uruguay 3-2 to clinch its second consecutive third-place finish at the World Cup.

With the stakes significantly lower, Germany and Uruguay played a wide-open, free-flowing game, which got even more hectic as a steady, heavy rain pelted the already chopped-up pitch at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

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Share Germany's breakout 20-year-old star, Thomas Müller, opened the scoring in the 19th minute, tapping in a rebound from a shot outside the box by Bastian Schweinsteiger, which was initially fumbled by Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera. The goal pushed Müller's total to five, tying him -- for the moment -- atop the scoring charts with Spain's David Villa and the Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder.

German fans will probably spend the next four years wondering what could have been if Müller hadn't been suspended for the squad's 1-0 loss to Spain in the semifinals due to a yellow card for an innocuous handball in the quarterfinals. Whether he wins the Golden Boot award or not, Müller can clear some mantle space for Best Young Player Award, which he'll surely claim.

As it's done all tournament, Uruguay battled back, pulling the game level in the 28th minute on a breakaway goal by Edinson Cavani, set up by a tackle at midfield that caused Schweinsteiger to turn the ball over, enabling a 4-on-3 advantage for La Celeste.

In the 51st minute, Uruguay's talismanic star, Diego Forlan -- despite playing with a leg injury -- made his presence felt, scoring on a top-class, scissoring volley at the top of the penalty area. It gave him five goals, putting four players in contention for the Golden Boot, which, pending the outcome of Sunday's final, would be awarded to Müller since he's piled up the most assists, too.



Forlan is also one of 10 finalists for the Golden Ball award. Chances are he'll finish a distant third to either Villa or Sneijder, depending on if Spain or the Netherlands win the final.

If the Golden Ball is handed out to the best overall player, Forlan might be the 2010 unofficial MVP of the tournament. Without his skill, class and knack for goals there's no way this Uruguay team finishes in fourth place -- its best showing since 1970.

It wouldn't, however, be unprecedented to vote the Golden Ball to Forlan. Salvatore Schillaci won the 1990 award despite Italy -- the tournament hosts -- losing to Argentina in the semifinals. It probably helped that Schillaci scored six goals while the final between West Germany and Argentina was decided by a late penalty kick to propel the Germans.

Diego Forlán has had a sterling World Cup, but is unlikely to take home the Golden Ball

Either way, Forlan can certainly hold his head high. In May he scored the winning goal for Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final vs. Fulham. Now he's pulled Uruguay to a fourth-place finish at the World Cup. Sneijder, of course, is in line to have won the Champions League with Inter Milan and possibly the World Cup with the Netherlands, but Forlan's second-tier awards are not too shabby on their own. It'll be interesting to see if a big club in England or Italy comes calling for his services.

And with his last touch of the ball, Forlan nearly sent the game into extra time with a rasping free kick that rattled off the crossbar in the 93rd minute. Some would say that it was justice being served after Ghana's Asamoah Gyan hit the bar in his 123rd-minute penalty kick vs. Uruguay after Luis Suarez's controversial handball on the line.

Germany had leveled the game at 2-2 in the 56th minute thanks to another gaffe by Muslera. German back Jérôme Boateng lofted a deep cross into the box, which the Uruguay keeper failed to either catch or punch away, allowing Marcell Jansen to nod it into the goal.

Uruguay would finally put the sword in the 82nd minute when Muslera was again caught between positions, allowing Sami Khedira to drift in and head into the net from a Mesut Özil corner.


Be sure to stay with FanHouse for complete coverage from South Africa, as columnist Kevin Blackistone and soccer editor Brian Straus will be on location for the duration of the tournament.

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World Cup Coverage Three-time champion Germany still must wait another four years if it hopes to sew another star above its crest, as its title drought will extend at least 24 years until Brazil in 2014. The Germans have been quite the unlucky bunch this millennium, losing to Brazil in the 2002 final and following it up with back-to-back third-place finishes. For good measure, Germany dropped the Euro 2008 final to rival Spain.

If there's any reason for optimism it's that the core of the German team -- Schweinsteiger, Müller, Özil and Philip Lahm, among others -- are still in their early-to-mid 20s. The Germans figure to be the likely co-favorites with Spain at Euro 2012.

One player who probably won't be around in four years is striker Miroslav Klose, who didn't play Saturday and will likely end his World Cup career with 14 goals -- one shy of the record held by Ronaldo.

In the end, the third-place match proved to be one of -- if not the most -- entertaining match of the entire 2010 tournament.

Anyone tuning in probably wonders why every World Cup match couldn't be that much fun. Of course the third-place match remains a World Cup outlier, the one match where the outcome isn't quite a life-or-death situation.