Fourth Semi Finalist

The Fourth Semi Finalist would be the second team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 7th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

1. Spain : Had a bad start to the tournament, but have started showing their true colors now. That early loss has come as a blessing in disguise for them. Their striker David Villa is in supreme touch. They are the best European team this World Cup, may be only next to Germany. Their match against Portugal will definitely produce sparks. This is one of the matches I am eagerly waiting for. Spain might have to play Paraguay in the Quarter Finals. That too would be an exciting match since both the teams are very quick on the field and produce attacking games of football.
2. Portugal : Coming from the group of death, they have had a rather easy qualification after that 7 goals win against North Korea. They may be a tad relaxed and lack the momentum which Spain possess. If they do regroup and play well as a team they certainly have the fire power to beat Spain. Would be interesting to see how Ronaldo plays himself against Spain.
3. Paraguay : The only South American in this quarter. They will have to fight hard against the Japanese. If they defend well, they have a good chance of beating Japan. South American teams have been doing good in this World Cup, but with teams like Spain and Portugal in this quarter, I think Paraguay might be lacking a bit against them. Would be interesting to see if they qualify for the semis from this quarter.
4. Japan : The second Asian team to have qualified for the Knockout stage. Their star striker Honda is the man to be watched. He scored 2 fabulous goals through freekicks in the group stages and also has the reputation of being the most fouled player. I dont expect them to qualify for the semis, since the other teams in this quarter have so much more experience in World Cups. But, for a change it would be great to see an Asian team in the semi final lineup.