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.

Oh Dear !! Greene

Funny as it might look, it certainly wasn't something that anyone watching the match or even playing the match, ever expected. It was one of Greene's worst mistakes. More than laughing, you feel sad for him. Luckily for him though, eventually England have qualified for the Knockout stage. Otherwise, he would have been made the sole person responsible for their debacle.

Funny Spanish Goal

Not sure if you can call this a goal keeping mistake. Probably he was over confident ?

Great Japanese Freekicks

Amazing freekicks

Its been very rare to find goals being scored in this World Cup from freekicks. These 2 great free kicks from Japan should definitely fill that void. I miss watching Roberto Carlos taking those great banana style free kicks.

Third Semi Finalist

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

1. Argentina : This is a very tough quarter of teams with big reputation fighting it out with eachother. Argentina certainly are my favourite to move on to the Semis from this quarter. They have a very good style of quick and small perfect passes much like the other South American teams. Messi is getting into form and creating a lot of spaces for his teammates to score goals. They have reached the Knockout stage with a clean sheet winning all 3 matches in their group and would certainly want to carry on that momentum. Their match against Mexico is not gonna be a cake walk for them. Their next match would be something worth watching. Be it either the clinical Germany or England, it certainly is one of the battles to look out for.
2. Germany : Very clinical. Good physical presence. Very strong defense. Attacking and young strikers. They would come hard against the lackluster England. Klose will be back from his suspension to strengthen their forward line. Their match against England would be exciting to watch. If they reach the Quarter Finals, their match against Argentina [ hopefully ] would be a treat to watch.
3. England : Look very tired. Lack luster in their group game matches. Sneaked in to the Knockout stage through some lucky goals. But, on their day, they can certainly make the opposition pay. Ferdinand in their defense is being missed a lot. They need to improve on strengthening their defense. Rooney needs to learn from his counterpart Klose and also the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, to create spaces for others to score goals.
4. Mexico : The lesser ranked team in this quarter. Will have to fight the mighty Argentina first to move any further. It would be the biggest upset of this World Cup if they can win against Argentina. They sometimes play rough when cornered and might break the free flow passes that Argentina are used to. Would be interesting to see how much they can resist the Argentinian attack. If they move to Quarter Finals, they will certainly be hoping for the gods to be smiling for some more time on them :)

Second Semi Finalist

The Second Semi Finalist would be the second team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 6th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

1. Uruguay : The only team to have ever won a World Cup title among all the teams in this Quarter. They certainly have the experience in their coach. With fresh young blood rejuvenating the hopes of the erstwhile first ever World Cup Champions, one can only hope that they live up to their expectations and reach semis easily. They have much lesser experienced teams in their Quarter, but all 3 of them have been mercurial in their progress to reach the Knockout stage. If Forlan sticks to his best that he has shown in the group matches, Uruguay should find it much easy to qualify for the semi final spot.
2. Ghana : The sole African nation in this Knockout stage. They will have the entire continent backing them with all the vuvuzellas blowing at highest decibels. They will have to make sure that they first over power the mercurial USA team and then fight the mighty Uruguan side to reach the semis. Taking one step at a time would be their ideal approach to the semis. They need to make sure that they dont get bogged down by the high expectations of the entire continent and stick to their basics. It wont be easy for Ghana to reach the Semi Finals from this quarter, but would be good for African football if Ghana reach the Semi Finals.
3. USA : They have had the most dramatic qualification to the Knockout stage with a last minute goal  in their last group match from Donovan. They are the surprise package for me in this quarter. They have a very good defense. They create good scoring opportunities but have failed to connect at the last moment. They will be hoping for more miracles from their star strikers to move ahead in the Knockout stage. It would certainly be a dream run with lots of excitement and entertainment, just like an Hollywood movie, if they reach the Semi Finals
4. South Korea : The first Asian country to qualify for the Knockout stage. Have a lot to prove for themselves. They are very fast paced on the field and might come in handy against their opening match against the in-form Uruguan team. They have reached the Semis earlier, when they hosted the World Cup in 2002 and should know a trick or two about playing in the Knockout stage. I would be happy as an Asian, if they qualify for the Semis, but I see that it would be a very tough ask for them.

First Semi Finalist

The First Semi Finalist would be the first team qualifying for the semi final match to be played on July 6th. It would be one of the following 4 teams.

1. Brazil : They are certainly my favorites to qualify from this Quarter. They might face some rough and tough opposition from Chile which they might already be aware of. It wont be so easy beating them though. With Kaka coming back into the playing eleven, Brazil should be up with confidence. They still need to tighten up their defense. Except for the goalless match against Portugal they have conceded atleast one goal in the other two group matches. They might have to fight next with Holland who are looking good this year. All the 4 teams in this quarter have good strikers and hope to see good entertaining football in all the 3 matches
2. Holland : They are my second best choice after Brazil. They are the only team apart from Argentina to have reached this round by winning all 3 group matches. They have a very good striker in the form of Persie. With Robben ready to join the team now, they might have an easy match against the surprise package of Slovakia. I would love to see Holland and Brazil battle it out in the Quarter Finals.
3. Chile : Good attacking game. But, can play rough when they are frustrated. This can backfire them if they end up getting more yellow/red cards. I would be surprised if they reach the semis from this Quarter.
4. Slovakia : The surprise package !!! Had a dream run in their Group games and will be hoping to give their best now. With nothing to lose they might as well go all guns against Holland. This World Cup has been favoring the underdogs a lot and you never know if Slovakia can produce more surprises