Dresden to Sinsheim is a long trek, make no mistake. Especially on the back of a heart-breaking defeat suffered by your favourite women's team. I set out from my hotel at 7.30am on Saturday, and arrived at the ground eight hours later, having twice changed trains en route, at Frankfurt and Heidelberg. But the trip was definitely worth it. Especially given one of my favourite players was on the pitch. And when the USA's Carli Lloyd is in the mood to dominate a game, she is an absolute treat to watch in action. Columbia didn't have a prayer. The 3-0 scoreline flattered them - the USA could have cranked up a cricket score if they'd taken all their chances. Amy Rodriguez missed three gettable opportunities in the first ten minutes alone, while Abby Wambach missed another four in a ten-minute spell in the second half. Megan Rapinoe hit the crossbar, but also hit the net, as did Heather O'Reilly and, inevitably, Lloyd, whose performance deserved a goal, and also earned her the FIFA Player of the Match award - rightly so. She was boss! That result confirmed the USA's expected place in the quarter-finals, with Sweden joining them from Group C after Lisa Dahlkvist's 64th minute goal accounted for North Korea, who look to be a team on the wane - they were a genuine threat to the established powers not too long ago, make no mistake. Incidentally, everyone I've spoken to about that post-match carry-on between North Korea and the USA is as bemused as myself re the lack of interaction between the teams. Very strange indeed. Not half as odd as the most bizarre incident seen at these Finals so far, however. If you haven't seen it yet, you may not find it on You Tube, due to FIFA copyright issues. But it's bound to be on www.fifa.com in some way, shape or form, and is guaranteed fodder for inclusion in those "What Happened Next?" segments in sports quiz shows in the months and years to come. The match concerned saw Australia edge Equatorial Guinea 3-2, with Leena Khamis, Emily Van Egmond and Lisa De Vanna on target for the West Islanders, and captain Anonman twice replying for the Africans. The win keeps Australia's quarter-final hopes alive - they need a draw against Norway to advance to the last eight. The incident took place in the sixteenth minute, with the Matildas already a goal to the good. A cross came into the box and Khamis nipped in front of defender Bruna to flick the ball past goalkeeper Miriam but against the post. The ball bounced back to Bruna, who grabbed it and held onto the ball for a good four seconds before dropping it. Miriam promptly picked it up and cleared the ball downfield … and the officials - Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gall and her team - did precisely nothing about it!!!!!!!! The more you watch it on video, the more unfathomable it is that play was allowed to continue. The Aussies rightly protested, but how all four match officials could fail to see what happened and not react … at the rate things are going, there won't be any match officials of suitable quality still in Germany come the time to appoint officials for the final! Because there was another weird and far from wonderful incident which took place in the game I attended, between Brazil and Norway in Wolfsburg. This one was crucial, as a goal resulted from it. Marta clearly pushed Norwegian defender Nora Holstad Berge out of the way en route to opening the scoring in the 22nd minute, and the crowd's reaction alone should have told USA referee Kari Seitz that something was rotten in the state of Denmark. Germans can't half belt out their national anthem at full throttle, and they're right up there when it comes to whistling their discontent, make no mistake. It was ear-piercing stuff from the full house at the Volkswagen Arena, the second game in a row I've attended where the "Sold Out" signs have been in evidence at a women's football international, something which would be a pipe dream back home. But those ear-piercing whistles fell on deaf ears on this occasion … again, remarkable. As was Brazil's resolute defensive work, and, of course, their attacking play. There was no-one giving Marta the bird in the early stages of the second spell, that's for sure. She was at her mesmerising best as she masterminded two goals of the highest quality - one finished off by Rosana, the other by the five-times FIFA Women's Player of the Year herself - to settle the contest, although Norway deserved some reward for all their attacking efforts. But Brazilian sweeper Daiane was superb, while at the other end of the park, Cristiane got through a truckload of work, much of which was intelligent off-the-ball running which created space for team-mates to exploit. A clever player. The trip from Sinsheim was an interesting experience, as for the first time on this tour, I missed my intended train. No fault of Deutsche Bahn - they were running like clockwork, as ever. If only I could say the same for the taxi company responsible for

Carli Lloyd (10, third from left) unleashes a volley against Columbia Brazil and Norway prepare to do battle The two-seater Messerschmitt The millionth Mini A 1964 E-Type Jaguar A 1956 Citroen DS The striking silver speed machine, Bugatti Veyron At the wheel of an Audi R8 ... gorgeous car! Golf, anyone?

getting me from the hotel to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) seven kilometres away … Such is the beauty of the Deutsche Bahn system that I ended up arriving in Wolfsburg less than half-an-hour after my scheduled arrival time. The on-site automatic ticketing machines are quite brilliant - multi-lingual (at least six are available), on-line, and well able to get you out of a spot of bother at the push of a few touch-screen buttons. What a pleasure it is to be in a country where the transport system works just like it says in the instruction manual! Talking of transport, today was my first day where I wasn't in travel mode. And I must say, I enjoyed the chance to be a tourist for a day. As far as tourists in Wolfsburg are concerned, there is only one thing to see - Die Autostadt. As Clint Eastwood's character, William Munny, said in 'Unforgiven', "A man's got to know his limitations". It's one of the contributing factors to why I don't drive - save for up the wall and round the bend, of course! But that doesn't stop me from being a European car nut. And here I am in a country which boasts five of the greatest car-producing companies on the planet … Kid. In. A. Sweet. Shop. I thoroughly enjoyed the many hours I spent wandering around Die Autostadt. It was a real treat being able to take in the dozens of exhibits, taking photos of a host of classic and modern cars, and even getting the chance to sit in a few of them, including brand new models for 2012 which won't hit New Zealand shores until much later this year at the earliest. The classics - where do you start? Benz cars from the late 1800s. A 1913 Model T Ford. The one millionth Mini. Bentleys. A Messerschmitt - bet you only thought they made World War Two aircraft, eh? A 1927 Rolls Royce. A 1954 Chevy Corvette. 1936 and 1938 Porsche cars which morphed into the Volkswagen Beetle. VW models aplenty, in fact - Die Autostadt is their brainchild. A 1972 Ford Capri. And the classic classics - a 1964 E-Type Jaguar; a 1966 Porsche 911; a 1956 Citroen DS … There were five floors chock-full of these and many more legendary vehicles, after which it was time to head to the other exhibits of more up-to-date cars - a silver Bugatti Veyron, anyone? How about a Lamborghini Diablo? All the latest Skoda and Seat models, Audis too … It was a lovely feeling sitting behind the wheel of an Audi R8, contemplating what it would be like to exploit its top speed of 316 km/h on a German Autobahn, or go from 0 to 100 in 3.9 seconds … a beautiful, beautiful car. And so is the very latest from Volkswagen, a Golf convertible, just released at the start of July. 38,000-odd Euros … eat your heart out Grant Stantiall, a VW fan who would love this place every bit as much as I do! All the VW models are on display, of course, because Wolfsburg wouldn't exist without Volkswagen - they employ around 48,000 locals, approximately 40% of the local population. And the facility they work in is incredible - even the water display, which is synchronised to music every hour on the half-hour. (Wet weather gear recommended). The car towers are simply amazing. Fifteen floors high, packed with VWs, save for a few empty slots. And a couple of transfer machines which move cars all around the tower, taking one from say, a second floor slot, and relocating it to a ninth floor slot … and if you book in advance, you can experience the operation from inside the VW of your choice!! As you can probably tell, I enjoyed myself immensely. If you're ever in Germany, Die Autostadt is a must-do, make no mistake. Especially if you're a car nut! Having caught up with Michele Cox for a quick chat - she's the FIFA Match Commissioner in Wolfsburg, I watched Germany hold out a fast-finishing England 3-2 in their FIFA U-17s quarter-final tonight. On another channel just prior, they showed a live pre-season friendly between Aachen and Borussia Moencengladbach … ah, the joys of being a football fan in Europe. I bid adieu to Wolfsburg in the morning and head back to Sinsheim, where a group of young women of whom I'm immensely proud will bid to bow out of Germany 2011 on a high, by scoring New Zealand's first-ever win at a senior level FIFA Finals - go get 'em, gang! After our clash with Mexico, it's back to Frankfurt for the clash between Brazil and Equatorial Guinea, after which we've got a couple of scheduled rest days in Germany. To fill them, I've lined up something very, very special indeed … more details in my next update. Group C details: North Korea 0, Sweden 1 (L. Dahlkvist (64))  HT 0-0 USA 3 (H. O'Reilly (12), M. Rapinoe (50), C. Lloyd (57)), Columbia 0  HT 1-0 Group D details: Australia 3 (L. Khamis (8), E. Van Egmond (48), L. De Vanna (51)), Equatorial Guinea 2 (Anonman (21, 83))  HT 1-1 Brazil 3 (Marta (22, 48), Rosana (46)), Norway 0  HT 1-0