Germany earned third place at South Africa 2010 with a 3-2 win over Uruguay in an entertaining match in Port Elizabeth Saturday night. Thomas Mueller grabbed his fifth goal of the tournament by seizing on the rebound of a long-range Bastian Schweinsteiger shot in the 18th minute. Ten minutes later, Diego Perez stripped Schweinsteiger in the center circle and found Luis Suarez on the counter. Suarez fed Edinson Cavani who poked the equalizer past Hans-Joerg Butt. Diego Forlan gave Uruguay a brief lead early in the second half with a fine side-footed volley from an Egidio Arevalo Rios cross, but two defensive errors proved decisive for the Germans. Marcell Jansen was gifted a header from a corner in the 56th minute, while Sami Khedira headed home from another corner eight minutes from time. Forlan had a chance to tie the game in the final minute of stoppage time, but his shot caromed off the crossbar. For a full account of the the match, read on: Is this cruel and unusual punishment, this third-place playoff? After the heartbreak of a semifinal loss, how do the jilted duo feel playing about another 90 minutes to determine which nation tops the best of the rest? There’s always a lobby that argues in favor of abolishing this consolation fixture, but the reality of it is, third-place playoffs still draw a crowd, the TV will still show the games, and, actually they often produce some pretty good encounters — certainly more open games, often, than the final. Today’s contestants, Germany and Uruguay, last met in a third-place playoff 40 years ago. Wolfgang Overath gave the West Germans (as they were then) a 1-0 win. Credit: goal.blogs.nytimes.com