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Go … Germany?

They take on Spain for the final Finals spot

by
Marc Tracy
July 07, 2010
Germany celebrating victory over Argentina in the quarter-finals.(John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images)
Germany celebrating victory over Argentina in the quarter-finals.(John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images)

As we hoped, the Netherlands took care of Uruguay yesterday, 3-2 (with the help of one of the most sensational goals you will ever see). Today at 2:30 E.S.T.: Germany v. Spain.

In Israel, they’re having no trouble hoping that Germany ends up, well, uber alles. “Israelis support Germany,” the AP reports,

for the same reason fans around the world do: They are one of the competition’s strongest teams, with beautiful footwork, aggressive strikers and a no-nonsense defense.



The passing of time and Germany’s consistent public contrition for the Holocaust has softened many Israelis. And Germany’s strong political support for Israel at a time when the country feels like the target of international hostility makes their soccer team more endearing.

Adds Howard Wolfson, who asks “Is It Okay To Root for Germany?” (and answers that it is), “I’m looking forward to putting history and politics aside for 90 minutes and enjoying a great match. Hopefully that will be ok.”

It will be. Until Sunday, when we’ll be rooting for the Righteous Oranje to put the beatdown on whoever wins today.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.