Blow It Like Beckham

England fell in the World Cup round of sixteen early today, losing to Germany, which has made it to every World Cup quarterfinal beginning in 1954, which, as any who saw The Marriage of Maria Braun knows, was their first tournament victory.

As for England . . . hmmph. Being an English soccer fan is the equivalent of being a baseball fan who roots for the Mets. You always hope for your team to repeat a miracle victory that happened decades ago, but you know in your heart of hearts that it's not . . . gonna . . . happen. Actually, that's an unfair comparison. The Mets at least won the World Series twice.

England scored a goal in the game that replays showed was clearly over the goal line and would have tied the game at two apiece but the German goalkeeper grabbed it and threw it back, and the goal was never counted as a point. The English protested, but the result stood. It was an ironic reversal of a German score in the 1966 championship game that gave England the victory.

In other news, Argentina eliminated Mexico three to one. Not exactly the most elegant game. Gee whiz, the Mexican players were hurling themselves into their own net while unsuccessfully trying to stop the Argentines from doing the same with the ball.

Germany and Argentina now meet each other on Saturday.

Going, Going, Ghana

Okay, so the United States lost to Ghana in their World Cup game. All right, so they don't advance to the quarterfinals. But -and you knew I was coming to a "but," and it's a heck of a "but" - they got more Americans interested in soccer and attracted more fans to the sport. The Major League Soccer All-Star Game next month is likely to draw its largest audiences ever. Landon Donovan is a celebrity on the order of David Beckham. The U.S. has now competed in six consecutive World Cup tournaments. And when the MLS championship is played this fall, even the most apathetic Americans will be able to tell you who won, just as even Americans completely disinterested in football can tell you the New Orleans Saints won this year's Super Bowl.

Okay, maybe not so much on that last point, but the American team can now be taken seriously. They played with heart and passion, and they won the hearts and attention spans of millions. They won their group and outperformed the French and the Italians - the two teams who played for the Cup in 2006. They made it difficult for Ghana to win. The United States men's soccer team returns home with their heads held high and their dignity intact.

But did we have to lose to Ghana, the same country that eliminated us from the 2006 tournament?