Like some of the others, I was pretty torn after that own goal. I jumped up immediately but then on reflection that was harsh.
I picked Serbia the moment the draw was done as my second team.
I never expected to be enthralled as much as I did. Realistically I knew nothing about Serbia except that they recently ditched "and Montenegro".
But the ride they've taken me on over the last four games in Dunedin has been nothing short of awesome. And off the field they've been magnificent. 3 public engagement events over 10 days. I could now tell you each player's first name if you told me his number. (I gave up on last names, too many 'VIC's).
The majority of my live football experience in a given year is in some sort of officiating capacity, and I sorta forgot how awesome it was to be a one-eyed, vocal football fan. And it was brilliant.
I was kinda skeptical about this tournament going into it, but I'm now at the point where I'm trying to justify spending $600+ that I don't have on a trip to Auckland for a 1/4 final between Serbia and a team that I don't even know yet.