Uruguay -v- Korea
When I reflect on how teams from the different parts of the world would fare, the South American teams have impressed me the most. They tend to be flamboyant, which leads sometimes to their downfall (as we see with African teams also). Uruguay started slowly, with their draw against France (the only team to do so), but took care of South Africa and followed up with a victory over the Mexicans. They haven't conceded a goal yet and have some classy players (unfortunately two of the forwards refuse to speak to each other). South Korea had a convincing win against an unconvincing Greek outfit, then were torn apart by Argentina before fighting back to draw with Nigeria. They can play exciting attacking football, but their defence is questionable, leaking six goals in their final two matches, and still qualifying. My pick: URUGUAY
USA -v- Ghana
USA - I expected the Americans would reach this stage, but not in front of England. That is a real blessing for them as I think the Germans would have been a tough opponent at this stage. If they ever considered progressing to the Quarters, this would be their best chance yet. They have impressed me with their draw against England (they could have beaten the Poms, just missing a shot near the end), comeback from 0-2 to draw with Slovenia and win over Algeria. Ghana is the only African team to get to this stage (I feel that Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa showed better form). They have some real talent and thrive on confidence. That said, two of their three goals in the group matches came from penalties. Australia showed in their game that they were able to nearly beat Ghana while we were 1 player short for most of the match. They will also have the Continental advantage. It's a close one to call, but I feel that discipline and patience will reap the reward. My pick: USA
Argentina -v- Mexico
Argentina was one of my two picks at the beginning of the tournament, albeit their form had been average coming into the tournament. In the group stage they won all three games, especially convincing against South Korea (who qualified 2nd in the group). They have some classy players, but none better than who I consider the best I've seen in my lifetime, Lionel Messi. There was a lot of talk about whether he could cope with the pressure and fatigue after a long year at Barcelona. He has shown that like Roger Federer in tennis, Messi can just crank up an extra notch at will. Providing he can remain injury free (he'll be a target), they are going to be hard to beat. Mexico made it through with a win, draw and loss. Their win came against a very poor French outfit, so not too much can be read into that. My pick: ARGENTINA
Germany -v- England
This will be the grudge match of the round, without equal. I have three biases I'll get off my chest before assessing this one. (1) With dad being of German heritage and Australia no longer there, this is who I'm supporting, albeit I don't expect them to win the Cup; (2) There is a long history of sporting animosity between Australia and England; and (3) The British media in all sports ALWAYS place their teams or individual sportsmen/women on pedestals before major events, but inevitably tear them to shreds when they don't perform to "the media's" expectations. I should therefore feel sorry for the team, but like with Andy Murray and Tim Henman before him, just sit back and delight in the antics (I should qualify that I really like Tim Henman, but have no time for Andy Murray). Back to business. England have been less than impressive, but scraped through to this stage. They have great players, including another of my least favourite people (Wayne Rooney the thug), but if in goal scoring form is sensational. Germany had an easy win against Australia, thanks to our coach playing a different structure and players out of position. They had a shock loss to Serbia and did enough against Ghana. They are a more exciting team than the historical German outfits (and young as well). Oezil has been especially impressive. Overall, both team haven't hit their best form yet, but they both will need to if they want to stay in the tournament. Could it come down to penalties? I hope not (although in my views the Germans would be favourites in this situation). I'm going against all of my intuition and sadly if my pick wins, we'll never heat the end of it. My pick: ENGLAND
Netherlands -v- Slovakia
Should be a ripper of a game. Netherlands always impress me, but like the South African cricket team, seem to choke when it comes to big tournaments. Apart from looking a little shaky in their win over Denmark, they seemed comfortable in their other two wins. They have a strong team and quality off the bench. Robben coming into the tournament in the last game is a big plus (he showed it) and Huntelaar is a fantastic coming off the bench. Slovakia My pick: NETHERLANDS
Brazil -v- Chile
Brazil have come into this tournament as one of the favourites and have lived up to expectations by winning all three games. They have exciting players and will be entertaining. Chile came second (tied first with Spain, but missed out on goal difference) in what I would consider one of the weak groups. The game against Spain was quite spiteful at times and Chile lost players coming into this match because of their lack of discipline. This will cost them severely, coming up against a team already a league above them. My pick: BRAZIL
Paraguay -v- Japan
Paraguay topped their group, which was a surprise––especially as Italy crashed out. I still expected them to be at this stage. They had a good win against Slovakia (who came in 2nd) and drew with Italy and NZ. I expect them to be a technical class above the Japanese. Japan have really surprised me. With their lead-in form and problems with their autocratic coach, I didn't expect they would lift as they have and get through to this stage for the first time playing outside their Continent. They took Denmark apart in their last game (who were playing to get through) and looked very dangerous in set pieces. I think they have clicked at the right time. I found this a really tough call and will go against the grain. My pick: JAPAN
Spain -v- Portugal
This will be a cracker. Spain is the other team I have picked to win this tournament. After the first game when they dominated like I've never seen yet lost to Switzerland, I thought they'd still qualify but probably get through 2nd in their group. They did what was expected in the last two games and put themselves on top, where they belonged in that group. Portugal thrashed North Korea 7-0, but played two scoreless draws in their other games. They are the only team besides Uruguay not to have conceded a goal, yet. I like the team, but have a strong bias against Ronaldo (can't stand him). His form hasn't been great, finally scoring at the end of the one-sided game––his first goal for his country in nearly two years. Perhaps that was the sniff he needed? Alternatively, he'll be playing against a group of guys who know him very well from La Liga (Spanish Premier League). Both teams are dangerous in attack and defence. It is too close to call on paper, but I feel it will come down to team (-v- individual) brilliance. My pick: SPAIN
