Some observations:
1. Ireland becomes the first team to finish this World Cup without losing a game (one win, three draws, no losses).
2. Brazil is now the only team in this World Cup with a perfect record (victories in all its games).
3. I really hate penalty shootouts.
4. "Plausibly live" is evil. I didn't realize until I read the online recap that Spain were a man down for the whole extra time, since my Spanish isn't good enough to understand what the commentators were saying, beyond "esquina", "penal" and "gol".
5. It was annoying waiting until the afternoon to post this after the ABC broadcast.
On the positive side, I finally confirmed that my couch is comfortable enough for guests to sleep on, having used it myself between games.
I'll bet if you asked the players for Ireland (especially, say, Holland) they would tell you that they finished with a loss.
I hate the shootout also, but I admire the style of Mendieta. Casual as he approached the ball, casual as he took the shot and casual as the team went nuts around him. Finnan put a great shot in the net in a do-or-die situation as well.