It's goodbye to Australia until 2014

A big storm came from the north and blew the stuffing out of Vienna on Saturday night.

It gave our glass terrace doors such a pounding we thought they might actually give way and we would be cut to pieces by flying glass and cats - who were not at all pleased with this event of nature.

We went riding on Sunday morning and picked our way through the mountains of debris and broken branches which covered the streets. I remember a storm like this last year - but we only saw the end result because we arrived back in Vienna from somewhere the morning after it had happened.

Another storm blew Australia out of the World Cup on Sunday night.

I would have settled for 1-0 against Germany but was prepared for 2-0. I was not prepared for a 4-0 flogging and a red card. At least I can now stop worrying about whether or not Australia will get out of the group stage - they won’t. See you in 4 years folks.

It was horrible to watch - and in fact I could not watch all of it and went to do something more productive. I tidied up the linen cupboard.

Australia played like a bunch of pensioners on the way to the pub on a Saturday afternoon. Germany ran rings around them.

Tim Cahill should know that if you want to break a German player’s legs there are more effective ways to do it than to tackle like a grandmother in a Zimmer frame.

You could - for example - use an axe. Better still - if you are that desperate to get sent off - head butt the referee. That will do it.

Looking on the bright side, didn’t MY team Germany do well! I can see them going all the way and have given them my full commitment.

However - a worrying note for football in general. Two German players were given yellow cards for blatant dives. I mean these were dives where the tackling player did not make contact with them.

There may have been more from Germany and from Australia - but I was absorbed in the linen - (I was sorting the towels by color) - so did not see all the game.

But this is what the game is about now. Any advantage - any way you can get it. If you can dive and get a penalty - or even a free kick - it is worthwhile doing.

It means that - as with the Australia-Italy game four years ago - dives do work and teams lose games because of them. The referees pick up some but cannot pick them all up.

The only way to stop this will be with a video referee and this is not going to happen until one of the top 6 teams loses the World Cup because of a dive and there is such a kerfuffle FIFA will have to take action.

I am thinking about my sock drawer for Australia's next game.