Posted by Chris Jones

DURBAN, South Africa -- The storm clouds gathered some time overnight, Durban waking up to gray skies and wind coming in off the ocean. The water was gray, too. Big waves crashed on the empty beaches; flags snapped in the breeze; freighters huddled close to shore, their cargo boxes creaking.

Germany and Spain play here tonight, Durban's last moment of World Cup glory. The resort town has been bustling, but at the moment it's feeling more dark than anything else.

For some reason, the Brazilians have descended here. They're wearing their yellow and green -- they're looking festive -- but their mood matches the weather.

These must be the most optimistic of them, the ones who thought they would spend some time on the beach before Brazil played in the final at Soccer City. Either that, or they failed their bracketology lessons, because even if the Brazilians were still in the tournament they were never going to play in this semifinal.

This semifinal is reserved for the titans of Europe, a do-over from the continental championship two years ago, which Spain won 1-0, a generous score for the Germans. There's been a lot of talk these past few days of rematches and revenge, that the winner of this game will easily go on to defeat the Dutch -- that tonight's game is the final, in fact, that tonight's game will decide who wins the World Cup.

It's not that -- the Netherlands looks very good -- but it's true that tonight's game is more than a semifinal. It's something in between, building in that thin space between the gray water and the gray sky: a three-quarters final, a storm on the horizon.