Germany will hope Argentina do not ruin their World Cup party when two of the most entertaining teams in the tournament meet in the last eight on Friday.
One of the two most celebrated "golden generations" in European soccer will reach the end of the road on Saturday when England meet Portugal in a tantalising World Cup quarter-final.
The World Cup returns with a bang on Friday after a two-day break as the hosts kick off the first of the heavyweight quarter-final battles.
Franz Beckenbauer said on Thursday he would be interested in running for the job of UEFA president, but ruled out a bid to become president of FIFA in the forseeable future.
It would have been a classic World Cup final: Germany vs. Argentina in Berlin's 72,000-seat Olympic Stadium, a showdown between two soccer powers with five titles between them.
English referee Graham Poll, who showed a Croatian player three yellow cards before sending him off in a World Cup match, is quitting international officiating.
With the help of a team psychologist, Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann has been tapping into a vein of national euphoria for short but potent doses to get the best from his World Cup players.
More than one million people will throng the German capital on Friday to watch or just be part of the experience when the host nation face Argentina in the biggest match of the World Cup so far.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised referees at the World Cup for being inconsistent and not following instructions properly.
Senior English and Russian referees were cut from the World Cup roster Wednesday after their controversial handling of previous matches.
The rivalry between Argentina and Germany is an old one, including two World Cup finals, with one victory each. And it's bubbling up again.
A record number of red cards, including four in one game and three in the first 46 minutes of another, suggests there is something fundamentally wrong with the world's most popular sport.
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