The group stages have concluded and we are left with four tasty quarter-finals at the World Cup.

The final round of group fixtures were full of excellent matches and lead to a couple of surprising results.

The pick of the bunch was England’s 2-0 victory over Japan which, coupled with Germany’s thrilling 4-2 win over France (more on that in a moment) forced the exciting, possession-happy Japanese into an epic match-up with the hosts.

I still see Japan as one of the very best sides at the tournament — England’s win was a tactical success based largely on smash-and-grab — but that result has put them in serious trouble. Germany, who looked back to their sharpest with captain Birgit Prinz on the bench and the exciting Fatmire Bajmaraj causing trouble with her pace and directness, look likely to book a place in the semi-finals.

If Germany v Japan is the one quarter-final not to be missed then neither France v England nor Brazil v USA cannot be far behind.

France’s early tournament thrills ultimately came up short against a more organised, more direct German side but their seven goals in three games marks them as a force going forward. England, meanwhile, have failed to impress despite topping their group.

Personally I fancy the French in this one as long as Louisa Necib, who was heavily marked out of the last game by the Germans, can have an impact. It would probably help, too, if the referee refrains from handing out yellow cards to French defenders for perfectly good slide tackles, as Kirsi Heikkinen did all too often against Germany.

Brazil and the USA are two sides with big reputations but neither have particularly impressed me in this tournament. It seems a strange to say, particularly about Brazil (seven goals for, zero conceded), but both have struggled badly when confronted with an opponent at their level.

The US were like a wave crashing against a concrete wall in the first half against Sweden, paving their way to a first group stage defeat in nineteen games. Meanwhile Brazil struggled for long periods in their first group game against Australia. Call me crazy but I just don’t see either of these two teams as potential champions.

The last quarter-final, Australia v Sweden, is one that I have a personal interest in for two reasons. One, because I am Australian. Two, because I am currently in Sweden.

I marked out the Swedes as tournament dark horses and their impressive win over the US justified that decision, however the Australians will be just as tough an opponent. Both sides are organised, efficient and athletic and possess the experience to not only win this fixture, but push on and seriously trouble Germany or Japan in the semi-final.

So, for no reason other than it will be funny to laugh at me when I get it wrong, here are my quarter-final score predictions:

England 0-1 France
Germany 3-1 Japan
Sweden 0-1 Australia (A.E.T)
Brazil 1-2 USA

If I’m being honest, my following of the tournament over the past few days has not been the best.

Japan’s 4-0 crushing of Mexico, England’s 2-1 comeback victory over New Zealand, Sweden’s hard-fought 1-0 defeat of North Korea, USA’s 3-0 win over Colombia, Australia’s thrilling 3-2 win over Equatorial Guinea and Brazil’s 3-0 thumping of Norway have flown by in an instant.

Of those six games I’ve probably seen about 200 minutes of football, far too few for a person writing a blog on the tournament.

One of those 200 minutes included an astonishing moment of incompetence as Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal and her assistants inexplicably failed to spot Bruna catching the ball in her own penalty area against Australia. The worst penalty non-decision of all time? Quite possibly.

Rather than look back over games that are done and dusted I prefer to look forward to the exciting final round of group matches that are poised to take place. My feelings on these games are as follows:

• While the world has been surprised at the emergence of France and Japan as genuine threats in this tournament, both nations will feel they are simply playing to their potential. They will view respective matches against Germany and England as a test of whether they are capable of pushing on to win the tournament.
• I fully expect the Japanese to beat England in Group B, which makes Germany v France in Group A all the more tasty. Both will want to avoid a Japan side that maintain possession better than any side in the tournament.
• Sweden is the dark horse for me. Two single-goal victories look underwhelming on paper but I fancy them to give the USA a decent scare in their final group game.
• With the so-far disappointing Norwegians needing to beat Australia to get into the quarter-finals and the Aussies only needing a draw, this could well the best game of the final round. Expect some end-to-end stuff.

I’ll be going to the Lido again tonight to watch France v Germany and taking along a camera to get some happy snaps.

So stay tuned and enjoy the football.

The Women’s World Cup just keeps getting better.

No post yesterday, as I spent a large portion of my time collecting a friend from the airport and showing him around Ye Olde Berlin town. As a result, I must make a quick comment on the action from Group D before I focus on what proved to be a pivotal day in Group A.

Norway may have snuck past Equatorial Guinea with a late goal from feisty winger Emilie Haavi, but the African side’s captain, Añonma, blew my mind. She took, wait for it, 15 of the 20 shots that Equatorial Guinea registered. On another day Añonma could have registered a hat-trick (she blew three great one-on-ones) and was not only the best player on the pitch by a mile, but the most impressive performer of the opening round of fixtures.

Memories of Eric the Eel meant I gave EQG no chance in this game but Añonma and her teammates surprised with their pace and shoot-on-sight mentality. It felt strange to feel so disappointed at the end of a game for a team I had absolutely no knowledge of beforehand, but such was the impact made by these fantastic ladies.

The sad thing for Equatorial Guinea is that in losing against Norway, who were extremely disappointing despite the victory, they may well have blown their best chance at progressing from the group.

In the day’s later contest Brazil were a little fortunate to get past a polished, aggressive Australian side by a single goal. Being Australian myself it is hard not to be biased, but I thought the girls in green and gold outplayed a Brazilian side that won the game through a moment of predatory striking by Rosana.

Australia is another side that look to possess a top goalkeeper in Melissa Barbieri, while the exciting Lisa De Vanna impressed up front. They look the goods to get out of the group despite losing to Brazil and should they face the USA, it could be terrific quarter-final encounter.

The world’s best player Marta, meanwhile, was conspicuous by her anonymity.

Moving on to yesterday and the French produced the team performance of tournament to destroy Canada 4-0 and book their place in the next round. Each of their four goals was brilliantly taken with Gaetene Thiney’s second strike, thumped in off the post from range, the pick of the bunch.

France were marvelous throughout this contest, harassing from the front and threatening often through the classy presence of Louisa Necib. In Laura Georges they have an accomplished centre-back and their match-up with hosts Germany, who also won again, looks set to be a thrilling contest.

As for Germany, they beat a gallant Nigerian side 1-0 in front of a massive crowd in Frankfurt.

I watched this game at a fan gathering held inside one of Berlin’s premier concert venues, The Lido, and had a great time. The place was absolutely packed with fans — many of them pretty ladies in football shirts, huzzah! — and the atmosphere was positively jovial. I was ordering a couple of drinks at the bar (“Zwei hefeweizen, bitte!”) when Simone Laudehr thrashed home the game’s only goal but the reaction from the thousandish-strong crowd was brilliant.

I’ll be back there in a few days when the Germans take France and I will be taking photos. So be prepared.

Stray Observations

– Añonman has arguably the weirdest name of all the players at the World Cup, but she might well be the best. All green hair, tippy-tappy touches on the ball and blistering pace, she has transformed Equatorial Guinea from a novelty into a genuine threat.

– Although EGQ still provide some novelty. Check out the reaction of this fan to one of Añonman’s misses.

– Is Canadian captain Christine Sinclair the toughest player — man or woman — in the world? First game: breaks nose and scores goal. Second game: plays with mask and takes another nasty knock to the snoz. Still doesn’t want to go off despite her team being three down.

– Having seen all the teams play I can safely say that the Norwegian team is the prettiest. Sorry, Sweden.

– I pity any of the teams that have to play Germany or France in the next round. That means you, England.

– Despite Nigeria’s excellent tactical discipline — they’ve conceded only two goals to France and Germany — their physical discipline has been missing. Osinachi Ohale drew plaudits from me for her show of bravery against the French but a cowardly elbow aimed at one of the Germans was disappointing, to say the least.

USA, the #1 ranked team in the world, produced the most impressive performance of the tournament to dispatch North Korea 2-0 in Dresden.

A relatively even first half saw the Koreans keep pace with the US, but the game turned on its head after the break when Lauren Cheney headed in a superb team goal to put the US in the lead. They grew in stature, producing a collection of good chances before extending the lead through Rachel Buehler’s neat finish in the 76th minute.

There appeared to be a rather disappointing disparity between the professionalism of the US team and the Koreans. The Korean goalkeeper Myong Hui Hong looked out of her depth at times as Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach and Cheney caused the Korean defence all sorts of trouble as the game went on.

I feel neither sexist nor racist in saying it was rather difficult to tell the Korean players apart at times (the German commentary at what is fast becoming my WWC home, Kreuzberg’s Bar 11 didn’t make things easy either) but their #8 on the right flank, the very tricky, very nimble Su Gyong Kim was a standout. She ghosted past her marker countless times but was let down by a lack of support from her teammates in the danger area.

The US looked imperious, at least a good match for the Germans, but it looked clear from the first game of the day that they won’t have it all their own way.

Sweden may have only beaten Colombia by a solitary goal, but they looked organised at the back, cohesive going forward and should only get better as the World Cup progresses.

In a tournament where possessing a strong goalkeeper looks to be a vital advantage, Sweden look to have one of the best in Hedvig Lindvahl. The stats showed she only had two shots to save but she looked calm, commanding and in complete control throughout the 90 minutes.

Colombia’s star performer was the lightning-quick Carmen Rodallega (cousin of Wigan forward Hugo, if you were wondering) but, like Korean Kim, she received precious little support from those around her. Meanwhile Colombia’s other playmaker, the talented Yoreli Rincon, infuriated with her arrogance and individualistic attitude. Someone needs to remind her that football is a team game.

If it looks unlikely that Colombia will finish anywhere other than bottom of this group, the same cannot be said of Sweden. Their organisation and experience looks to hold them in good stead and I see them as an outside chance to finish ahead of the US.

Stray Observations

– This was perhaps the least interesting pair of games in the tournament. Both were one-sided affairs and there was nothing matching the flare and excitement of the Mexicans of the previous day.

– It appeared that Lauren Cheney’s inclusion in the US’ starting side was a late decision made by coach Pia Sundhage in order to bolster her team’s attacking threat. It turned out to be an inspired choice.

– The crossing in this tournament has been excellent thus far. Already Germany, England, France, New Zealand and now the US have scored via quality delivery from the flanks.

– It was great to see German referee Bibana Steinhaus in charge of the USA v North Korea game. Some of you may remember her from this classic incident in a Hertha Berlin game from last season.

The first truly exhilarating moment of the Women’s World Cup arrived yesterday when Mexican midfielder Monica Ocampo, all 1.56m of her, scampered forward and let fly from distance to rattle home a stunning goal against England.

It was a tremendous, audacious strike and one which completely turned this Group B encounter on its head. England had dominated the opening half-hour and held a one-goal advantage after Fara Williams excellent header.

But from the moment Ocampooooo (how many ‘o’s do you think she deserves? Five should suffice, no?) scored the Mexicans grew in confidence. Soon the were letting fly from all angles, from all distances in a bid to test England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.

Not that they had it all their own way. Mexico owed a lot to their own goalkeeper, 16-year-old Cecilia Santiago, for keeping them in the game. Her shot-stopping skills were immaculate and she commanded her area like a grizzly old veteran (think Jens Lehmann but with longer, darker hair and a tan). She’s definitely one to watch in this tournament.

As are the Mexicans. England were expected to breeze this game but in the end I felt they came off as marginally the worse team, despite possessing the game’s outstanding player, the immaculate Kelly Smith. Such was her control of the midfield and “I’ll do what I want” body language that it was a surprise she didn’t ask the rest of her teammates to take a breather and take on the Mexicans on her own.

England, who are hoping to make at least the semi-finals, will be concerned at the sight of Japan putting New Zealand to the sword earlier in the day.

The final score may have been 2-1 but in truth the Japanese battered New Zealand and could have won by four. Japan’s high-pressure game paid dividends early on when Yuki Nagasoto’s superb lob from the edge of the area opened the scoring. But New Zealand powered back into the game via their long-ball game when Amber Hearn headed in a fantastic cross from right-back Ria Percivel.

However the Japanese were simply too quick, too nimble, too fit for New Zealand as they stretched them throughout the second half. Despite threatening often from open play they got the game’s decisive goal through Aya Miyama’s well-guided free-kick.

Japan were the day’s outstanding team, and the one looking most likely to go furthest in the tournament, but Mexico stole my heart. A 16-year-old goalkeeper, endlessly energetic midfielders who shoot on sight and a goalscorer who celebrated by kicking the corner flag: what’s not to like?

Stray Observations

– Despite Mexico’s great result they will be extremely worried about captain Maribel Dominguez’s late injury. She put in an outstanding lone-striker shift up front and if her injury proves serious, they may fade out of the tournament rather quicker than I am hoping.

– The Germans seem to have done a great job in choosing their stadiums for this tournament. Rather than going for the biggest, they’ve gone for compact, atmospheric venues where 15,000-20,000 people can make a lot of noise. Great stuff.

– If Japan find their shooting boots and finish top of the group, they could make it all the way to the final.

– The first signs of play-acting, something I was relieved to see absent from the opening day, came from the Mexicans. Hopefully it doesn’t become too much of a theme or my pure-white image of the women’s game will lie in ruins.

– Ocampooooo!

The 2011 Women’s World Cup snuck up on me in the best possible way.

It began with a Sunday afternoon spent hanging out in Berlin with my friend Léo. He flicked on the TV, France were playing Nigeria and being both a big football fan and French, he encouraged me to sit down and watch.

France won 1-0 through a beautifully-controlled finish by Marie-Laure Delie. Nigeria looked sharp on the break at times but the French were the deserved winners. Their crossing was dangerous and they had, in Louisa Necib, a player capable of creating havoc on the edge of the area.

In truth, excitement-wise, this was a dull game, but Léo’s Frenchness kept things interesting. As did the attitude of the players on the pitch: there was no diving, no play-acting, no bitching to the referee. In short, none of the things that annoy me about the men’s game.

It might not have been the best game but it felt pure to me: football for joy, not bogged down ludicrous amounts of money and generic playing styles. It felt like a throwback to men’s football in the glory days of the 1950s or 1970s. And I really mean that in a good way.

I’ve seen (and been thoroughly excited by) women’s football before. It’s not new to me. I know about Marta (who doesn’t?). I know about Birgit Prinz and I know that Germany, Norway and the USA are among others who have won tournaments in previous years. I know that Australia lost 3-2 to Brazil in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup and I know that England are supposed have a very decent team.

As do Germany, as I learned (and should have known as their status as holders) in the next game.

I watched the Germans open their tournament with a victory over Canada from a favourite football bar of mine, Bar 11 in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. Although almost 74,000 crammed into the Olympiastadion a good half-hour train ride away, plenty more Berliners enjoyed the game among family and friends and whilst sipping on a couple of Berliner Pilsner’s Léo and I were hit by no less than three paper aeroplanes.

Germany v Canada was an excellent game. The hosts controlled the game from start to finish, threatening to run away four or five-goal winners, but were almost pegged back late on by a Canadian side lead by their inspirational captain Christine Sinclair.

After breaking her nose and mopping up the blood, she shrugged off physios who wanted to tend to it further. Not happy running around the pitch launching into headers and tackles she then proceeded to score a tremendous free-kick from range, surely the best that will be scored during the tournament, to give Canada a whiff of a chance.

It wasn’t to be though as the Playboy-posing Germans held on. As Laura so kindly pointed out in the comments, none of the current German squad actually posed for Playboy. It was the German U20 team. Apologies for this error.

It was about two-thirds into this game that I made the decision to follow the World Cup very closely over the next three weeks. Even more, I decided I would blog about it regularly, sharing my new discovery in a bid to help spread the word about the women’s game.

I actual feel a lot like I did as a 13-year-old happening upon the 1998 World Cup in France. Everything is new and shiny, expectations are null and void and there is only joy to be had. That is why The WWC Club (Women’s World Cup Club), based on the concept of the much-more-famous AV Club, has been born.

Stray Observations

– Where was the diving? The rolling around? Every player that went down hurt appeared to be genuinely injured. Canada’s Sinclair was the best example of the typical bravery shown, but Nigeria’s Osinachi Ohale deserves credit too.  She went off with what looked like a dislocated shoulder before tearing back onto the pitch to lay two crunching tackles in the very next phase of play. A stark comparison to the theatrics that going every weekend in the Premier League.

– Germany’s Alexandra Popp has a shot on her. A beautiful strike from the corner of the penalty area grazed the top of the crossbar with the goalkeeper well beaten. Great name, too.

– Corners seem to be particularly dangerous at this World Cup. France threatened often through Necib’s back-spinning delivery — she even managed to hit the crossbar direct from one — whilst Germany also looked dangerous. Goalkeepers beware.

– At one point one of the Nigeria players tripped over the ball and landing on her arse. Léo and I wondered, just for a moment, whether the telecast producers would refrain from showing a reply to prevent the women’s game from looking just a bit silly. But then, gloriously, they obliged.

– 73,000+ for Germany’s opening game. Very nice indeed.

Just a quick one to let you all know that as of today, Football Nomad is going on an extended break.

I’ve really pushed things on this blog over the past year, traveling all over the world and sharing as much of it with you as I could. There has been videos, photographs, articles, interviews and recently, a bid to get Like A Local Day off the ground.

But the truth is that in the past couple of months I’ve become a bit burnt out and I am in desperate need of a break.

I figured I’ve only got three or four months to soak up the European summer, to enjoy my time in Berlin and make a decent go of experiencing more of the culture while I’m here. So that is what I’m going to do and as a result, Football Nomad is going to take a bit of a back seat for a while.

The great thing is that living overseas and spending more time on my football projects has opened up some serious doors for me over the past year.

Just over a couple of weeks ago I was commissioned to write a piece on the International Football Film Festival in Berlin for FourFourTwo magazine in Australia, my first proper freelance writing work. There I was, media pass around my neck, pen and notepad in hand, interviewing the Brisbane Roar’s Thomas Broich, the star of the headline documentary of the festival.

It was a scary, wonderful feeling and one I hope to feel again soon.

While I’ve decided to take a break from Football Nomad I can assure you that it will be back at some point. It may take on a different form, depending on what direction I’d like to take it, but it will still remain my spiritual home for writing about football and of course, travel.

In the meantime, you can stay connected with me online via Twitter.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, the readers, as well as all the people from the football blogging community who have supported Football Nomad up until this point. That support encouraged me to take the plunge in June last year and chase my dream of writing about football and other topics and collaborating with many others on various creative projects.

So farewell for now, thank-you so much and I’ll speak to you all soon.

Stay in touch with Football Nomad via Twitter or Facebook.

In one of my favourite football blog posts, TwoFootedTackle‘s Jamie Cutteridge asked the question: Is football the new punk?

Jamie suggested that as more money is poured into top-tier football the experience of watching live football has become generic, overpriced and to a certain extent, soulless. In an almost subconscious protest, many people are now turning to the lower leagues because, while the football might not be of the same quality, the experience is more personable, more colourful, more positive.

This is something I can relate to quite personally.

I found the World Cup in South Africa to be a rather sobering experience, with the culture of the game sucked out by FIFA and the almighty dollar. The stadiums might have been full but they weren’t full of the people who give the game the colour and culture that make it such a popular sport. It was overpriced, overblown and quite frankly, a desperately disappointing experience.

Meanwhile, in the interview I conducted with Danny Last from European Football Weekends he admitted that “the bigger the club the more tepid the atmosphere these days”.

Luckily for me I have spent the last seven months in the country, perhaps even the city that celebrates the notion of punk football better than any other: Berlin. And while I’ve seen games involving the big boys Hertha BSC and their much smaller cousin FC Union, there is a much smaller third club that has left a much bigger mark on me.

TeBe fans get into the groove

It’s name is Tennis Borussia Berlin e.V. or ‘TeBe’ for short.

TeBe currently play in the 5th division of German football, known as the Northeastern Oberliga, yet have over 100 years of history. They have won many Championships in many different divisions and even managed two short stints in the Bundesliga in the 1970s.

Going to a TeBe game is a marvelous experience. The crowd is small: barely more than 500 at any game, yet the supporters who show up are passionate and extremely enthusiastic. Most of the supporters group together, decked out in purple and sing well-known chants and songs to cheer their players on. Anti-fascist and anti-homophobia flags are flown proudly, Bratwursts and Currywursts are munched on and win, lose or draw, the team is supported whole-heartedly. It is an experience completely in keeping with their club motto: ‘Fussball, Freunde, Rock’n'Roll’.

The last time I went to see TeBe a supporter and friend of mine, Endi, told me of their severe financial problems (a problem of bad management in the middle of the 90s) and the subsequent ‘We Save TeBe’ campaign that has been running to fix them. Merchandise sales help out, as do donations, but the quirkiest way that the fans support this cause is by throwing their used plastic beer cups into a large pile at the end of the game. In Germany a deposit is paid whenever you get your first beer, so by refusing to reclaim their deposit the supporters are essentially providing a very unique form of donation.

The overwhelming feeling one gets when watching TeBe is one of joy. This club means a lot to those who watch the games, yet their passion is always channeled positively and whether their team plays well or not, they make sure to have a good time. Football is supposed to be fun and they, more than any other club I have personally been involved with, understand that.

Of course, whilst TeBe are a fantastic example of the punk football they are not alone. There are plenty more examples of punk football around Europe and the rest of the world which is why, for this week’s Like A Local Day I am encouraging you to tell your own punk football experiences.

We know all about the Real Madrids and Manchester Uniteds of the world but this week its all about the TeBes. Share with us your stories of lower-league football: the quirks, the perks, the atmosphere and what made it so special.

Win a Pelé Sports tee

Just leave a comment below to share your story and as an added bonus, as always with Like A Local Day, the best entry will win a lovely Pelé Sports t-shirt.

What is Like A Local Day?

Like A Local Day is a weekly feature sponsored by Pelé Sports that encourages football-lovers to share their local knowledge and help spread Futebol Bonito with the Football Nomad community.

It is based on the principle of give and take, that someone living in Tokyo might have information about football travel and culture that someone living in Bratislava might want to know and vice-versa.

It is about opening channels of knowledge between people all over the world, controlled for quality by Football Nomad, to share information to help people experience football travel more authentically and encourage them to do it more often.

Like A Local Day happens every Thursday on Football Nomad. To keep in touch just follow the blog on Twitter or Facebook.

The following article was written by Football Nomad reader Carly Melissa as part of the most recent Like A Local Day, which looked at favourite local football stadiums. Carly wins a rather excellent Pelé Sports t-shirt as a thank-you for such a magnificent response.

As a result of my recent travels to Spain — that’s me in the photo above at the Nou Camp — I’ve decided to extend the most recent Like A Local Day for an another week.

This means you have an extra week to share a story about your local stadium and win the Pelé Sports t-shirt for doing so.

Just click here to go to last week’s article and particpate.

Remember, Like A Local Day is all about give and take, about sharing your local knowledge with others in the Football Nomad community to help them experience football culture. So the more you get involved the more others will too.

Cheers and enjoy yourselves.

Like A Local Day happens every Thursday on Football Nomad. To keep in touch just follow the blog on Twitter or Facebook.