friday

Deyan- Netherlands vs Brazil is technically the highest quality game of the tournament so far, and one of the best of all time. Both squads are completely stacked and possess star players in their prime playing in top form. Months ago when the draw came out I said that these teams would meet in the quarters and whoever wins this game will end up beating Spain in the final. At that time I chose the Netherlands to win it. Before the WC started I chose the Netherlands. So now, even though Brazil has looked far superior to the Netherlands in this tournament, I will stick by the Dutch for three reasons.

The first is that the leading playmakers of each team, Kaka and Sneijder, Sneijder is in better form and is more capable at this point in their careers of creating something extraordinary out of nowhere. The second is that the starting CDMs of the Netherlands, De Jong and Van Bommel, are simply better than their Brazilian counterparts, Gilberto and Melo. Gilberto is years past his prime and Melo was in horrible form all year for Juventus. The third reason is injuries/suspensions. For the Netherlands, arguably their best player, Robben, is back from his thigh injury giving them a complete squad to choose from. For Brazil, Elano is out, Ramires is suspended, and Melo will either not play or be playing with a minor injury. What scares me the most is in right back where Maicon can cause the Dutch all sorts of problems and Van Der Wiel is young and inexperienced. I’m sticking with my original prediction, Dutch win in extra time/shootout after a 1-1 tie, so 2-1 to the Dutch.

Sam- This is the pick of the weekend's ties along with Argentina/Germany. Its hard not to talk about the defensive resurrection of Brazil. I know everyone's been saying it, but its too difficult to ignore that this just isn't your granddaddy's Brazil. Lucio and Juan anchor the back, and they are almost disciplined even. Gilberto and Melo kind of play well together somehow. I think the Dutch will be able to hold their own too, but its hard to go against history with this match. You've got the Brazilian every other world cup theory coupled with the fact that no Euro team's ever won outside their continent. I think its Brazil and Argentina on a Crash course to the final. Brazil win. 2-0.

Deyan- Uruguay vs Ghana is an intriguing matchup that can go either way. Uruguay is the huge favorite because they are injury/suspension free and have been playing solid football throughout this tournament. However, Ghana has the entire continent behind them and could potentially use this home-field advantage to pull of this upset. I do not see this happening. The game against the USA drained them and I do not believe speedy striker Gyan can pull off the magic two games in a row. If Essien was playing it would be a different story, but he is not so I don’t think Ghana has enough in it to make it to the semis. The spectacular combination of Forlan and Suarez, combined with the solid play of their midfield and defense, makes Uruguay extremely difficult to beat. Uruguay will take this one by the hair, 1-0.

Sam- I'll be rooting for Ghana, but Uruguay have looked the better side. Neither of these teams have been that impressive though really and can both count themselves fortunate to have made it this far. But that is the way the tournament works, and whoever wins will be only 2 more games away from history. I'll go with Ghana. 1-0.