By Jesse Campigotto
It's been said that the World Cup doesn't truly begin until the first English hooligan is arraigned on charges of urinating in public. Really, though, the tournament starts in earnest with the knockout rounds, which open today when host country Germany meets blond country Sweden in Munich.
Unlike in the Group stages, all the games are must-wins now. The winner moves on to the Round of Eight, while the loser goes home (unless Germany loses, in which case they'll already be home). There will be no more draws - they'll play (or at least penalty kick) until there's a winner.
Germany finished first in Group A by defeating Poland, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Sweden came in second in Group B by way of a win over Paraguay and draws against England and Trinidad & Tobago.
None of that matters now, though. It's do or die.
FULLTIME
Thanks for joining us today. Be sure to check back here Monday morning for our next live game blog. We'll be following the second-round game between Italy and Australia from Kaiserslautern, Germany. Coverage starts at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Ciao.
FULLTIME
The Germans are on to the quarterfinals, where they'll meet the winner of the Argentina-Mexico game that goes at 3:00 p.m. EDT today.
FULLTIME
Final Score: Germany 2, Sweden 0. The Germans put the finishing touches on a dominating win in which they fired a stunning 29 shots at the Swedish net, with 13 being on goal. The Swedes fired only four shots, two on goal. Their best chance was the Larsson penalty kick, which even require a save from German goalie Lehmann.
90TH MINUTE
The Germans have finally let up a bit and now seem content to simply run out the clock on a convincing victory.
85TH MINUTE
The Germans are out for blood. Rather than letting up, it by the offensive pressure they're applying that they're intent on going up by three goals. Bernd Schneider just rang one off the post.
81ST MINUTE
Another hard shot on goal by Ballack, but its toward the middle of the net and right at Isaksson. Ballack looks very angry and very determined. Dangerous combo.
79TH MINUTE
Ballack misses the net again, but it seems almost inevitable that he'll score. He's taken a lot of excellent shots that either barely missed the net or were turned away by a great save from Isaksson.
75TH MINUTE
Podolski is done too, replaced by Oliver Neuville. Not a bad day's work for Podolski, who scored twice and fired five shots at the net.
73RD MINUTE
Ibrahimovic is done for the day, replaced by Marcus Allback. Thanks for coming out, Z.
67TH MINUTE
A graphic informs us that Germany has a wide advantage in ball possession time - 62 per cent to 38 per cent.
63RD MINUTE
Podolski violates soccer decorum by taking a shot at the goal after a Swedish player goes down hurt. He's whistled mercilessly.
60TH MINUTE
The German fans boo after Sweden is awarded a free kick. Europeans are really on to something with their whistling to voice displeasure. So much better than booing.
55TH MINUTE
Ballack fires another excellent shot at Isaksson, a low bender toward the left side of the net. But Isaksson is up to the task, diving and getting a piece of the ball to send it off the post and out.
55TH MINUTE
The Swedes have replaced Jonson with Christian Wilhelmsson.
53RD MINUTE
Larsson botches the golden opportunity to get his team back in the game, blasting the ball way over the net.
53RD MINUTE
Here we go: Larsson is awarded a penalty kick when he's taken down from behind in the box.
46 MINUTE
Maybe the Swedes fired themselves up at halftime. They get a decent chance in the opening minute of the second half when Larsson tries to find Mattias Jonson with a lead pass, but German goalie Jens Lehmann comes out to grab the ball.
HALFTIME
What a half for the Germans. They fired 14 shots, seven of which were on goal and two of which found the back of the net. The Swedes, meanwhile, had three shots, two of them on goal and none that found the twine. And Sweden is down to 10 men.
41ST MINUTE
Replays of the red card show the referee had a giant grin on his face while he was presenting it. Granted, dropping a red card on someone seems like a lot of fun, but I don't think I've eve seen a ref enjoy it *that* much.
35TH MINUTE
Things are going from bad to worse for Sweden. Lucic gets his second yellow card of the match, and with it the automatic red card. If Sweden is to win this game, which would require an enormous reversal of fortunes, they'll have to do so with 10 men.
34TH MINUTE
Klose nearly puts Germany up by three, but Isaksson makes a great diving fingertip save. Then Frings nearly does it, but his long shot goes just overtop the net. Then Bastian Schweinsteiger fires on just inches wide. Get the idea?
31ST MINUTE
We've had our first two cautions of the match, the first to Germany's Torsten Frings and the second to Sweden's Teddy Lucic. All yellow cards from the Group stage have been erased, so everyone has a clean slate for the knockouts.
28TH MINUTE
As a Swedish player argues with the referee, I can't help but wonder: what's the official language for berating the ref in soccer? Does it change depending on where the game is held, or what teams are playing, or is there a set tongue?
24TH MINUTE
The television announcer just praised Germany efficiency for putting on an extremely well-run tournament. Right now the German efficiency is pounding the Swedes, who look dazed and confused as their opponents continue to thoroughly dominate this match.
19TH MINUTE
Ballack is looking quite match-fit. He's nearly scored twice with long-range shots, including a hard, low one a minute ago that Isaksson just got to with a dive to his right.
12TH MINUTE
Germany 2, Sweden 0. A terrific goal by the Germans. Klose snakes into the Swedish defence, draws two defenders and feeds a nifty pass over to Podolski, who scores his second of the match from almost the same spot where he got his first.
6TH MINUTE
Podolski almost strikes again with a blistering shot that appears headed for the right side of the goal but it whistles wide.
4TH MINUTE
Germany 1, Sweden 0. Germany draws first blood. Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson comes out to make a sprawling save near the top of the box, but the rebound squirts right to Lukas Podolski, who bangs it in.
4TH MINUTE
Another guy to keep an eye on today: Swedish striker Henrik Larsson. He scored only once in the Group stage, but played very well in Sweden's must-win/must-draw match against England, in which he scored his goal and was a constant nuisance around the English goal.
5 MINUTES TO KICKOFF
German coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been under fire from his countrymen for behaving in an "un-German" fashion in the lead-up to the World Cup. What, he refused to wear his hair in a ponytail, listen to Kraftwerk records and embrace the principles of nihilism? Actually, he made most of his tournament preparations from California, leading many Germans to conclude he'd gone soft.
10 MINUTES TO KICKOFF
The star for Germany is playmaking midfielder Michael Ballack, who has battled injury problems of his own. He missed Germany's opening match against Costa Rica with a calf strain, but returned for the last two and played pretty well. With Ballack banged up, striker Miroslav Klose stepped up, netting a tournament-best four goals in the Group stage.
25 MINUTES TO KICKOFF
The star for Sweden is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who makes his living as a striker for Juventus of the Italian Serie A. Ibrahimovic missed Sweden's final match of the Group stage, against England, with a groin strain. Sweden needed a draw in that match to assure itself of advancing, so you've got to believe the injury is rather significant. Coach Lars Lagerback has pronounced his star fit, but we'll find out for sure very soon.
