GERMANY BRACES FOR THE NEXT ROUND

By Nadia Samie

BONN, GERMANY: It’s another rest day today for the remaining eight teams in the 2006 World Cup. The quarter-final qualifiers this year are Brazil, England, Germany, Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal and Ukraine.

Defending champions Brazil advanced to the next round of the World Cup by beating Ghana 3-0 in Dortmund on Tuesday, which saw Africa exit tournament.

But it’s really the people in the middle of the field that are making headlines constantly during this World Cup. The referees have come up for a lot of criticism from all sides. A committee met yesterday to decide on which of the 22 referees will remain in Germany to officiate the quarter finals. A full list will be revealed at a press conference later today. After 55 of the 64 matches that will be played in the tournament, 306 yellow cards and 25 red cards have been dished out. Both are World Cup records.

German fans are waiting with baited breathe as their team take on Argentina in Berlin at 5PM tomorrow, while Italy play Ukraine in Hamburg at 9PM. France meet Brazil in Saturday’s quarter final, while England take on Portugal.

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