Consider this two-day World Cup hiatus the calm before the storm as we prepare to truly enter the business end of the tournament.
Eight teams are still standing -Uruguay, Ghana, Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, and Spain- and in all honesty few teams that have been eliminated thus far can have too many complaints about it (South Korea, Japan and the US -in that order- would head the list though).
Of the eight quarter finalists, at least 5 were roundly expected to be there: Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain. Sure, they were questions about Argentina, who scraped through qualification under Diego Maradona, and Germany, who brought an inexperienced squad to the tournament. However, the Argentines’ star power has shone through so far and the players (the ones who made the squad anyway) look as though they have truly made their peace with Maradona’s exuberant leadership style. As for the Germans, they proved that their stellar qualifying record shouldn’t have been overlooked when the teams were being handicapped pre-tournament.
The fact that Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay are still standing in the competition constitutes somewhat more of a surprise. Sure, none of them were considered rank outsiders going in but I doubt many people envisioned all three making the quarters.
And now, because Uruguay and Ghana face each other, one of them will be in a World Cup semi-final (probably the biggest surprise semi-finalist since host nation South Korea made it in 2002 by beating Italy and Spain).
Uruguay has probably been the most impressive of the three, having won three of their four games. They’ve shown defensive grit and solidity (only one allowed goal so far) and possess a midfield and strike force that can carve out chances. At the other end of the spectrum, Paraguay has only won one game in normal time so far, against Slovakia, and I can’t see them making it past Spain.
Of the quarterfinal match-ups, two obviously stand out as the most mouthwatering: Argentina-Germany and Brazil-Netherlands. All four teams have performed well so far and there’s plenty of history to each matchup; for the first dating back only to this stage of the competition last time around (a tense, drama-filled German penalty victory).
My four predicted semi-finalists: Uruguay, Brazil, Germany and Spain.
And now, a look back at the second round matches.
-Game of the round: Uruguay: 2 - South Korea: 1
Not a lot of obvious superstars in this match-up, but it was one of the few second round games that truly swayed back and forth between the teams throughout. Uruguay started better and deservedly took the lead, but South Korea struck back. They dominated most of the second half and equalized. It took a moment of individual brilliance from Luis Suarez to determine a winner with ten minutes left on the clock.
Runner-Up: United States: 1 – Ghana: 2
-Worst Game: England: 1 – Germany: 4
Say what you will about the possible implantation of goal line technology, but in this game, it might at least have saved World Cup viewers a brutally dull final twenty minutes. By that point, Germany was 4-1 up, and, given England’s complete lack of offensive creativity, the last quarter of the game was awash. Apart from a fifteen minute period after Matthew Upson’s header had made it 2-1, England didn’t show up for this one and Germany took full advantage of the mismatch.
Runner-Up: Argentina: 3 – Mexico: 1 (Linesman’s mistake aside, Mexico never really challenged Argentina)
-Biggest Upset:
There really wasn’t one in this round. Ghana beating the US, maybe, but I think most people had them pretty much neck-and-neck. Had either of the Asian teams triumphed, and they both came mighty close, this spot would have been theirs.
-Best Performer (Team): Brazil
Brazil continues to breeze through this competition. They have not looked troubled in any of their games, and have not even shown any of the defensive lapses sometimes associated with Brazilian teams. They were far, far too good for Chile and should have plenty left in the tank for Holland.
Runner-Up: Germany
-Worst Performer (Team): England
Another year, another World Cup disappointment for the English. Some of England’s problems are so old, it seems dull to even discuss them (Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard not being able to play together, lack of a decent goalkeeper, no viable strike partner for Wayne Rooney) but some new ones cropped up this time around: a lack of pace in their defense (Klose’s goal was a perfect example of this), and a lack of offensive creativity and weapons (illustrated by the fact that Rooney kept his place on the team after three bad performances in a row).
Runner-Up: Chile
-Best Performer (Individual): Carlos Tevez, Argentina
Tevez was at his skillful yet dogged best against Mexico. He chased and harried defenders all over the field, scored two goals (including a second-half screamer) and linked up well with Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain. He might well have completed a deserved hat-trick had he not been substituted with twenty minutes left.
Runner-Up: David Villa, Spain
-Worst Performer (Individual): Ricardo Osorio, Mexico
A brutal day for one Mexico’s defensive cogs. The right-back gifted Argentina their second goal when he tried to lay the ball off to someone- only he could tell you who- but ended up presenting the ball to Higuain who ran onto it and finished clinically. Still reeling, Osorio almost gave away another a few minutes later after a second error.
Runner-Up: Fernando Torres, Spain
-Best Goal: David Suarez, Uruguay
Just pips Tevez’s effort because of its importance in deciding the tie. With the clock winding down and the score level at one apiece, a Uruguayan corner ricocheted into Suarez’s feet on the left side of the penalty area. With two defenders standing him up, he took a quick touch to his right to give himself some room before curling the ball beautifully around the Korean goalkeeper, off the post and into the back of the net to book Uruguay’s place in the last eight.
Runner-Up: Carlos Tevez, Argentina
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