I don’t know if anyone was bothered, I hardly was, but Germany beat the Whinging Divers 3-1 in what is essentially just a money making exhibition match at the World Cup.

Technically, the match is for third place, but it’s really just a way to pass the time until the big day tomorrow.

You’d expect this sort of game to be more wide open and this one was. It was back and forth action with Germany having the best of it. Schweinsteiger’s two goals were rockets. Kahn finally got to play. Ballack sat. Except for Christiano Ronaldo continuing to collapse at the slightest breath in his direction, the game was well and fairly played. Just about exactly what you’d hope for in this friendly. Even the home crowd got to go home happy.

But, bring on the real show.

Everyone is thinking the final’s going to be a real defensive display. That stands to reason, of course. I think an early goal would change all that and either side have plenty of guns to sneak something inside of 15 minutes. I’m thinking Italy 3-1 in a great match. The start is important, though. If both defenses hold at the beginning, look for it to tighten up the rest of the way. Then it’s a 1-0 nailbiter that could fall either way. Alright, it’s going to fall to Italy anyway. The idiot, Barthez will flub one, if all else fails.