Getting the KICKs

You really don't need any reasons to explain why everyone is gripped by the world cup fever.
Its too obvious, to say the least. Its there for everyone to see and enjoy. Its been pure magic ever since Philip Lahm opened the flood-gates through a beautifully driven goal just 6 mins into the cup finals. There's been the far too many moments of brilliance for me to remember. And considering that I have'nt been able to watch all the matches, World cup'06 is more than living up to all the hype and expectations. Awesome, Breathtaking, Superb, Magnificent, Incredible, Amazing - you need to find more superlatives in your dictionary to expain whats being displayed in Germany since 9th June .How about discussing some of these moments?

Consider this,Argentina put in a record 24 passes for a goal in their 6-0 thrashing of the, not exactly minnowish Serbia & Montenegro. Brazil got the better of it during the goal they scored through Ze Roberto against Ghana later in the 2nd round.
Ronaldo silenced all his critics, who only seemed to talk about his supposed lack of fitness, by breaking the record for most goals( held my German Gerd Mueller). Whatever the critics might say, he does still have few magic spells left. And if chooses to silence his critics by scoring more goals, would anybody complain, other than his opponents??
The Aussies, playing the cup finals after a long gap of 30 yrs, showed why Australia can't be counted out of any sport. Reaching the second round, and almost causing a major upset against mighty Italy, if not for the dreaded referee pointing his finger to the penalty spot- that for me was the most shocking moment yet of this worldcup. It was as if the referee wanted to gift the match to Italy when the Socceroos seemed to be running away with the match. It was just heart-breaking to see Roma's Totti netting the ball in. Another of those disappointments, Ivory Coast couldn't 'coast' into the 2nd round inspite of their commendable performance in the group of death. I am so very sure, looking at the speed and skill that the African nation posessed, they could have caused some damage had they been in a different group, or for that matter had they been a little more luckier.

Now to England. Anybody who watches the English premiere league wouldn't have believed it was England's best 11 playing, when they were struggling hard to score their own goal 170 minutes into the worldcup. It needed the charismatic Rooney, whose metatarsal injury got more newsprint than anything else in the English media, to inspire them to the next round.
As i write this, I'm still trying to come to terms with the harsh reality that the most talented side on display in the Worldcup so far, Argentina, is out. Riquelme, Crespo, Tevez, Messi (whom Maradona declared to be his successor) had showcased so much of the Argentine magic. So many believed they were the best team as a unit.
It felt sorry to see Argentina, who promised so much, go out through the dreaded penalty shoot out. Moments like that really make me think there ought to be better ways to decide a knock out match than just 5 spot kicks. Because so much depends on the luck factor. To put it in simple words - the goalkeeper falls on one side, if the kick happens to come on the same side he has greater chances of saving, or else he's got no chance at all. However naive this argument might look, i'm sure there are people who can buy into it.
I'm hoping against hope, that there won't be another penalty shoot out in any of the remaining matches.