The 37-year-old German official was ruthlessly efficient in his handling of Thursday's all South American semifinal between Argentina and Chile; too ruthless in the eyes of this observer.

It's the nature of the beast. Anyone who's ever played the game from the grass roots to the World Cup Final understands the celebration and satisfaction of victory, but also appreciates the pain and hurt of defeat.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup has been no different - who can forget the images of Canada's own Andrea Lombardo leaving the sodden Edmonton turf in tears - yet managing to applaud the hardy fans who'd stuck by him and his teammates despite a dismal campaign by the host nation.

The initial skirmishes and general jockeying for position of the group stages are behind us. From now on every match counts.

What have we learned - if anything - about the various qualities of the remaining sixteen competitors? First round statistics can certainly be a guide, but surely should not be taken as gospel when attempting to gaze into soccer's crystal ball towards the 'business end' of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Mexico play in green shirts, Portugal in red and New Zealand wear white, right?

Wrong.

At the opening Group C games in Toronto the Kiwis, collectively known as the All-Whites, presumably to distinguish themselves from the legendary New Zealand All-Blacks Rugby Union team, turned out in an All-Blue kit against Portugal.

"No, Canada cannot win the tournament."

"Yes, the host nation always has an advantage."

"No, it's not an event that Canadians don't care about."

And NO - I don't have all the answers!