Germany 1-1 Argentina (Germany win 4-2 on penalties)

Germany and Argentina fought out a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes with the former marching into the semi-finals after a 4-2 win on penalties.

In the opening exchanges, Germany had a several chances to score an early goal with Michael Ballack heading wide from close range in the 16th minute and Mertesacker shooting over the bar from 20 metres after a poor Argentina clearance in the 18th minute. Argentina absorbed most of the pressure with their patient play while the Germans made enterprising runs down the wings in the first half.

Against the run of play, Argentina took the lead in the second half when defender Roberto Ayala leapt in front of Miroslav Klose to score with a powerful header from eight metres after a pinpoint Juan Roman Riquelme corner on the right. Germany was in shock and made sustained and desperate efforts to find the equalizer. However, they were denied time and again by the Argentinian defence who stood firm in protecting their slim lead.

In the 80th minute, they finally broke through when Klose heads the equaliser for Germany from close range after Borowski nods on Ballack's cross from the left. The game then moved into extra time but both did not manage to find the all-important silver goal. It came down to penalties and Jens Lehmann was their hero, saving spot kicks from Ayala and Cambiasso while Neuville, Ballack, Podolski and Borowski scored for Germany.

For Soccer Pundit, this may not be the most exciting of matches but still, it has its heart-stopping moments, especially when Miroslav Klose scored the equalizer. For the record, Klose is now the tournament's top scorer with five goals. This is by far, the most rigorous test of Germany's championship credentials as Argentina is one of the hot favorites and their calibre is much superior than the opponents Germany had seen off in this tournament.

The fact that the Germans pulled through showed that they do have the mental strength and winner's mentality, and of course, an element of luck. Argentina ended up as loser but they can hold their head up high as Soccer Pundit cannot find any phases of the game where they were outplayed by Germany. What undid them was the penalties and of course, the irrepressible form of Jens Lehmann.

Disappointment aside, losing and winning is part of the game. At this quarter-final stage, anybody can go through as nothing much separates the teams. Whether you like it or not, luck is an important factor from here on. The unpredictability of the outcome is also what makes soccer such a fascinating game. Meanwhile, the German dream lives on and they now face Italy which handed them a humiliating defeat in a recent friendly match...