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2121 FULL TIME: Uruguay 2-3 Germany
90min +2 Uruguay free-kick on the edge of the area. Forlan steps up and his free-kick comes off the crossbar. The final whistle is blown and Germany claim third place. Enjoyable game.
90 min Are Germany to set claim the bronze medal again? It looks like it as their defence is coping with any Uruguay surge. 2 minutes additional time. Final German sub with Ozil coming off and Stuttgart's Tasci coming on.
88 min Kiessling should have wrapped it up after after a fine through ball from Boateng, but his effort was not met well, and with just the keeper to beat he fired over.
86 min Boateng fires one on after Godin failed to close him down. A lot of effort put in by both sides.
83 min Can the Germans close out the deal now? Sub Kiessling is certainly putting himself about as the Europeans go in search of a fourth.
81 min GERMANY GOAL Diego Lugano cuts out another German attack. The resulting corner comes in and Khedeira gets his head onto the kick after Uruguay fail to clear, and Germany are in front. Friedrich did well to put the Uruguayans off.
80 min Boateng's cross was nearly met with a late run by Kiessling. Janzen is off for Germany, with Toni Kroos coming on.
76 min Kiessling, who has come on for Cacau, shows some good foot work and foreces Muslera to make a good save. Uruguay schange sees Gargano come on for Perez.
74 min Schweinsteiger tries one from distance and a deflection steers it to safety. A surge from the said player and Caceres has to be sharp to deny him.
71 min Cacau has an effort after good work by Janzen, but he can't get it on target. Germany are definitely creating the chances.
70 min Janzen cuts in a his effort goes wide. Had three players in better positions and should have passed.
67 min Meuller's probing ball nearly finds Khedira as Germany up the ante again. Uruguay break away sees Suarez fire over when in a good position.
65 min Butt is again called upon to keep the score at 2-2 as he saves well from Forlan.
64 min Forlan has now moved on to five goals. The Golden Boot race is a very competitve race now.
62 min Suarez lets fly from 30 yards and Butt shows his agility to save.
58 min German had men over and Ozil should have laid it off to Meuller, but he was challenged and the chance was gone. End to end stuff now - very open and more goals are likely.
56 min GERMAN GOAL - Jansen sneaks in at the far post to head the ball home following a decent cross from Boateng. Muslera, the Uruguayan keeper, should have been more commanding.
55 min What now for the Germans. Have they the heart without the likes of Podolski and Klose on the pitch?
51 min URUGUAY GOAL courtesy of Forlan. Arevalo cross and on the volley, he hits the ball into the ground and past Butt. Brilliant goal. Forlan now on five goals.
50 min Barry Byrne has been in contact and says: 'I would just like to say thanks to rte for there coverage of the World Cup, 'brilliant'. I actually emailed last year about John Giles criticisng ronaldo, and to tell the truth he was totally correct, regardless john has been spot on with his annallisis as are the rest of the lads. Anyway from me and anyone else I talk to, thanks again to all in RTÉ sport. Thank you, Barry.
48 min Cavani denied by Butt when put through and Suarez's follow up is also dealt with by the keeper.
46 min Early corner for Germany and Schweinsteiger's kick nearly falls nicely for Friedrich. Uruguay are certainly getting the tackles in early on.
2032 Second half is underway
2029 Interesting footage of the Spanish commentary team celebrating Villa's winning goal against Paraguay. To say there are a tad excited is an understatement.
2017 HALF-TIME Eamon Dunphy takes over from John Giles in the punditry chair. Liam is still there, however. Eamon is trying to promote some pizza firm. Thats not allowed on the national broadcaster.
45 min Uruguay break down firld and they are awarded a corner which Forlan whips in buts its too firmly struck and the Germans can breath a sigh of relief.
44 min Schweinsteiger free-kick from outside the box takes a slight deflection and out for a corner. Uruguayand fail to deal ith it and the resultant corner is dropped by Muslera. The South Americans eventually scramble it away.
42 min Suarez has fluffed his lines - through on goals and he dragged his shot wide. Disappointing. You'd be roared at from the sidelines if that happened in Bushy Park
40 min Forlan, who has been very lively, tries to play Suarez in but the wet condition slow down the path of the ball.
37 min Maxi Pereira is defending stoutly for Uruguay and is keeping the threat of Ozil in check.
35 min Germany's passing is the better of the two sides in the sodden conditions.
34 min Uruguay much more confident now and the goalscorer Cavani looks lively. He plays with Palermo in Italy. Soft rain falling again in Port Elizabeth - typical of a blighty day here in summer.
33 min Despite what happens in this match, the Germans are shaping up well for the future and they could be the team to beat in Euro 2012, assuming, of course that they qualify.
31 min Rare error from Schweinsteiger. What odds now on a goal- fest in Port Elizabeth.
29 min URUGUAY GOAL Schweinsteiger mistake sees Prez intercept, ball feeds to Suarez and he plays it to Cavani, who slots it home with aplomb.
27 min Great sweeping play by Germany ends with Khedira heading over from close range. Okay, he was offside, but the build up was good.
25 min Forlan gets in behind the German defence and his effort is cleared away by Mertezacker. Diego has had a really good tournament. Could he yet be player of the tournament? Top three for me.
22 min Germany are playing controlled football as Ozil tries to play in Cacu, but the attack breaks down. Uruguay have not threatened as of yet. There's talk about Ozil going to Manchester United. Would he fit in at Old Trafford?
20 min Clock that goal in for 18 minutes. Uruugay have proved thelselves adept at coming back in this tournament.
17 min Stephen is back. GERMAN GOAL. It's five goals now for Thomas Mueller after Schweinsteiger's shot was not dealt with by Muslera and Mueller was on hand to tap the ball in.
14 min Uruguay's play is a bit aimless in the final third. A few technical problems with sound and vision from South Africa. Don't tell me the Apres Match boys are up to no good!
13 min Ozil tries from long range, but his effort is blocked by Lugano. The Vuvuzelas are in full symphony inside the stadium. The defing sound of this World Cup. Will you miss them?
12 min Fucile tries to wiggle his way into the German penalty area, but is stopped by Schweinsteiger.
9 min some German pressure and Friedrich's header comes off the crossbar after a corner from Ozil. Friedrich did well to get away from Suarez in the first place. The Germans are upping the pace now.
5 min Free-kick for Uruguay in a dangerous position. Forlan steps up. Big German wall does the business. However, it looks like an arm was raised to block it and it's another free-kick in a closer position. The shot just didn't dip enough to trouble Butt in the German goal.
4 min Booking for Germany's Dennis Aogo for a rather nasty challenge.
3 min Cacau hits the net for Germany, but the player was well offside. Slow start to this game.
1930 Game on. Paul the Octopus has tipped Germany to win here.
1929 National anthems have been played and we're set for action.
1924 The Uruguay manager looks a somewhat like the American actor Craig Stevens, who starred in the detective series Peter Gunn in the 1950s.
1923 Sepp Blatter is being introduced to the players.
1919 Stephen Alkin is commenating - some strange accents our Steve is coming out with it. Thankfully he reverts to type and now speaks in the manner by which all of us here in RTÉ know him. It's raining in Port Elizabeth ahead of a match that is a repeat of the third place play-off from 1970 which Uruguay won.
1917 E-mail in from Sean Ryan from Thurles, but today finds himself in hot and humid Texas. He's predicting a 2-1 win for Uruguay.
1915 John goes on about 'honesty of effort' and gets annoyed when Bill disagrees with him about the lack of a 'honesty of effort in the Netherlands v Uruguay game.
1913 Normal service resumed and Bill is in the chair, with John Giles and Liam Brady.Liam ask the question - is it really important who comes third or fourth. He also calims that the recession will kick in again on Monday once the football is over.
1908 Some technical difficulties in the studio - the halo effect is taking hold and their circling over the heads of the three boys. Strange behaviour.
1906 The Après Match team are up an running with Con Murphy joined by Terry Venables and Tony Cascarino for analysis of tonight's game.
1842 Teams are in.
Uruguay: 1-Fernando Muslera; 2-Diego Lugano, 3-Diego Godin, 4-Jorge Fucile, 16-Maximiliano Pereira, 15-Diego Perez, 17-Egidio Arevalo, 7-Edinson Cavani, 22-Martin Caceres, 9-Luis Suarez, 10-Diego Forlan.
Germany: 22-Hans-Joerg Butt; 2-Marcell Jansen, 3-Arne Friedrich, 17-Per Mertesacker, 20-Jerome Boateng, 13-Thomas Mueller, 4-Dennis Aogo, 6-Sami Khedira, 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger, 19-Cacau, 8-Mesut Ozil.
1840 Miroslav Klose has flu and will not start tonight's game.
1753 RTÉ commentator feels it's been a geat World Cup. He thinks that Germany may find it hard to rise ethemselves tonight. For him, their World Cup finished when they lost to Spain. On to the final, George thinks the Dutch can cause a surprise, even though he has concerns about their goalkeeper and defence. Regarding Spain, he feels they are close to the Dutch 'total football team' of the 1970s. He applauds their passing ability, but they haven't been scoring freely, and he wonders how they would react if they were to go a goal behind. You get a sense, that summing up, he fancies the Dutch.
1748 It's chilly and overcast in Port Elizabeth with kick-off less than two hours away.
1733 Dublin hurlers have recorded an emphatic victory over Clare in the qualifier at Croke Park by 12 points. Which team would Dublin be if they were in the World Cup. Assuming, Spain are Kilkenny, the Netherlands are Cork/Tipperary. Would the Dubs be Ghana, or possibly Uruguay?
1657 Dont's forget that Après Match will be presenting coverage of the Uruguay v Germany game on RTÉ Two. Euro '96 was the first time the boys graced our screens and they have proved a big hit ever since. This time new characters in the shape of Vincent Browne, Leo Varadkar, Con Murphy, Fabio Capello have been added to the mix. Personally, I really like the impression of Con (RTÉ sports presenter for those who don't know), and the way the nuances in his delivery are given expression.
1648 Ahead of tonight's match, it looks like Diego Forlan will start, while Miroslav Klose is a doubt for the Germans.
1645 Dutch legend Johan Cruyff fancies a victory for Spain in the decider. The Spaniards, he feels, are now more of a team than just a collection of individuals. Read more.
1640 The penultimate game at the 2010 World Cup sees two teams, who between them, have won the the trophy five times. Of course they would rather be in tomorrow's final, or maybe on a beach somewhere. Duty callas, however, and hopefully we will have an entertaining match to look at ahead of the main course in Johannesburg tomorrow.
