Damn! Damn! Damn!
I'm so upset. It's the knock out round and I'm refereeing some power playing countries in the World Cup. This game is a sport where the most beautiful goals are remembered for eternity. Unfortunately, this one game will be remembered for the goal that didn't count.
I should have gone with my gut, blew the whistle and awarded a goal to England! I looked straight into my Assistant Referee's eyes and he gave me the signal he couldn't tell. After the game he said, he wasn't sure because of the angle. I believe him. He was in the right position on lined up with the second to the last defender for offsides, but the shot was so quick, none of us was expecting it. So when the keeper fell to the ground after diving, that should have been my first clue because when he fell his head was on the goal line and the ball landed behind his head from my angle, therefore logic would have indicated the ball had to fall behind the goal line.
The problem is I couldn't see the ball behind the goal line, my AR would have had a better angle. The second clue was the goal keeper for Germany moved way too fast to the ball and did not miss a beat after the ball struck the post. If I had blown the whistle I could at least have taken a second to think about it and if I discussed with my AR that it was not a goal, I would have called for a drop ball. We could have analyzed the behavior of the players in moments. Our job as referees are to get it right! 
This one I didn't get it right. If we had just one additional referee watching for video replays to help us get it right? Maybe it would help the game. Maybe not. Anyhow this was a tough one.
"Daddy, Daddy! Why are you crying in your sleep?" Huh! Oh I'm sorry honey, bad dream! Just a bad dream, sweetie!"
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