World Cup: Quarter- and Semi-Finals

Six days, six games, six teams' World Cup dreams crushed.

Some teams went down defiantly (Ghana, Paraguay), others fell with barely a whimper (Argentina, Germany).

As the dust cleared Wednesday evening, only Holland and Spain, two of the most pedigreed soccer nations without a World Cup triumph to their name, were left standing to face each other in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Neither team has blown its opponents out of the water in this tournament - in fact both have been guilty of some overly laborious wins- but they have done what all good soccer teams (no, all good sports teams) do: win games while not playing their best.

The Spanish boast the prized scalps of both Portugal and Germany, while the Dutch own perhaps the most impressive scalp of all, Brazil. Spain have the red-hot David Villa, but Holland have the red-hot Wesley Sneijder. Spain have a striker struggling to find his best form in Fernando Torres, but Holland matches them with Robin Van Persie. Spanish full-back Sergio Ramos loves to get forward and join the attack, but Dutch full-back Giovanni Van Bronckhorst may have just scored the goal of the tournament against Uruguay.

Something has got to give when they meet Sunday in Soccer City, Johannesburg. Can the Dutch back six (let's be honest, holding midfielders Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong aren't in this team to score goals) stifle Spain's offensive play the way it did with Brazil? Or can Spain pass their opponents into the ground and completely starve them of possession?

One thing that I am fairly certain of is that Holland will not sit back the way Germany did against Spain. Holland will commit more players forward in order to trouble Carlos Puyol et al., even if that means Spain has more space to create opportunities at the other end. I'd like to say this has all the makings of being an entertaining, open game but I've seen enough major soccer finals inevitably turn into defensive chess matches to know better.

Predicted World Cup Winner: Spain

And now a look back at the quarter- and semi-finals.

Game of the rounds: Holland: 2 – Brazil: 1

Going into this game, Brazil had arguably looked like the best team in the tournament. So when they took the lead by exploiting the already-suspect Dutch central defense with only ten minutes gone, it appeared it might be a long night for the Oranje. But Holland showed great determination to hold them until the half, and then in the second exploit Brazil's two glaring weaknesses: their ability to defend high balls into the box and to keep their cool. Arjen Robben was a thorn in Brazil's side all game- winning free-kick after free-kick and infuriating the Brazilian players- and Sneijder scored both goals to send the favorites home.

Runner-Up: Uruguay: 1* -Ghana: 1

Worst Game: Argentina: 0 – Germany: 4

This game promised so much: two of the most exciting teams in the competition, some bad blood left over from the last World Cup and plenty of trash-talking in the build-up; but ended up falling completely flat. The Germans took the early lead, and tore the Argentines apart in the second half with devastating attacking moves. They completely outplayed the South Americans, who had a dreadful showing.

Runner-Up: Spain: 1 -Germany: 1

Biggest Upset: Holland: 2 – Brazil: 1

It must be nice to root for a team for which a loss, no matter the stage or the opponent, is almost always considered an major upset...though that's probably won't bring much comfort to Brazilian fans right now.

Runner-Up: Argentina: 0 – Germany: 4

Best Performer (Team): Holland

The Dutch just sneaked this because of their impressive win over the Brazilians. Spain's dominance of previously ebullient Germans was impressive as well, but the victory wasn't achieved in such a dramatic fashion.

Runner-Up: Spain

Worst Performer (Team): Argentina

Argentina's veil of unity evaporated when the going got tough against a very team-oriented German side. For all their individual superstars, Argentina failed to play with any type of cohesion in the game and had their defensive weaknesses ruthlessly exploited.

Best Performer (Player): Wesley Sneijder, Holland

Three goals in two huge matches for the diminutive midfielder who has seen everything he touches turn to gold this calendar year (let's not forget his club side, Inter Milan, won the treble this season). While none of his goals were particularly pretty, his contributions for the Dutch go far beyond getting on the score-sheet. He is a masterful passer and offensive creator, and he possesses the kind of self-confidence you need to truly excel at the highest level of sports.

Runner-Up: Carlos Puyol, Spain

Worst Performer (Player): Oscar Cardozo, Paraguay

Things might have turned out oh-so-differently in this competition had Cardozo buried the penalty kick he won in the second half of Paraguay's quarterfinal against Spain. But he shot straight at Iker Casillas, perhaps costing the Paraguayans what would have been the upset of the tournament. He'll hear about that miss for the rest of his life. (Asamoah Gyan might also have been worthy of this spot for the exact same mistake, but after all his great performances in the tournament, it felt harsh to single him out for criticism.)

Runner-Up: Sergio Romero, Argentina

Best Goal: Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Holland

The 35 year-old left back received a pass on the left side channel about 40 yards from out from goal with no defenders in front of him. He pushed the ball forward into space with his first touch and then, without hesitation, blasted the ball goalwards. The shot screamed across Nestor Muslera, who managed to get his fingertips to it, but couldn't prevent it from flying into the top corner, via the post. An unstoppable strike.

Runner-Up: Arne Friedrich, Germany