1) Most surprising team: Germany. I was in Italy several months before the World Cup, when Germany came and got the boot 4-1. Total disarray! The team looked ready to implode, dissension and bickering reigned and fans were calling for the head of coach Jurgen Klinsmann. But the Germans have somehow regrouped and found great energy along with a creative attack. They now have the potential to ride the home-brat advantage all the way to the title.

agreed, after their 4-1 loss to Italy and the 2-2 draw (coming from 0-2 behind) against Japan i thought they would have many more problems during the world cup but they seem in "cruise mode" so far. we'll see what happens against argentina..

2) Most surprising player: Miroslav Klose, Germany. Veteran Michael Ballack and young phenom Lukas Podolski were supposed to backbone the attack for the home side. But it has been the second Polish-born star, Klose, who has been a singular, relentless force on attack, scoring and setting up his teammates. Switch Klose to the Polish side and they might even have beaten Germany.

not sure if the most surprising player, but surely the one with the most goals scored...

3) Most disappointing team: England. Can it really have been the plan to muddle around, pray for a free kick and then let David Beckham, ineffectual in almost all other situations, save the day? First they get an easy group, then a second-round pass against Ecuador. Now they face Portugal, crippled by injuries and red cards. England might land in the semis without having once played a decent, let alone good, game.

but could england actually win the world cup without having played a serious game? portugal in the quarters, france in the semis and ukraine in the finals?

4) Most disappointing player: Ukraine's Andrei Shevchenko; Sweden's Zlaty Ibrahimovic; Netherlands' Ruud van Nistelroy. Supposedly among the deadliest strikers on earth, all were popguns at crunch time. Van Nistelroy was benched when Netherlands desperately needed a goal, Sweden got shut down completely. And Shevchenko couldn't even make a critical penalty kick. He got a bailed out by an inept Swiss attack, which went scoreless in the shootout—something I’ve only seen in hockey.

shevchenko just waits for the ball to drop onto his feet, if it drops 5 feet to the left or right, he won't run after it due to his "star status". nistelrooy didn't even get a chance in the last game and ibrahimovic, well...not much sweden could do against germany.

5) Refereeing: Join the modern age. Replay on goals (or disputed nongoals) and penalties (and nonpenalties) in the box. Why continue to stain the game with results like Italy-Australia?

modern age means 4 red cards and 16 yellow cards per game, right? if a player hits a fly while running its already dark-yellow...

from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13282683/site/newsweek/

The Germans always seem to perform at big tournaments (much to my disappointment) and this time it shouldn't be a surprise as they have home advantage!

Talking about the Germany-Argentina game, if only it were possible for both teams to lose