Referee Rating: Spain v. Portugal

Hector Baldassi takes charge of this match. I thought he was very good in Netherlands v. Japan so I hope he does well here. Good luck!

I've come in a bit late commenting-wise, but did watch the first 4', but didn't see anything major to comment on. I'm also going to leave some of the more mundane fouls uncommented on and concentrate on the game more with less pausing to replay on my own.

6' Coentrao was lucky to not give up a penalty there. That was pretty blatant off the ball shielding.

15' Easy call there, Xabi just needs to watch his cleats.

16' Ronaldo went down a bit easy there.

17' Easy call on the unnecessary kick to the shins by Puyol.

22' Easy call for the foul by Xabi.

24' Another foul on Iniesta. He was a little lucky to get the call I think.

26' Torres just held his defender.

27' Xabi needs to watch it. That's a few fouls pretty close together. He's not really getting close enough to the ball, he's pretty late.

31' Merieles was looking for a call there and there wasn't much in it.

35' That probably was a foul on Ronaldo, but he's not helping himself at all. The more petulant he becomes, the less likely it is that he'll get a call. Not deliberately, but Baldassi will notice those little dissents and it could affect him subconsciously.

37' It was a foul by Puyol, he wasn't playing the ball at all, but Almeida doesn't need to go down quite that theatrically.

38' Almeida was somewhat high with his boots, but Puyol made the most of that.

44' Easy offside call by the far side assistant.

First half rating: Above average. 6/10. This rating isn't really all that fair since Baldassi hasn't had to do much, but he is generally where he needs to be and is keeping the game under control. The possible penalty for Spain for the block on Torres is the only possible slight against him, but that's not a clear-cut penalty for everyone. The ball's already being collected by another defender and Torres was never really going to get to it. Technically that shouldn't matter, but in practice it seems that most top referees only give penalties about which there is no question in their minds and is fairly clear cut. You always want to be absolutely certain about your view of a penalty. But the "clear cut"-ness is different. I think this is generally a good practice at this level since diving and exaggeration is so prevalent. You could make an argument that Baldassi should have given a penalty there, but I think most international referees (and FIFA) would agree with no call.

48' Good spot on the shouldering off of the ball by Almeida on Puyol.

50' Puyol was looking for the foul there, not sure there was one.

53' That looked like more dive than foul when Busquets went down.

54' Almeida was kicked there, but again he went down with a little added flair.

57' Villa went over looking for something. I'm surprised there haven't been any cards for diving yet. There have been some players very close to simulation.

59' Easy offside call despite Portugal's protestations.

63' It looked like someone was offsides in that ricochet. Replay shows Xavi (who I suspected) was onside. However, my own replay is inconclusive for Xavi to Villa. I need a line on a replay from ESPN to see. My first instinct is that he was *just* offsides. Certainly not as bad as Tevez in Argentina v. Mexico, but it still might be another missed call in the Round of 16.

67' Easy call for the foul on Capdevila. Despicable that he goes down clutching his face though, he slightly hit his head, no need to try and exaggerate it into contact with the face.

74' Dumb foul by Xabi, easily a yellow.

75' Not sure why that was a foul *on* Llorente and not one *by* him.

76' Good tackle by Puyol. Baldassi was right there too.

80' Late unnecessary foul by Tiago on Villa. Not sure it's necessarily a yellow, but no real complaints.

85' Capdevila got away with that. Baldassi was pretty far away, but his assistant was close.

89' Not sure why Costa got a red card there. The incident was on the edge of the screen. Finally got a good angle and it was an elbow to the face of Capdevila. Good catch by Baldassi.

90'+2 Baldassi does well to step in between Alves and Capdevila.

Overall rating: Good. 7/10. Baldassi didn't have a lot to do, but he kept the game flowing, ignored flopping, and kept the game under control. He got the red card and his other bookings right. The goal was iffy as far as offsides goes, but very, very close even the replay was not totally conclusive for me. I think Baldassi made a case today for refereeing another game.

Referee Rating: Brazil v. Chile

Howard Webb centers with his assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey. England are out of the World Cup and while I'm sure Webb will be upset, he now has a chance at refereeing the final if he does well here. Hopefully they can avoid missing any goals or offside calls. Good luck!

5' Poor shot by Fabiano, but a good start to the game by all three teams. Not much for Webb's team to do yet though.

12' Didn't see the foul by Silva, but it looked like it was probably a push-off.

18' Easy call for the foul on Robinho by Carmona.

20' Good non-call on the fall by Beausejour. No protestations from him either. I don't know whether the teams know that Webb and his team are unlikely to fall for dives and exaggeration or whether the teams just haven't had good opportunities to try their acting.

22' Good advantage played for Kaka.

24' Easy call for the corner, but Beausejour was lucky his errant shot happened to flick off of Maicon.

25' Good spot on the push by Isla on Lucio. Webb also asserts his authority well in not letting Lucio whine at him too vigorously.

26' Easy call for the over-the-back foul on Alves. Webb asked them to wait for the whistle and they didn't.

27' Lucio went down very theatrically and I would imagine that is the reason a penalty wasn't given. There wasn't much in that contact either. I think the best argument for it not being a penalty is that Lucio didn't whine and moan like he normally does.

29' Good advantage. Bad striker's challenge. Late and nowhere near the ball. Easy yellow there for Kaka.

32' No foul on Bastos there, he just lost the ball. Good (non) call.

33' Easy call for the late kick on Alves. Maicon was lucky he didn't get carded for diving. He started going down well before he got to the Chilean sandwich.

36' Easy call for the push by Bastos. Webb did well to deal with Ramirez walking away with the ball too, "no more" is pretty clear and the hand gesture needs no translation.

37' What a flop by Beausejour.

38' Uh oh. That looked like Fabiano was offside. Nope, easily onside. Great call by the near side assistant. Daniel even clapped for the replay of Fabiano's goal.

41' Good spot on the jersey pull on Kaka.

42' Easy call there even if somewhat accidental.

43' Robinho was all over Vidal there.

45' Good advantage.

47' Easy yellow for Vidal. He got beat and just blocked Kaka off a good attack.

49' Fabiano just fell over. I'm not sure if he was looking for a call or not.

51' That was a foul by Gilberto on Valdivia, but the extra acting on the reaction was unnecessary. Webb was well placed and didn't look to be influenced by the acting.

53' Gilberto put his hands on Sanchez, but he went over quite easily. Could've gone either way.

54' Fabiano whines a lot. No replay to see if there was anything there, but he makes the most of every bit of contact which works against him. Since he whines at everything, even if there was something in that aerial challenge, it's a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" situation.

57' Good call by the near side assistant for the foul by Suazo on Juan. His arm came out ever so slightly and the assistant did well to spot it.

59' Easy call for the tackle from behind on Alves.

63' Millar got up quickly and didn't roll around which benefited him and Chile.

65' That could have gone either way. It did look like Fabiano started it off with Millar responding by holding his jersey.

68' Easy call for the foul by Fuentes on Fabiano. Didn't see the yellow at first, but replay shows a well spotted elbow in that interchange.

71' That was a dumb foul by Ramirez and an easy yellow. Sanchez' rolling around was, again, completely unnecessary.

74' Good close call Robinho was onside.

76' An easy call, Robinho was clearly offside on that play.

78' Sanchez says he took that on his chest, but he clearly handled that ball deliberately and Webb was right there to spot it.

80' Easy call for the foul by Millar and the yellow. Nilmar didn't need to react like he did though.

81' Webb does well to have a word with Nilmar as that might have been a little bit of retaliation.

86' It was a foul by Alves.

87' Sanchez should probably watch his mouth. He keeps jawing at Webb over every call, but then, he's not going to be playing anymore and any card he gets won't bother him.

88' Easy call for the foul by Vidal.

89' Sanchez looks like he has a hot temper. Bastos wasn't doing anything terrible. There's no reason for Vidal and Sanchez to push him.

Overall rating: Excellent. 9/10. Webb and his team were in great form. They got all the offside calls correct and did well for the throw-ins and corners/goal kicks. Webb did well to ignore flopping while calling actual fouls regardless of the fouled player's reaction. I would be very surprised if Webb didn't get another game, possibly the final, but I'm not sure the procedure for refs from here on out. Would they have him do a Quarterfinal and then the final? Surely they wouldn't have him do a semi-final and the final. Good luck to Webb, Cann, and Mullarkey!

Referee Rating: Argentina v. Mexico

Roberto Rosetti is will be roaming the pitch for this match. I gave him an 8.5/10 for the Ghana v. Australia game so I have high hopes for a great game with great refereeing.

1' Bautista looked like he added a little bit to that fall. No foul for me.

2' Rosetti's letting these two Spanish-style sides know early that he won't fall easily for their theatrics. Di Maria just flopped. I'm not sure why he even appealed to Rosetti there.

3' That was a great tackle by Osorio. To be fair, Messi didn't look like he expected a call.

5' Di Maria went over easily again, but that one was a foul. Rosetti was right to have a word with the Mexican player who kicked the ball away in dissent.

8' What a shot!

9' Mexico are attacking well.

10' Rosetti is managing this game well. His warning to Torrado was clear.

11' Rosetti makes it clear to Mascherano that he is not just watching for fouls on Argentina's players.

16' Rosetti is getting very close to play as he keeps this game under control. As such that was an easy call for the foul on Messi.

19' Rosetti is communicating clearly with the players. I think he's managing the early part of this game very well.

22' Marquez did touch Heinze, but he made the most of it. Not a foul at this level.

24' Easy call for the foul on Messi.

25' Good call on the intial pass from Messi to Tevez, he was onside. Bad call on the second offside.

27' Rosetti needs to get people away from his far side assistant. The crowding is ridiculous.

28' Yellow for Marquez is easy. It's the fifth foul on Messi and seemed to be just frustration. Not really a yellow in and of itself, but a yellow for persistent infringement by the Mexican team is easily justified.

30' Messi was all over Juarez' back there. Tevez doesn't need to roll around like that.

31' Easy offside call by the near side assistant.

33' Well Higuain may have saved Rosetti's far side assistant there. What a terrible touch by Osorio.

35' Good tackle by Otamendi. Good off the ball management.

36' I'm going to give Higuain the benefit of the doubt and say that he hit the ground in frustration at himself and not at a foul not being given, but his look up at Rosetti as if for a call seems to disagree with that.

36' Not sure why that was dangerous play by Dos Santos. He and Di Maria had their legs at the same height.

37' First glance looked like a foul on Messi by Bautista.

38' That foul on Bautista looked less of a foul than the one not given that was committed *by* him.

Why are the MLS even playing during the World Cup? They did this last Cup and I still don't understand it.

40' Di Maria was fouled, but he's rolling around a lot.

43' Didn't see the foul due to replay. Harkes (commentator) didn't seem to have any problem with it, not that that really means anything.

44' Rosetti is calling those off the ball fouls both ways.

45' A foul but Heinze doesn't need to roll around...

45'+2 That was a dumb push by Hernandez, but Heinze needs to get on with it.

Rosetti does well to get in between the teams and manage this chaos. One of the Mexican subs is lucky he's not carded for sarcastically applauding Rosetti to his face. He's probably lucky Rosetti had many other things to deal with at the time.

First half rating: Above average. 6/10. This is again hard to rate. Rosetti on his own gets an 8/10 for me, but he's let down by his far side assistant. A terrible non-call knocks off 2 points for me.

I was playing with Daniel for the first four minutes of this half, but didn't see anything missed by Rosetti.

51' Good (non) call for the great tackle by Marquez to dispossess Messi.

52' What a shot by Tevez!

55' Good job just talking to Torrado there. Easy call for the butt-check on Guardado.

56' That looked suspiciously like a back pass, but replay shows it was more of a deflection from a tackle.

62' ***and break time since we have early home group to say goodbye to the Millers***

70' Good play by Heinze to head that out before it crossed the line. The far side assistant got down the line quickly and was in a good position to call that. Veron just pushed his opponent over.

71' Argentina's defense looked like they didn't really care for the last minute there, but Romero (the goalkeeper) just froze.

74' Good call, that wasn't handball by Messi.

75' Good call on the completely unnecessary push by Salcido.

76' Definitely a foul by Torrado, but not a yellow for me (or Rosetti).

78' No foul on Messi and no request for a call by him either.

80' Higuain probably was held, but no one but Perez (the Mexican keeper) was ever going to get that ball.

81' Good spot on the push-off by Higuain.

83' Good spot for the foul by the dirty-playing Marquez. He always seems to be really nasty when playing for Mexico and not so much when playing for Barcelona. He's lucky that wasn't a yellow I think.

85' Rosetti is doing well to get Rodriguez off the field. He may have a cramp, but he was insisting on staying down just two yards from touch.

87' Simple call on the foul by new sub Pastore.

90' Good spot for the foul on Burdisso. Again though, the Argentinian didn't need to go down like that.

90'+1 Torrado is lucky that's not a yellow for the foul on Pastore or for persistent infringement.

90'+2 Again, a foul, but Otamendi had no need to flop about like a fish out of water.

90'+3 Rodriguez was a little chippy with that push after the foul. I'm guessing Rosetti ignored it because there were only 30 seconds left in the game.

Rating: Above average. 6/10. Again, 2 points off for the offside goal given. Rosetti did well to keep the game about football and not cheap shots, especially later in the game when Mexico were getting frustrated. However, for the first goal, Tevez was well offside and it should have been spotted. I hope, like with Larrionda, Rosetti's assistant's mistake doesn't cost him a chance at another game and possibly the final (I'd rather have Rosetti in the final at this point, but Webb hasn't refereed in the Round of 16 yet).

Referee Rating: Germany v. England

Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay takes charge of this match. He was the ref at USA v. Italy in 2006. He's regarded as a top referee, but I'm not totally convinced. FIFA are since this is his fourth game of the tournament. He's already done Ivory Coast v. Portugal, Cameroon v. Denmark, and Australia v. Serbia.

4' I'm not sure about that offside call on Rooney. Lahm looked like he was trying to pass that back. It wasn't just a deflection for me.

18' Easy call for the foul on Podolski. Another good call for the foul on Lampard. Not sure why Khadira is complaining, he and Schweinsteiger sandwiched Lampard and Schweinsteiger got little of the ball. He got Lampard's knee first too it looked like.

20' Terrible defending nets an assist for Germany's goalkeeper Neuer on his goal kick to Klose. It's a bit of deja vu considering Ghana's first goal yesterday.

24' Dafoe went down easy there.

26' I'm not sure that was a foul by Klose.

30' Could have been offside there, but I doubt it. Yup, replay shows Klose was clearly onside.

31' I'm guessing Dafoe was offside. Again replay shows the referees are correct.

32' Wow. That was quite an angle on Podolski's shot.

34' That was a soft foul on Boateng.

36' Good tackle by Johnson.

37' Bad defending by Boateng. He just stood by while Upson had a free header.

38' I need a replay there, but I don't think the ball went over the line. Wow, that was clearly a goal. I wasn't completely paying attention, but I should have known from the spin of the ball and so should the assistant. You can't call what you can't see, but if ever there were a case for instant replay, this is a great example. Just saw another replay and the assistant was only 7ish yards away. He should have seen that. It wasn't even close.

45'+1 If the far side assistant thought that ball was over the line, it's baffling he didn't see the goal...Rooney was pushed, but went down a bit late looking for the foul. Good non-call.

47' Easy yellow for Friedrich on Dafoe. He was never going to get the ball.

51' Good advantage and call on the foul on Rooney.

53' Easy offside call on Klose.

54' I don't think Neuer was actually trying to waste time...I guess a warning doesn't hurt though.

57' My own replay had a little bit of a bad angle, but I don't think that ball went all the way over the line. This time the near side assistant called it over.

59' Mueller squibbed that shot. That was terrible defending and he should have done better. It was deflected and should have been a corner too.

62' That was a bit of theatrics by Mueller.

63' It looked like Johnson was fouled there.

66' Rooney certainly made the most of that block.

67' Not really sure why James went to his right when Terry was coming across to cover that side.

69' Again Mueller should do better. He could easily have gotten his second goal in as many minutes.

70' What terrible defending. Barry should have stayed more central and Cole could have then picked up Mueller and Upson might have had time to get back as well.

73' Easy call. Boateng wasn't playing the ball there, just blocking.

74' Easy call for the foul on Oezil. Rooney needs to be careful though his picking up of Oezil was hilarious.

75' Another foul by Johnson. That's at least three I think and two pretty close together.

81' That was a soft foul and Oezil went down easy, but if it's called a foul then it's Johnson's third in the last 5-7 minutes and fourth or more for the game so a yellow for persistent infringement is an easy call.

87' Easy offside call there.

90' Interesting call for the assistant to just see that ball out since, while Kiessling was offside, he never got to the ball. Though, he was the only one that was ever going to get to it so it could have been called. Either way it doesn't really matter.

Assistants: Above average. 6/10. The far side assistant missed the goal, and a few ball in/out of play calls I thought were wrong, but they got every offside call correct. It's tough rating that because of the disallowed goal, but I thought they were very good otherwise so I took off ~2 points for that missed call.

Overall: Very good. 7.5/10. Larrionda didn't have much to do in the second half thanks to the Germans, but he kept the game under control, was well positioned, and didn't go to his pocket unnecessarily. Despite my feelings about '06, I hope his assistant's missed call doesn't cost him another game in the World Cup, but given that there are only 7 games (that matter) after this round, I wouldn't be surprised if that kept him out if other referees have better games for the remaining Round of 16 games.

Referee Rating: USA v. Ghana

Again I'm not going to rate the ref live as I want to be fully focused on the game.

Viktor Kassai of Hungary is doing this game. He's already done Mexico v. Uruguay and Brazil v. North Korea.

Bleh.

Kassai did a good job. In my biased opinion he missed a couple other penalties. One in the second half and one in extra time (the push on Edu). Overall a good game though by the ref, Ghana, and the US in the second half. Our defense was always the weak spot, but I'm happy with the USA's performance this World Cup. We did much better than last Cup (though that wasn't terribly hard to do, almost anything we did would be better than '06) and fought hard.

Referee Rating: Uruguay v. South Korea

Wolfgang Stark aus Deutschland is doing this game. He's a very good ref and has already done well this World Cup in the Argentina - Nigeria and England - Slovenia matches.

4' Easy call for the foul on Ji Sung. Stark is managing this kick well getting in early and setting the tone for future free kicks. What a shot! I'm very impressed. I think that would've been the first goal scored directly from a free kick in the tournament had it curved 18 inches less.

7' Easy call for the foul by Perez.

15' That ws a dumb block by Jae-Sung.

16' If Perez had gone straight for the ball without pushing off he probably still would have won the ball there.

20' Not sure why Stark gave the advantage signal there. My own frame by frame replay shows Suarez being hit by something before the ball gets to him. I don't know if it was a coin or what. It would have to have been a tremendous throw 2/3 of the way across the field to hit him in the back of his head as it did. I wonder what it was.

26' Easy call on foul by Perez. He was unlucky to get a boot to the knee on the follow-through, but really, he caused it.

27' Easy offside call. Whoops. Replay shows I and the near side assistant got that one wrong. If the line ESPN put up is accurate, the assistant is a couple yards out of position for that call.

29' Logano looked like he might have hit feet with the attacker, but it's one of those where tripping is a foul, but an accidental trip like that isn't always given. I'm on the fence about whether it should always be given. Technically it's a foul, but then holding and pushing are technically fouls, but a low to moderate amount is tolerated lest the game become completely non-contact.

32' I'll have to see a replay on that tackle outside Uruguay's box, but it looked like Stark got it right to call no foul. From my own replay it looked like Pereira just barged the attacker over. I think Stark missed that call. He probably thought the attacker went over easily.

33' Easy call for the trip on Jung Woo.

35' I'm not sure Jae Sung did anything there. I need a better replay than just playing the incident back via DVR.

37' Easy advantage, but I'm not sure that push was anything different from others that haven't been called.

38' Good yellow on Jung Woo. He had his studs up and on Cavani's ankle. Getting the slightest of touches on the ball does not take away the recklessness of the tackle.

39' That was a great tackle to take the ball from Ji Sung.

40' Unnecessary push by Pereira and a little bit of theatrics from Jae Sung.

44' Lugano fouled Ji Sung, handled the ball, and then played dangerously. Pretty esy call I'd say.

45' That definitely didn't hit Sung Yong's right arm, but I don't know what it did hit. Replay shows it hit his left elbow. Stark was well placed for that. For me, Sung Yong raises his arm knowing he probably can't get his head or body in front of the shot. I think Stark missed that one. That's a penalty and a one-on-one with the keeper that the refereeing team have denied so far.

First half rating: Slightly above average. 5.5/10. Stark controlled the game well and let it flow. His near side assistant missed a close, but clear onside run by being out of position. Stark himself missed a deliberate hand ball in the box that should have been a penalty for Uruguay. He hasn't painted himself in a corner with cards. I think he only issued one this half. Were it not for the missed penalty call and the wrong offside call, this would be a very good rating. I expected more for those big decisions though. They mean so much more in football as opposed to basketball or other higher scoring sports. I hope those missed calls don't influence the final result. Though since the USA could play the winner here, I *would* rather we play South Korea than Uruguay based on the performances so far.

53' Easy call for the foul on Sung Yong.

56' Easy call for the foul by Perez. The ESPN commentator (Robbie Mustoe) is right, by my count that is the fourth foul by Perez. I'm not sure Perez needs the yellow nor does the game, but four fouls at this level normally would net you a caution. I think Stark is fine not issuing a card, but for consistency across refereeing at the tournament you could argue for one.

64' That was a foul on Chu Young, but those types of off-the-ball fouls are rarely called in the box and I think the unsignalled advantage played by Stark is consistent with international refereeing standards. Whether it's right or not is another question. Perez is wasting time here and Stark does well to let him know he's watching that.

66' Not sure how that was a foul by Dong Gook. It looked like he was being held. The assistant was right there too.

67' Good non-call on Suarez' search for a free kick in a dangerous area. Lugano jumped into and over Ji Sung there. Easy call.

69' Not sure about a booking for Du Ri. Nevermind, replay shows his studs were up and he came in slightly late and high on Pereira's ankle.

70' Stark did well to catch Lugano's pushing before the kick. I'm pretty sure Sung Ryong didn't carry the ball over the line, but it was a dangerous step backwards. Good education from Derek Rae on the fact it is the position of the ball that matters. The position of the player is irrelevant unlike most other major American sports.

72' Looked close on the Suarez offside. Replay shows he was offside by about a half-yard (if the lines on the field are actually straight). The assistant is in line with Suarez and leaning to break down-field. It was tough since the ball was played from close to that far side and switching between the ball and offside is very difficult. I can only assume the sound of the ball being kicked was somewhat drowned out by the vuvuzelas. A tough call, but I think the far side assistant got it wrong.

74' Much easier onside call there on Suarez.

80' What a great shot by Suarez! Stark may have been saved with that strike.

82' Good non-call on the tackle by Perez.

83' Easily a yellow for a series of fouls by Yong Hyung on Perez.

87' Dong Gook was onside, good job by the near side assistant.

89' Dong Gook had a good hold of Lugano's shirt. Good decision. Definitely not a penalty.

90' Not sure why Stark didn't call the push on Forlan. He was right there. He seemed to play advantage, but gave no signal. I think he called hand ball there at the end though.

Ratings:
Second half: Above average. 6/10. A couple missed offside calls and fouls, but Stark got the big decisions right and exerted just the right amount of control to give us a good, flowing game.

Assistants: Average. 5/10. The near side assistant was out of position and called an offside that wasn't. The far side assistant was slightly out of position, but not by much though it was enough that he missed a tough, close, but clear offside call. There were also a few fouls missed or called what I think was the wrong way.

Big decisions: Average. 5/10. I think the hand ball in the first half clearly was a penalty. Stark did get it right for the foul on Lugano. At the very least it wasn't a penalty. His cards were correct.

Positioning/fitness: Great. 8/10. Stark was right where he needed to be all game. So it's odd that his decision making let him down some.

Game control: Great. 8/10. Stark let the game flow and kept the players under control and generally playing within the laws of the game and punished them when they didn't.

Overall: Average. 6/10. Stark picked it up in the second half and got the big decisions right then, but he had already missed a big one in the first half. If not for that blown call and a few wrong offside/onside decisions, this would have been a great game rating.

Referee Rating: Chile v. Spain

Marco Rodriguez from Mexico takes the center of the field for this matchup. Let's hope he learned from his colleague's first half performance and has a good game from the get-go. Something on the level of Archundia's second half or better would do just fine.

I didn't think Rodriguez had a great game in Australia v. Germany. Cahill's red card was harsh and it was a very Mexican-style of refereeing which clashes with my own refereeing philosophy. FIFA were apparently happy with his performance since he's refereeing again.

3' Pretty easy call on the sandwich. Hmmm. Looks like there was another foul I missed due to replay before that. Not sure why no advantage signal was given.

5' Easy call for the foul on Puyol.

7' Good call for the holding on Busquets.

9' Not sure why the word with Bravo was necessary, but at least he got a warning...Puyol was never going to get that ball without completely taking his man out which is what happened. Good call.

14' Valdivia went down easy, but he did get stepped on.

15' The yellow on Medel was harsh I thought. It was a foul, but nothing more than a talking-to was needed there.

17' That was never a foul by Torres. Vidal put himself between Torres and the ball and was already falling over in doing so. Both Rodriguez and his far side assistant called it...

19' Capdevilla's throw was fine, I'm not sure why that wasn't a free kick to Chile for his playing the ball after it came into play. A yellow for Ponce for a stupid kick at Torres' knee. He's lucky the ref didn't see more in that. It could easily have been a red.

21' That was easily a yellow for Estrada. It was a stupidly late challenge. Other than Medel's, the cards so far have been easy calls.

23' Ramos didn't make a play for the ball. If he had run towards it he might've gotten the result he wanted without foul.

24' Wow! The keeper had to come, but might've done better on his clearance. All he had to do was put it into touch. A great long range pass into the goal by Villa.

27' Easy call for the foul on Iniesta by Estrada. He would have been booked if he hadn't been already. I think that was a bad decision by Rodriguez.

29' Villa just pushed Sanchez from behind.

36' That was a penalty. Vidal made little attempt to play the ball. His primary concern was putting a shoulder on Torres and he did so with more force than necessary. To his credit Torres appeared to try and absorb the charge and stay on his feet.

37' I'm not sure about the second yellow for Estrada. He was watching the ball and seemed to merely accidentally trip Torres. Rodriguez failed to book him a second time for his foul on Iniesta in the 27', but two wrongs don't make a right. So far this has been another lackluster first half performance by a Mexican referee today.

40' First glance says Ramos was offside and the far side assistant was out of place to make the call. My own DVR-enabled replay confirms this.

43' Easy call for a foul on Busquets. Good gosh Rodriguez blows the whistle too much. That was a foul, and he needs to stop play, but it's gotta be the vuvuzela's influence I guess.

44' That was kind of a soft foul on Villa there.

45' Vidal did foul Iniesta there. He misplayed the ball, Iniesta got his body between the ball and Vidal, and Vidal just pulled Iniesta towards himself.

45'+2 Ponce is lucky there. I think Rodriguez is too close to see the stamp on Alonso's ankle or Ponce could have been sent off for a second yellow.

First half rating: Poor. 3/10. Rodriguez got almost every big decision wrong and let the the game get a little out of hand late on.

47' Spain's defense looked happy to let Chile get right up to the box. They deserved to be scored on there, but were unlucky that was what happened.

48' The foul on Beausejour was bizarre. No one else but Rodriguez seemed to think it was a foul. It certainly didn't look like much.

52' Good advantage played. Accidental arm by Paredes, not even sure that was a foul. Puyol put his face low. I'm iffy on that one. Parades had to know Puyol was back there, but he didn't look back and aim at Puyol. His eyes were always on the ball.

60' Easy call for the push on Ramos.

80' Very easy offside decision.

Man this is boring. For the last 25' neither team has done much. Spain had a couple of attacks early in that period, but the last 15' has been completely uneventful. The commentators' comparison of this play to the Germany - Austria in the 1982 WC is pretty accurate I think.

Second half rating: Average. 5/10. Rodriguez didn't have much to do this half.

Overall: Below average. 4/10. Rodriguez had a poor first half and never got a chance to redeem himself in the second half thanks to the dull "football" played by both teams. I would be surprised if Rodriguez got another game, but I've already been surprised in that regard with some of the referees that have done the 3rd group matches.

Referee Rating: Portugal v. Brazil

Benito Archundia from Mexico centers this match. He did the Italy - Paraguay match and was about on par with the refereeing to that point in the tournament.

5' Fabiano looked justified in having a word with Pepe. It looked like he kicked Fabiano as much as he was kicked, but flopped around. Archundia's intervention was good.

10' Easy call for the foul on Fabiano. Same for the foul on Tiago.

15' Yellow for Fabino's foul on Pepe seems harsh. Pepe really played that up. It was the second foul by Fabiano on Pepe (though I'm not convinced the first really was) and Pepe has made the most of both. I'm not surprised that a Mexican referee gave into the acting.

21' Tiago's foul was a bit unnecessary. As was Pepe's whining to Archundia when he's the one that kept going at Melo after the whistle. I was not impressed by his holding his arm and getting in Archundia's face like a child telling on a sibling. Melo's foot was unnecessarily high there. Archundia needs to make sure he manages this game and not just with cards. He did okay there, but seemed to miss the Melo/Pepe interchange. If he'd seen it clearly I think he would have talked to both players more.

25' Easy yellow on Juan. Given the direction of the ball and distance from goal, I think a red would have been harsh, but it probably could have been justified. I can only assume Duda said something rash because even an animated pleading would surely be easy to look past given the red/yellow question. He was following Archundia down-field, but he didn't seem to provide any huge public signs of dissent. It seemed an emotional reaction from Archundia. I get the feeling if Duda had said the same thing after Archundia had pocketed his card Duda wouldn't have been carded, but then, players do say stupid things.

26' Nilmar's challenge on Dude was stupid and an easy call.

30' Silva's push was a easy call especially due to Ronaldo's comical arm circles.

31' Excellent call on Tiago's dive and the card for it. Archundia was very well placed. That was a terrible dive and I'm glad he caught it.

33' Easy offside call on Ronaldo.

35' Baptista looked like he was trawling for contact but it probably was a foul. I don't like those types of fouls since the attacker could easily avoid contact most times, but there is contact. I consider it diving though because the attacker causes the contact. You could argue whether he has a duty to avoid contact, but in this case I think Baptista made something from almost nothing.

40' Melo made the most of that, but Pepe's stamp was only ever directed at Melo's ankle. I'm not sure I'd characterize it as violent, but given the earlier incident, it's treading the red/yellow line for me. He could easily have broken Melo's ankle and a red would not have been harsh at all. Not surprisingly Archundia had no word with Pepe. He seems to be losing control of this game minute by minute.

41' Melo is lucky he didn't get booked there. He went around the ball at Tiago's leg. I know the attacking team has a right to take a quick kick, but game management demanded at least a stern word with Melo there. As it is, it's another poorly dealt with situation and the game falls further out of Archundia's grasp.

43' And Melo is finally booked for his rugby hit on Pepe. For me that was excessive force and therefore a red. It's a foul born out of frustration and the knowledge that Archundia has lost the game. It was retaliation pure and simple and Melo should be off the pitch. In fact, it was so hard that even Pepe could not play it up with theatrics.

45' Dunga is wise to see what is going on. Melo is lucky to still be on the pitch and is a liability. Even waiting to half-time to sub him is a huge gamble.

45' Apparently Archundia's game control methods have devolved to showing cards for everything. Coentrao didn't deserve a yellow for that foul. The free kick was all that was needed. If anything else, just a talking to.

45' Juan flops in the box and Archundia sees through it. It could have been seen as a foul, but not by me. That's been regular contact this World Cup. Holding and pushing have been called a bit more (though not in US - Slovenia), but that was a well timed shield for me. Carvalho had a right to his position and Juan had no right to try and go through his back.

45'+1 Ronaldo is awfully selfish there.

First half rating: Below average. 4/10. This could have been a classic match between world powers, but Archundia's inability to step up and control the game when he needed to just isn't good enough. I hope he reviews some video during the break and steps it up in the second half.

46' Easy call on the over the back by Bastos.

47' Not sure why a yellow isn't issued to Danny, but play hasn't stopped yet so maybe it will be forthcoming at the next stoppage. Well no card. Replay shows minimal contact and given FIFA's directive about contact I guess no yellow, no foul is right.

48' Good "wait and see" approach on that non-offside call by the far side assistant.

50' Very little in the semi-block on Alves good non-call.

52' Easy call on the foul by Alves. Not sure why Ronaldo is shooting there unless it's a prearranged set-piece to get a deflection.

53' That looked like a very easy hand ball call on Meireles, but Archundia and his near side assistant both missed it. Archundia can be excused as he was blocked by Meireles' body, but the assistant should have seen that easily.

60' Good spot on the tip by Cesar for the corner. Archundia was well placed.

64' Interesting how players are made to tuck their shirts in before they come on as a sub, but then they almost all untuck it within a few steps of entering the field. They're all adults and shirts these days aren't that long so an untucked shirt looks fine, but I think it's odd to have them tuck their shirt in in the first place.

67' I'll have to see a replay on that offside call on Danny, but by my own slow motion replay he looked onside by a yard. There it is and my instinct was right, he was onside by about a yard.

67' Block by Lucio might have deserved a yellow, but given the number of cards Archundia gave out in the first half, I don't blame his reluctance to reach for his pocket.

68' Not sure why that was a foul on Coentrao. Alves is claiming it was an elbow to his neck. From my own replay, it looked like Alves jumped into Coentrao's elbow more than anything.

70' Baptista looked like he was pushed over. He may have gone over a bit easy and thus the handball call on him instead.

71' Ronaldo dived there. Replay shows it was pretty blatant, he's lucky not to be carded. Archundia was pretty well placed.

73' Maicon breaks recent tradition of both sides going down at the slightest contact. Very refreshing :)

74' Easy call on the high foot by Ronaldo.

Other than the off the ball excitement and hard challenges of the first half, this match has been pretty dull. Not much good football from two teams that can play well. I know Brazil don't want to lose, but they just keep passing the ball around the back and not creating many openings or attempting to attack much. Portugal's been the better team to watch so far.

81' That was quite a theatrical flop by Simao. There was contact, but it was engineered by him and played up a lot.

82' Gilberto did foul Ronaldo, but the advantage was there. Those are tough since you'd think Ronaldo and Portugal would rather have a set-piece that close than a relatively low-percentage shot from Danny. So do you call the foul or play advantage? Advantage is the easy call. I'm still on the fence about those situations.

90'+1 Bad shot, good save by Eduardo on the deflection.

90'+2 Ronaldo should know by now that that type of shoulder-to-shoulder contact is normal.

90'+3 Easy hand ball call. Easy call on the sandwich foul.

90'+4 A penalty for Lucio's handling might have been harsh. His arm was up for the jump and he was blocked from viewing the ball clearly by Carvalho so he didn't have much time to react.

90'+5 Easy call for that push+pull foul by Ramires.

Second half rating: Above average. 6.25/10.

Overall rating: Slightly above average. 5.5/10. Not a good first half, too many cards, but a better second half. Whether it was because both Melo and Pepe were off the field for most of the second half, Archundia controlled the game better and without a single card too. I have to praise how well he stepped up especially given how many other referees have let down the game late on.

Referee Rating: USA v. Algeria

Frank de Bleeckere of Belgium did this match. My biased opinion follows.

It is not good enough for a deciding third group game to just be an average referee. I thought his handling of the game was average in the first half and went down from there. His positioning was generally above average, but his decision making let him down. He stopped play at one point when the US had a clear advantage and the injury clearly did not require immediate attention (26' Kadir fouled Dempsey). He was pretty consistent, but wavered at times calling fouls when he didn't need to and not calling them when he probably should, but this was the rare exception.

In the 12' Yebda made little attempt to play the ball and, while it was early in the game, it was a pretty easy call to reach for the yellow card at that point. I'm not sure why DeMerit was called for a foul in the 18', but de Bleeckere managed Gomez' encroachment well. de Bleeckere missed Boughgerra's foul on Jozy in the lead-up to the disallowed goal. It was a yellow for me, but de Bleeckere didn't even signal for advantage. As for the disallowed goal, it's close, but the near side assistant should have been in the correct position and from earlier glimpses of him, I suspect he might have been a bit out of position for the call which should go the attacker's way if there's doubt. I was surprised at Jozy's booking in the 62', it was dumb, but not hard, and way down at the other end of the field. I'm not sure why the far side assistant called a foul on Buddle in the 71' or how he missed Belhadj's kick out at Buddle. The assistant seemed to react to it, but then did nothing because Buddle didn't hit the ground immediately and writhe in fake pain as an Italian might have done. Yahia's first booking in at the 76' was easy. It was late and a cynical stamp on Jozy's foot. Quite how the refereeing team missed Yahia' punch to Dempsey's face in the 81' I don't know. The far side assistant may have been blocked by Donovan, but he should've been further down the line and thus able to see it. de Bleeckere was less than 10 yards away and looked like he had a decent angle, but the ball was elsewhere. As much as I dislike disrespect to referees, I think Dempsey was right to shrug off de Bleeckere's pacifications and have a sharp word at him. Dempsey had just been punched in the face and given a bloody lip and the man who's supposed to protect him hasn't been doing so and missed the worst foul all game. Lacen had no complaints for the foul on Jozy. It was from behind and stopped a dangerous attack. On replay, I think a red might've been harsh, but not unjustified. Lacen made no attempt on the ball and just stamped Jozy's foot, but given de Bleeckere's inability/unwillingness to protect Jozy up to that point, I wouldn't have expected it. He did do well to ignore Ghezzal's semi-flop in the 86'. Beasley's yellow for deliberate hand ball was harsh, but my slow motion replay shows it was actually a foul. I'm not sure why the yellow was necessary, but whatever. Yebda and Halliche should both have been booked in the 90'+3, but instead Yahia saw his second yellow and was sent off for pushing his dissenting players back and seeming to calmly plead his case. It was a bizarre ending to a lackluster refereeing performance.

Somewhere in there DeMerit also got away with some major shirt pulling in the box. He was lucky he didn't get a penalty called on him.

It all boiled down to this, that the USA stepped up their game in the second half, the Algerians stepped up their dirty play, and de Bleeckere and his team did nothing to step up their game, and perhaps even slid backwards from their (maybe slightly above) average first half performance.

Assistants: Below average. 4/10.

Positioning: Above average. 6/10.

Game management: Below average. 4/10. Did not step up when he needed to.

Big decisions: Below average. 4/10. Missed DeMerit's shirt-pulling, missed Dempsey being punched, disallowed Dempsey's goal, sent off the wrong player, spotted Beasley's handling, missed kick out at Buddle

Overall: Below average. 4/10. Not good enough for a crucial game.

Referee Rating: Ghana v. Australia

Roberto Rosetti from Italy is the center. He's one of the best referees in the world and has been for years. He's second in Graham Poll's rankings. He refereed the Euro 2008 final when Spain beat Germany 1-0. Rosetti is surely a favorite to do the final in South Africa if Italy don't get to defend their title. I expect a very good game. If Australia have a player sent off this game it certainly won't be down to poor judgment on the referee's part this time.

2' That was never a penalty. Kewell and Addy both ran into each other equally. Great early decision. Rosetti was close to play, about 13 yards away, lending authority and credibility to his decision.

5' Good call on the high boot by Ghana #23. Good awareness of the slight clash off the ball and talking to both players.

5' Holman has no reason to complain there, he didn't play the ball at all. His defender went down easily, but it was a foul.

6' Good call by the near side assistant, the ball wasn't out of play and he made it clear to the players.

7' Easy call for the foul on Kewell.

7' Kewell needs to stay on his feet. He went down under regular free-kick contact. If he keeps looking for penalties for minor contact like that, there's likely to be a "boy who cried wolf" situation later. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a yellow for simulation or exaggeration.

10' Foul tackles are usually late rather than early, but Annan's tackle on Valeri was way early.

11' Holman shows Annan and Ghana why you shouldn't give away cheap fouls close to goal. Kingson didn't exactly cover himself in glory there.

14' Rosetti was well placed to see the foul by Emerton on Annan. Another easy call, this time the other way.

15' Looked like a good offside call by the far side assistant.

16' Not sure why Pantsil is complaining there, it was a clear foul.

17' Push on Ghanaian player was well spotted. The game's getting a little chippy. Looks like the near side assistant got the offside call right. Tough to see on the angles for the last two offside calls, but we actually had a view of this second one.

24' Kewell only has himself to blame there. He moved his arm towards the ball and blocked the ball with it. Rosetti was little more than 13 yards away. I don't know why the Australian players were pointing to the video screens claiming it wasn't deliberate handball. For the purposes of the foul of deliberate handball, you use the sleeve of the jersey to help determine what is and is not part of the arm and it wasn't even close to Kewell's shoulder or chest. That ball clearly hit all arm. Harkes (commentator) is wrong. Kewell *did* move his arm to the ball. The replay at 24:10 on ESPN's broadcast shows Kewell trying to keep his arm in the way while trying not to appear to do so intentionally. Notice how his arm moves forward after the contact. If he was trying to move his arm out of the way or it truly did just strike him, his arm would've continued moving away from the ball. The replay at 24:20 shows and even better view (the one Rosetti had) of Kewell moving his body towards the ball while making no attempt to put his hand by his side. He flexes his arm and shoulder knowing he can't get his chest or any legal part of his body over in time to stop the goal. A top decision by a top referee in a great position to see exactly what he needed to see. Like I wrote before the match, if Australia have a man sent off it won't be due to referee error.

28' Rosetti is doing well to manage the free kicks, not letting the attackers get a couple extra yards in their placement of the ball and not letting the wall get away with much.

29' I hate it when players yell for the goal/corner kick to go their way when they *know* it shouldn't. I don't expect them to tell on themselves, but don't try and deceive the referee. That's dishonest and certainly not "fair play" as FIFA keep harping on about while they dismiss video replay and goal line technology.

32' Ayew's foul there looked like a good tackle to me. Replay shows he got ball first, but coming from the side/sort of from behind, I can see why it was called. I don't necessarily think it was a foul, and Rosetti didn't appear to have the greatest position though he was out of frame when the tackle happened due to the zoom.

35' Easy offside call. The assistant even had the "help" of all four Australian defenders to make that call :)

36' Easy call for the foul on Asamoah. Moore's just to slow there. That was a bad free kick.

39' Tagoe didn't need to put his hands up and pull his defender back there. Rosetti did well to get down to the near corner. As soon as he came in Addy stopped fouling Emerton and Emerton was able to get a good cross off.

40' That was a rash challenge by Addy. Easily a yellow.

42' Good spot by the far side assistant on that handball.

43' Not sure how that wasn't a foul on Bresciano. Boateng got ball by going through him.

44' Two missed calls in quick succession. Rosetti might not have had the best angle on the foul, but I'm not sure how he or his assistant didn't see the deflection of the ball by Schwarzer.

First half rating: Very good. 8/10. Cards and big decisions were all spot on. Rosetti's positioning was great and his assistants served him well. Only a slight letdown at the end kept him from having an outstanding half.

46' Good call by the far side assistant on the hold/push.

48' Rosetti did well to try and settle Bresciano down there.

49' Good call for the foul by Gyan on Neill. Emerton didn't need to pull on his defender's jersey there.

51' More shirt pulling this time by Tagoe, good job by the assistant. That's clearly something that FIFA have told officials to call because it hasn't really been tolerated by any referee so far.

54' Good tackle by the Australian defender Carney and a good waving away of the pleas of Ayew by Rosetti. He was well placed for that decision.

57' Holman had good position on that ball and Addy just came over the top of him. Good call.

58' Not sure what Boateng is complaining about there.

59' Rosetti was right in position to call that foul on Neill. First glance looked like the Ghanaian defender jumped into Neill with his elbow high. The replay didn't seem to show that part, just the aftermath so I'll side with Rosetti.

62' Good call on the foul by Wilshire.

65' The far side assistant missed that call. The ball hit off Ayew's chest. He didn't do himself any favors flinging his arm out, but it was a wrong call.

66' Chipperfield should have scored that.

67' Great ball by Gyan. Very dangerous attack.

68' Holman has been great all game. He was looking a little weary. Two players combine to sandwich Kennedy and give him no chance to challenge for that ball. Not a bad foul, but consistent with Rosetti's calling of the game so far. He's been clamping down on jostling before the ball is within reach and players jumping into or over the back of their opponents.

70' Not sure why the foul on Kennedy wasn't called but it was a foul by Emerton after.

72' I can't believe Wilshire missed that. Australia should be ahead.

73' Great tackle by Neill.

Ghana aren't really taking advantage of their having an extra player.

75' Easy call for the offside on Kennedy.

77' Moore really had to get that right and did.

78' Not sure what happened there. Heard groans, but EPSN were busy showing another extra slow motion replay of Kingson's save of Kennedy's follow-up in the 72'.

79' Dumb challenge by Mensah on Chipperfield. Australia have shown they're good at set pieces so far, not sure why you'd foul like that in that area. Yellow was fair. The tackle looked a bit reckless as Mensah tried to make up for his mistake.

80' Poor free kick from Emerton. All he had to do was put that on target. Kingson hasn't been good and the Aussies had three players crashing the goal.

83' Not sure about that handball call. Looked like the player was just protecting himself from a high boot.

84' Chipperfield again brought down in an attack. Not a big foul, but worthy of a yellow due to its effect on the attack.

85' Good call on the push by Moore. That was a dumb foul by Ayew. Not sure why Moore got a yellow I thought it was for Ayew, but Harkes says it was for Moore. Just saw a replay of the challenge that got Moore booked and it was clearly a yellow.

87' Rosetti close by to call Kennedy's jump into his defender. Not really a foul for me, but that's the way Rosetti has been calling aerial challenges all game. You pretty much have to jump straight up or at least not into your opponent for him.

88' Kingson bobbled it but Rukavytsya went in with both feet near Kingson's head at hit him in the chest.

89' Not sure about that call. Moore was jumping slightly forward, but not like some of the other aerial fouls called. I think Rosetti missed that one even though he was nearby.

90'+2 Muntari should have laid that off.

90'+3 That was a terrible cross by Gyan. I hope Pantsil's okay. Hopefully it's just a broken nose and not a head injury.

90'+5 Not sure why more time wasn't added on for Pantsil's injury, but that seems to be consistent across the games so far.

Ratings:
Second half: Good. 7.5/10. No big decsions this half, but Rosetti was well positioned throughout. A few odd decisions near the end again, but nothing major.

Assistants: Good. 7/10. Good decisions on offside. Mostly right on fouls, a few wrong, but nothing major.

Positioning: Very good. 8/10. Rosetti was right where he needed to be pretty much all game.

Fitness: Good. 7/10. He seemed to let down just a little at the end of each half. I can only put this down to fitness.

Big decisions: Very good. 8/10. Rosetti got the biggest decision of the match correct. His cards were fair and necessary.

Game control: Very good. 8/10. Rosetti stepped in when he needed to and let the game flow when he could. A few aerial challenges were called for soft fouls, but all of them kept the players from throwing elbows which has been a concern for FIFA.

Overall: Very good. 8.5/10. Better than the sum of the parts. Rosetti has made his case for refereeing the final. If he can keep it up, I think he'll get it if Italy's not in it.

Referee Rating: Netherlands v. Japan

Hector Baldassi from Argentina is the center here. He previously refereed the match between Serbia and Ghana. I didn't see it, but it seems he got the major decisions right and no one's talking about the small ones so he seems to have had a decent game. Will he defy the odds and have a good second game or join the referees from yesterday in having a worse game the second time around?

1' Good call on the jump over the back and calling the free kick back for having it moving while it was kicked and being 10 yards away from the spot of the foul. Though the former was more likely the reason it was retaken.

2' Good call on the foul by van Bommel on Honda. Pretty easy, but Baldassi was well placed

7' Good call on the foul by Matsui and Nakazawa on van Persie. Komano was unlucky to take a high boot, but there was nothing in it, just van Persie tumbling after having been taken down.

Just saw a replay of Kuyt's overhead kick and the assistant did well. Kuyt was clearly on, but it was somewhat close.

13' Another easy foul by Japan to call.

14' Well spotted high boot on Tanaka. Not a difficult decision, but credit where it's due.

20' Good spot by the far side assistant on the foul by van Persie. Baldassi has been in good positions so far. He gets close to play when it looks like the game needs it and seems to be reading the game pretty well so far.

23' Sneijder needs to watch his arms.

25' So does van Persie. Not sure how much there was in that. A foul certainly, but Nakazawa certainly made the most of it...the cynic in me says he was trying to get van Persie sent off or at least booked. Baldassi was close to play and right to ignore the theatrics.

28' Good tackle by de Jong and again Baldassi is right there to make the right (non) call.

29' A foul definitely, but Nakazawa seems to have a little theater in him. Baldassi again in a good position and right to do nothing other than call the foul. van der Vaart's challenge was careless, but not terribly timed nor was it particularly hard or from behind. It was controlled, but slightly off in timing.

31' Easy call on the block by Kamano.

32' Not sure there was too much in that foul on Honda. The defender's arm did come out in a little push. I don't think it would've been called if he'd kept that arm in close.

35' Honda's foul on van Bommel was easily spotted.

36' van der Wiel's yellow was deserved. He just checked Matsui with no attempt at the ball after Matsui pushed it past him.

39' Sneijder flop there or was it a push? No advantage call so Baldassi didn't see anything in it and he was right there. The right (non) call I think.

40' Easy call on the sandwiching of Okubu.

44' Baldassi put the whistle to his lips for the push by Sneijder, but then didn't signal advantage when Japan kept possession.

44' Deliberate handball was easy to spot. As was Okubo's high arm.

First half rating: Good. 7/10. Baldassi was in good position throughout the half. He got the only booking correct and let the game flow. I hope he keeps it up in the second half.

48' That was a bit of overreaction from Tanaka, but Sneijder really didn't need to have his hands up.

50' Robbie Mustoe (commentator) was correct, Tanaka made no attempt to play the ball. He was more interested in stopping the attacker.

52' Baldassi is again getting close to play and was well placed for the corner call and in a good position had anything happened in that crucial position.

53' Great shot by Sneijder. That's the kind of attack I expected from the Dutch in the first half.

54' Great tackle; Okubo's theatrics were rightly ignored.

55' van der Vaart went over easy there, it was almost a dive, but it did look like he was put off balance a bit by his defender. I don't blame Baldassi for ignoring his pleas.

57' Two flops in a row, one by each team. Not sure if either actually was a foul, but Baldassi looked like he had a good view of each and made no call. After his first half performance it's easy to side with him on both decisions.

60' Easy call on the foul by van der Vaart.

65' Honda was lucky he didn't make contact with anyone with that stupid two-footed lunge.

66' Dumb challenge by Okubo. A card wouldn't have been harsh, but Baldassi was right not to give it. The game didn't need it and neither did the player.

70' Best attack of the day for Japan. Really threatening. Great skill by Sneijder to trap the Dutch clearance.

80' Easy call for the foul on Honda. Baldassi has done well to keep this game under control. Neither side really looked like they just wanted to kick the other out of the game, but the fouls have been just mistimed tackles with little venom. The teams each seem to respect the other and Baldassi has done well to keep that vibe going throughout the match.

84' Honda had an elbow high on van Bommel there, but it didn't look like van Bommel jumped very high and Honda's eyes were always on the ball.

86' Not sure why Mathijsen felt the need to foul Nakamura and then push him over.

89' Didn't have a camera on it, but I guess that was a foul throw.

90' Did Honda trip himself there? Baldassi certainly thought so.

90'+2 That was never going to be a penalty. A yellow for simulation would probably have be justified. There was slight contact, but Nagatomo didn't go down because of it, he threw himself down.

Ratings:
Second half: Very good. 8/10. Baldassi stepped up and did very well in the second half. He seemed to tire a bit which is expected, but he was still in good positions.

Fitness: Above average. 6/10. His lower fitness evident in the second half didn't hurt him.

Positioning: Very good. 7.5/10. Baldassi always seemed to be just where he needed to be.

Big decisions: Good. 7/10. Didn't have much to do but wave away Nagamoto's appeals.

Overall: Very good. 7.5/10.

Referee Rating: England v. Algeria

Uzbekistani Ravshan Irmatov is the center for this match. I have high hopes for him and his team as they did very well in the opening match of the World Cup. It would've been nice to have them for our game.

3' Easy call for the foul on Ashley Cole.

10' Easy call for the foul on Barry. Irmatov has been well positioned so far. Was right on top of the clash between Rooney and Halliche & Ziani, well placed to see there was no foul.

12' First glance looked like a good non-call on the challenge to James in the air. Irmatov was again well placed.

12' Good call on the foul by Heskey. He used his defender as a springboard to get so high.

14' Easy call on the foul by Yahia on Heskey.

15' If Johnson keeps his arms down there I think he's alright, but good call since he clearly used them to push his opponent.

18' Good non-call on the tackle on Barry

19' Looks like Irmatov and his far side assistant both missed a foul on Heskey. Heskey did make the most of it. I wonder if it really hurt that much or if he was playing it up. He hasn't been the type to dive. I would tend to give him the benefit of the doubt.

20' Easy call for the foul on Gerrard.

21' Lampard's foot wasn't terribly high and his opponent's foot was up there too.

23' Irmatov is getting in close to the play by the near side corner flag. Good job.

25' Looked like Lampard went down easy there. He's been letting that type of contact go so far so Irmatov is being consistent so far.

25' Good call for the foul on Lennon. Again good positioning.

26' It was a foul on Heskey. The advantage was there, if Rooney doesn't pull his opponent's shirt he's probably okay.

27' Not sure what the near side assistant saw Heskey do, but there was no foul there on replay.

28' Terry was desperately unlucky to get hit in the head. It didn't look like there was any malice in it nor was it a foul despite Terry taking the chance to argue otherwise as Irmatov comes over to check on him.

29' Good offside call by the far side assistant.

30' Heskey just did essentially the same thing he called for a foul for doing in the 27' and Irmatov, who was closer than the assistant this time, was right not to whistle for a foul.

33' Not a good angle on the possible Lampard hand-ball, just saw another angle and it was deliberate hand-ball. Good thing M'Bohli saved it.

35' I hope Barry hasn't injured himself there. Replay shows it was a foul, didn't look it at first glance.

37' Heskey's first touch hasn't been great so far.

39' England should have had a corner. Kadir went down easy at the slight push. It's the same contact Irmatov has been letting go all game, but this time he called it.

40' Good advantage. Lennon has not impressed me so far this Cup.

44' Easy offside call on Algeria.

45'+1 Not sure that ball really was totally over the line, but I'll trust the near-side referee as he had a much better view of it.

Algeria are not an easy team. The US will have to work hard to beat them just as England will have to in the second half.

46' Not sure how that was a foul. Irmatov let down by his assistant again I think.

48' That was a flop by Matmour.

51' Good call on the push by Barry

51' Carragher's lucky he wasn't called for a foul based on what Irmatov has been calling.

53' Given the showing of the studs like that I think that was a fair call on Yebda.

54' I'm surprised Ashley Cole wasn't called for his handball. In fact, a foul was called for him. There didn't seem to be much in the play.

57' Rooney has not been good.

58' Carragher did not try to play the ball at all. A yellow's probably fair given the position.

62' Wow Rooney's first touch is bad.

66' Good call on the foul on SWP

68' Good call on the Heskey foul. Interesting to see on replay that Heskey was holding his defender's shorts.

70' Can't tell even on replay whether Carragher's challenge should have been a foul. He got position on the attacker, but missed the ball with his left foot only to clear it with his right. I'll side with the ref on a no-call.

76' Great run by Defoe, don't think Heskey would've done that.

76' Handball appeals shown on replay to be empty; it hit Kadir's legs.

79' Looked like Abdoun started the jostling and it's not surprising the call would go the defense's way in the box.

82' Good call for the foul by Lacen. He wasn't playing the ball, it was man first.

85' Yellow for Lacen was fair. Broke down the attack and Lacen has committed a few fouls lately.

86' Gerrard went down under light contact looking for a penalty. Good on Irmatov for not buying it.

87' Good advantage played, too bad Rooney continued his poor form with that ball.

88' Lampard's not so hot this game either.

89' Not sure how much of a foul that was by Terry. Matmour's been going to ground very easily this game and Irmatov has generally not been fooled. Not sure about that one.

90'+1 That should've been a corner off Defoe's shot. It was deflected.

90'+2 That was an unnecessary challenge by Johnson on Belhadj

90'+3 England's bench are riled up after the Rooney-Kadir clash, but Rooney clearly was the aggressor there. Good call.

90'+4 Don't know what Crouch was looking at the ref for. He was the one in the wrong position and mis-timed his jump. The defender a foot shorter than him had very little effect on that.

Ratings:
First half: Above average. 6.5/10. A good start, then he missed the Lampard handball and got a little inconsistent. Let down by the near side assistant once.
Second half: Average. 5.5/10. More and more inconsistent, but at least he didn't go to his pocket like he was giving out yellow candy. His near side assistant let him down again.

Assistants: One good, one average. 6/10. They both got offside calls correct. The near side assistant called several non-fouls that the center was clearly not calling at that point.

Big decisions: Above average. 6/10. Missed the Lampard handball, saw through Gerrard's cynical flop in the box late on. Not much else

Positioning: Above average. 6.5/10. He was a little off on the Lampard handball, but that was just the angle the foul happened at, he was in a good position otherwise. Seemed to tire a little in the second half, but was generally close enough to play when he needed to be.

Overall: Above average. 6.25/10. I was expecting a lot from Irmatov after his great game in the opener. He didn't shine, but he didn't make any huge mistakes either. I definitely would have wanted him to do the US game earlier.

Referee Rating: Slovenia v. USA

Referee: Koman Coulibaly from Mali.

I realize my opinion is biased, but I figured I'd give it anyways.

1' Dempsey's elbow was up, but it didn't look like he was trying to hit Ljubijankic. Eyes on the ball as Harkes said.

2' Not sure why that was called for the USA, not sure the US player was within playing distance when he tried to shield that ball

6' Good call. That would've been yellow with Undiano. Glad he's not reffing this one.

9' We got lucky that time that the Slovenian player missed that ball.

13' That should've been closed down. Howard I'm sure is furious with his defense. Slovenia have looked the better side so far and now they have a goal to show for it.

15' Keeper did great on that punch.

16' Good call on that ball over the line by the assistant.

20' Coulibaly was well placed for the foul on Torres. His positioning has been good. He's staying close, giving himself good angles, and reading the game well.

22' That looked like a little bit of a flop, but there was some contact.

23' Great chance missed for the US. Donovan's ball was a bit high, but I'm not sure if Dempsey could've reached it if it had been flatter and/or softer.

26' Not sure whether that was out or not. It hit on the line, but had some spin on it so it could've gone over in the air and curved back.

27' Easy offside call, he was 2-3 yards off.

28' Good call. Dempsey needs to watch his hands. He can win headers without pushing his opponent.

31' Gooch was lucky there. He needs to watch his hands as well. It would've been a soft foul, but another ref might've called it.

35' Good call on the yellow for Cesar.

36' Great free kick by Torres and a great save.

38' A little unsure about that throw-in direction, but that's minor.

40' That was a terrible call. Findley did *not* handle that ball. It hit him in the face and brushed his hand accidentally.

42' Regretfully I have to say that the assistant got that call spot on. Very poor defending by the US. I fear 2010 is another 2006.

44' A bit of a hole Harkes? You think so? What insightful commentary...

45' Good call on the Bradley foul.

45'+1 Good call on the foul on Cherundolo.

First half rating: Above average. 6.5/10. A few questionable calls/non-calls, but the game flowed and nothing major was missed or incorrectly called. Though Findley will miss the last game thanks to that yellow that shouldn't have been.

Hopefully this isn't another 2006 where Dempsey scores the only goal for the US against the "big team" in the group in a 1-1 draw and the US lose the other games against the "smaller teams".

45' Not sure about one of the subs, Torres did well in the first half I thought. Findley was probably a good decision since he had a yellow (however undeserved), and wasn't terribly effective.

48' Donovan did a great job! That should redeem him from his terrible low-angle miss for Everton. We *just* need 2 more and a shutout from the defense.

50' Great free kick from Donovan. Coulibaly was very well placed and handled the pushing in the box well.

51' Not sure why that was a foul on DeMerit. Hands down I guess is the advice in this game.

56' Churundolo saved Donovan there.

58' Good non-call on Jozy's break. I thought it might've been a foul for holding early on, but it wasn't much more than the ref had been letting go throughout the game.

59' Dempsey and Kirm were both all over each other. It looked like Kirm actually initiated. Probably should've been a penalty if anything. Certainly not a foul against Dempsey.

61' Good call on handball. Edu had his hands up and didn't try to move them out of the way.

63' A little time-wasting on this throw-in. Doesn't look like the ref is handling it.

63' Looked like Jozy was held back there...

67' Good call on the Gooch foul.

68' That looked like a foul on Cherundolo

69' The assistant called that foul by Suler. Yellow is the right call I think. Put this in Donovan.

70' I'm not so sure Dempsey wasn't fouled there, but Jozy could and should have put it in.

72' Easily a yellow for that foul by Kirm.

74' I don't know what Jozy did to warrant a foul there...this is becoming terrible.

75' Easily a yellow for the foul by Jokic. Glad he didn't catch Donovan's knee squarely.

77' Jozy should've probably hit Feilhaber or Dempsey there

79' Good non-call on the pressure from DeMerit.

80' Good attacking sub.

81' Good call for the foul on Cherundolo

82' WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bradley is almost always in the right place at the right time.

85' That should be a yellow for the two fouls on Jozy, especially the lst one.

86' Replay shows the offside call was very wrong. Terrible. Not even close. Bradley's defender had two arms around him. Coulibaly and his team have fallen apart in the second half.

88' DeMerit got lucky that ball was behind his player.

89' Not sure that ball was actually out despite Donovan's insistence.

90' That looked like a corner to me.

90' That was no handball.

Just saw another replay on the goal that should have stood and a Slovenian defender had Bocanegra in a head lock and the ref had a great view of it. So much was missed there it's unbelievable.

90'+4'10" No time added on for the injury. What a terrible ending to a terrible second half by Coulibaly and his team.

Second half: Poor. 3/10. A terrible call on the non-goal. So much was missed there that for me erased everything good he had done in the half to that point.

Lalas is right, the ref isn't the reason the US only got a draw, but Coulibaly and his team did disallow a perfectly good goal. Instant replay please!

Referee Rating: Germany v. Serbia

Alberto Undiano - Spain

2' not sure about the foul on Podolski, but if that's all I have to complain about this game, it'll be a good one for Undiano

7' Podolski is incredible Serbia need to close down those chances if they want to have a chance in this game themselves

9' Ivanovic seemed to go down very easily under Klose's challenge though it was hard to see how much contact if any there was from the angle we got

12' Yellow card for Klose seems harsh. It was accidental contact that Ivanovic again made the most of. It was probably for persistent infringement due to the foul Klose made on Ivanovic at 9'

14' Badestuber's foul was mis-timed and the assistant did well to spot it and keep performing his duty of watching for offsides. I've always found it harder to spot fouls really close to me and continue watching offsides because of the constant switching between near and far vision

18' For once I agree with a commentator about a refereeing decision, Ivanovic's yellow card was quite soft. It was a foul to be sure, but not hard, not terribly late, certainly not reckless to me. Though, if Cahill's foul was a red (and it shouldn't have been), then that was a yellow, but that's stretching a bit I think.

19' Kolarov's yellow card definitely was, it was late and he was never going to get anything but the man. The commentators are right, this game could be ruined by a second yellow=red or two because of these early cards.

21' Khedira's yellow was fair. It was a stupid challenge and totally unnecessary.

28' Mueller really can't figure out how to cross

30' Good spot by the assistant on the offside call. Undiano had been cheating a lot on his positioning, but he's been better the last few minutes. Don't know if he was just tired or had a bit of trouble reading the game for a bit. Could've been the sun, it looks like it's giving the players trouble

32' Lahm's challenge was stupid as well. He was never going to get the ball. Easy yellow card decision being that it was ~25 yards out.

34' Foul on Podolski was correct, but Undiano was quite far away. His positioning is slipping again. Fitness problems or not, if he doesn't get a bit closer to play, he's likely to send someone off for a foul that looked terrible from far off, but wasn't.

36' Just finished typing above and Klose is sent off for a second yellow that was a foul, but not a yellow. This game has been ruined by an overactive referee. Undiano was ~18 yards away, not too far, but seemed to have a bad angle on it.

38' I'm surprised Jovanovic was not booked for his celebration, but then Undiano's decision making with regard to cards has been odd so far anyways. Not that I agree with bookings for celebrations like that anyways, but it is a yellow normally.

44' That was quite a flop from Stojkovic. Goalkeepers are protected, but that was a bit much. At least there was no booking for it. Undiano was about 20 yards away and had a bad angle.

45'+1 Germany were desperately unlucky. Khedira should've put that away from 14 yards out.

46' Not sure why they called offside when the ball had already gone through to the keeper. Generally just let the keeper play it out and move on. Another odd decision.

51' Not sure what foul Undiano is playing advantage for...

52' Will that be a yellow for the foul on Schweinsteiger? No, the Serb did well to play up his "injury" and get out of it. Mind you, it shouldn't have been a yellow except based on Undiano's previous booking decisions. Inconsistent and erratic, not qualities you want in a referee.

54' Great tackle by Vidic

54' Surprised at no card for Khedira. Also, once there's contact, it's no longer dangerous play, that should've been a direct free kick for kicking.

55' I really thought Lahm was off. Maybe someone talked some sense into Undiano at half. We can always hope.

56' If it had been any other referee, I wouldn't have been surprised at the non-call for Lahm, but that's been called all game. I can only think that the way Lahm went down caused the ref to reconsider.

57' Predictable yellow for Subotic. That one probably was a yellow as his trailing leg was the one that came in late and took out the player.

57' I wouldn't expect Podolski to miss such a great chance. It's just not Germany's day.

59' Germany don't look like they're missing a man. If they'd played like this in the first half they might not have had to worry when Klose was sent off.

59' Not sure why Vidic handled the ball like that, but it was an easy decision with how far out his arm was and was well spotted.

60' Well that was a terrible penalty. Not hard, not far from the keeper. It's definitely not Germany's day.

63' At least the flop from Krasic didn't get a second look.

67' Easy offside call

70' Good subs by both sides. More defensive for Serbia. Oezil hasn't done much and Mueller has been off all day.

71' Maybe Undiano did get some sense at the half; no card for Mertesacker.

73' Yellow for Schweinsteiger. Probably was since it was from behind and there was little chance of getting the ball, but it was slow and not really reckless for me. Undiano seemed to indicate it was for persistent infringement by holding up 4 fingers as if to tell Schweinsteiger that it wasn't just for that foul. I can't remember three other fouls by him, but I'll give Undiano the benefit of the doubt.

76' At this level, I'm not sure whether that actually was a foul committed by Badestuber. Not an inexcusable call though.

81' Serbia really should have a second goal by now. They've had some great chances.

82' Again, a sensible non-card despite Cacau's writhing.

84' I agree with Marin, not sure why Podolski didn't feed him through.

87' That probably should've been a yellow for Krasic.

90'+3 Not sure what that foul was for other than Stankovic got a cramp kicking Gomez' foot so hard inside the box.

Ratings:
1st half 4/10, 2nd half 6/10.

Big decisions: Poor. 3/10. Klose's sending off shouldn't have been. The penalty was, but that was quite easy to spot and I'm not even sure Undiano spotted it, his assistant had a great view though. Calling a foul on Gomez at the end when it should've been a penalty didn't surprise me as Undiano was out of position and therefore had a bad angle on it.

Assistants: Above Average. 6/10. They didn't have much to do, but did fairly well when they did. What I would expect at a minimum at the World Cup.

Positioning: Average. 5/10. Well placed for some decisions, not for others. Seemed to cheat at the wrong times. At the World Cup I expect better.

Overall: Below average. 4/10.

Undiano pulled it together in the second half, but by that time he had already negatively impacted the game. Germany have no one to blame but themselves though. They could easily have won this game even with 10 men.

Referee Rating: South Africa v. Mexico

Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan was the center for this match. I thought he had a very good game though this was not surprising as he's been the top referee for Asia the last two years. Unfortunately, I had this idea of rating the refs today so I'd already deleted the match from the DVR so I only have my lingering impressions on which to rate.

Irmatov didn't get much wrong. He clamped down early and then let up allowing the game to flow well. He wasn't fooled by any players (mostly Mexican) flopping about looking for fouls and the game was better for it. Since these non- or very-soft-fouls weren't being called, the players got on with playing football. Overall a great opening game for refereeing. Irmatov and his assistants should be congratulated for allowing a relatively good opening match to proceed without unneeded intervention on their part.

Rating: Very Good. 8/10 (an extra half-point for this being the opening match)

That's all for now as I need to get to bed if I'm going to be up at 4am for Germany - Serbia. I'll probably post my review of Howard Webb's performance first followed by some others (Uruguay - France and Germany - Australia come to mind).

Referee Rating Criteria

I read some referee reviews at referees.worldcupblog.com today and I wasn't impressed. First of all, I hate ratings that use a 10 point scale and then treat it like an American school grade where average starts at 7/10. You're basically leaving 1/3 to 1/2 of your rating scale unused. I was preplexed at some of the ratings so I thought I'd give my $0.02. Anyways, I'll be using a 10 point scale with 5 being average. As this is the World Cup and most of the best referees in the world are at the tournament, I would expect my average rating to be higher. I'd like to rate each referee on the following:
fitness - How well did the ref keep up with play and how quickly did he get into position after a quick possession change (a lower rating here is not necessarily bad, if the ref's positioning is spot-on)

positioning - How well the referee positions himself relative to play and its direction, the big question here is "Is the ref in position to see what he needs to see?"

big decisions - Did the referee shy away from making a big decision or did he step up and make the big call or wave it away correctly?

game control - How well did the ref control the game? Did he let it flow when he was able? Did he clamp down when he needed to?

assistants - How did the center referee's assistants do? Did they let him down or step up?

overall - Not an average of the other categories, but my best estimate of the ref's performance based on the game itself.