21.24

Well there you have it Germany, as they did four years ago on home turf, have taken 3rd place. With their young guns they’ll be hoping for even better in Brazil 2014.

21.22

Fulltime Germany 3: Uruguay 2

21.21

No he can’t but man alive he was close!! Heartbreak for every Uruguayan as the ball cannons off the crossbar.

21.20

Can Forlan rescue it for Uruguay?

21.19

Free kick on the edge of the box for Uruguay. Could get interesting!

21.19

Oezil is off and Tasci is on for his minute of World Cup action. Whistle will go any second now…….

21.17

Looks like it’ll be a European podium at South Africa 2010. Also happened in 2006 I might add.

21.16

Oh dear, oh dear! Should have been 4. Lovely counter attacking from Germany. The passing in the build up was delicious. Unfortunately Kiessling spooned the finish over, which was probably the easiest part.

21.14

Anyway back to the action. Four minutes to go as Boateng rasps  a drive straight at Muslera.

21.13

Wow, i’ve certainly showered myself in glory today. Having advised Germany to get the ball to Klose it now turns out that he is not on the pitch. I thought he’s just been very very quiet. I’m a muppet for which I apologise.

21.12

Uruguay goalkeeper probably blameless for that one, Khedira’s header was inch perfect. Ten minutes for Uruguay to respond or they’ll have to settle for an ignominious 4th place.

21.11

Germany 3: Uruguay 2- Corner played into the Uruguay box evades everyone, ping-pongs about for a minute, flicks up for Sami Khedira and the Stuttgart midfielder lofts a floating header over Muslera.

21.09

Goooooaaaalll Germany!!!!!!

21.08

Oooohh! Cross pinged into the Uruguayan area. Kiessling was inches away. Remains 2-2 though as Jansen is replaced by Kroos

21.05

When did players start thinking that free kicks from the half way line were opportunities to score? It never works!!!! Pereirra is the latest player to send the ball into orbit.

21.04

Lovely play by Kiessling, turns two men expertly well but his shot is straight at Muslera. True to form the Uruguay goalkeeper flaps at it inexpertly.

21.02

Stefan Kiessling, the Bayern Leverkausen striker is on for Cacau. Like-for-like substitution from Joachin Loew

21.00

Very much in the balance now. Might help Germany if they can get Klose on the ball. He’s been invisible so far. I’ve just had to double check that he was on the pitch.

20.53

Butt’s showing his opposite number how to do it as he spreads himself well to deny Forlan. Fantastic end to end stuff. Could end 7 all if it carries on like this

20.52

Hmm Muslera is becoming a serious liability for the South Americans. Looked like he had picked up a back pass then, the German bench certainly thought so. Ref saw a touch of a German player so nothing doing. Risky play though.

20.51

Germany 2: Uruguay 2- Muslera is not at the races today. The Uruguay keeper comes for a cross, gets nowhere near it and it falls kindly onto Marcell Jansen’s head.

20.49

Goooaaal Germany!!!!!

20.48

Incidentally Uruguay has a population of about 3 million which is around 1/20th of England’s.

20.41

Uruguay 2: Germany 1- Right if anyone ever tells you that Alex Ferguson doesn’t know talent you can show them this. Aravallo crosses and Diego Forlan drills a volley into the ground and leaves the motionless Butt stranded on the line. Great goal from the ex-United flop who moves onto 5 goals and is now level top scorer with Villa, Sneijder and Mueller

20.38

Gooooaallll Uruguay!!!!

20.36

Cavani goes round Butt, too far to hit the goal though so he pulls it back to Suarez. His shot though is too close to Butt who saves well. Lively start to the half.

20.35

Underway once more……

20.31

Desailly tactfully silent about Suarez. Damn!

20.31

The advertisers have got steretypical football fans squarely in their sights. Its all alcohol and cars at the moment, with a bit of Sky Sports thrown in. Nuts will be furious that they didn’t get a mention.

20.26

Be interesting to hear Marcel Desailly’s (Ghanaian born) view on Suarez. I really hope its an expletive ridden trade.

20.24

Ahhh, it seems i’m going to have to watch the analysis through gritted teeth. I have a serious aversion to Adrian Childes. Not sure why. Seems like a fantastically nice chap. I just hate his guts.

20.21

Right time to get a cuppa I think and wait for that horrific advert with Chris Kamara. He’s now a recurring theme in my nightmares thanks to that make-up.

20.19

Not bad. Not bad at all. Couple of goals so I can’t complain. And the players look like they have every desire of battling for 3rd place which is good to see.

20.17

Half Time: Germany 1 Uruguay 1

20.16

Muslera fumbles a cross, from which the Uruguayans somehow benefit with a quick break. The resultant corner is put over by Forlan whilst attempting to bend it into the net. Ambitious to say the least from the former Man Utd man.

20.15

Schweinsteiger attempts to make amends for his earlier mistake by curling in a free kick but only finds the Uruguayan wall. Not his day so far.

20.13

Crowd are on their feet and celebrating! Ball’s not in the net though. Suarez is played in by Forlan but completely misses the target. Credit to the aforementioned Jorg-Butt who got his angles right

20.13

Crowd are on their feet and celebrating! Ball’s not in the net though. Suarez is played in by Forlan but completely misses the target. Credit to the aforementioned Jorg-Butt who got his angles right

20.12

Third place play offs may not be every one’s cup of tea (I personally can’t get enough of them), but its a special moment for Hans Jorg Butt, Germany’s goalkeeper. This is onlyhis 4th cap and his 1st competitive one. His only other’s came in friendlies. At 36 he won’t get many more.

20.09

Wembley groundsmen may be happy to know they’re not alone in their struggles. Pitch at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium does not look good, and Jansen finds a convenient scapegoat as he miscues a cross horribly into the crowd.

20.07

Lull in play currently. The rain may have something to do with it. Port Elizabeth currently resembles Blackpool in October.

20.05

Intriguing match-up now. Germany don’t look as assured as normal, probably due to the amount of changes they’ve made. Uruguay on the other hand are at full strength and growing in confidence as the match goes on. Having said that my money’s still on the Germans, they always find a way.

20.01

Uruguay 1: Germany 1- Horrible moment for Germany captain-for-the-day Schweinsteiger as he’s robbed in the middle of the park by Perez. Got to hand it to the Uruguayans though whose counter attacked was, well, Germanesque. Perez played it to Suarez and public enemy number 1 fed Cavani. The measured finish means we’re all level again.

19.58

Goooooaallll Uruguay!!!

19.58

Suarez is currently on 3 goals. If he were to score a hat trick he would move into the Golden Boot position. The crowd would probably riot though so we’ll be hoping he’s not on form

19.57

Luis Suarez is being booed roundly whenever he gets a sniff of the ball. Hate to slip out of my impartial zone but he probably deserves it.

19.55

As has been pointed out by many people in the last minute, it is a travesty that Mueller is only up for Young Player of the tournament and not Player of the Tournament. Bayern will be hanging on to this one.

19.54

Germany 1: Uruguay 0. Thomas Mueller, probably the young player of the tournament moves level with David Villa and Wesley Sneijder on 5 goals. Bastian   Schweinsteiger’s reasping drive is parried meekly by Uruguay goalkeeper Muslera and falls kindly to the young german who slots home.

19.48

Gooooalllll GERMANY

19.48

The game is so dull at the moment that the mexican wave has started already. I clock that at 16 minutes, which is something of a record but not a good one.

19.47

Not sure if it counts as a fun fact but if you’re hoping for an early night you may be lucky. Only one 3rd place playoff has ever gone to extra time. None have gone to penalties.

19.46

Uruguay are having a bit more possession but nothing threatening Hans Jorg Butt in the German goal, so i’m gonna rustle up some more fun facts

19.41

So close from the Germans who have had all the early possession. Friedrich hits the bar with a towering header from a corner with the Uruguay defence at 6s and 7s.

19.40

And should Uruguay win they would be the first South American team to win a third place match since Brazil in 1978. Riveting stuff I know.

19.39

One for the statbook again. If Miroslave Klose was to find the net today, which he has a real knack for doing, he would equal Ronaldo’s record of 15 World Cup goals. That’s Ronaldo the portly Brazilian by the way not Ronaldo the preening Portuguese.

19.37

Suarez, completely without irony, complains vociferously to the referee as a Uruguay free kick hits a German hand. Cheeky little chap, doubt any Ghanains are laughing though.

19.36

Horrific tackle from the young German Aogo. Gets away somewhat fortunately with a yellow when it may have been red. Could have broken Perez’s leg but fortunately there was none of that.

19.34

And Mueller’s at it already! Sticks the ball in the net composedly, but that may be because the whistle had gone about half an hour beforehand.

19.33

And some of the players out there will be on something of a mission regarding the golden boot. Villa and Sneijder both have 5 but breathing down their necks will be Forlan, Klose and the impressive youngster Mueller, who each have 4.

19.32

Forget tommorow night, this is where the action is. Every single 3rd place game since 1978 has had a minimum of 3 goals.

19.30

Back again! Just in time. The always eagerly anticipated ‘glorified friendly’ that is the third place playoff is moments away!