Viva Espana: Holland 0-1 Spain AET 11/7/10

Holland line-up: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronkhorst (c) (Braafheid, 105'), Van Bommel, Kuyt (Elia, 71'), De Jong (Van Der Vaart, 99'), Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben
Spain line-up: Casillas (c), Pique, Puyol, Iniesta, Villa (Torres, 106'), Xavi, Capdevila, Alonso (Fabregas, 87'), Ramos, Busquets, Pedro (Navas, 60')

Spain became World Champions to add to their European crown after a feisty affair with the Dutch. Overall they deserved the victory which came in extra time in a game that had 12 yellow cards, two of which went to Heitinga. There was also slight controversy over the Spanish goal and Holland should have had De Jong sent off in the first half, but on the whole English referee Howard Webb and his two assistants played a fine game. With Spain as favourites and being backed by a certain octopus, they came out the gates quickest in the first half with their sheer dominating possession football. Ramos and Pique were first to test Stekelenburg and his defenders who stood up to the early challenge and kept Holland level. Heitinga could have an own goal but his clearance from Ramos' cross went over for a corner when it could have gone anywhere. The resultant corner gave David Villa his first chance but he sliced the volley wide into the side-netting and Holland were let off. From their Holland grew into the game and we had a midfield battle on our hands. Nigel De Jong was lucky to stay on the field when he placed a high boot right into the chest of Xabi Alonso, lucky for De Jong Webb saw it only as a yellow card offence and he became the fifth cautioned player in the first half-hour. Holland had the momentum in the final ten minutes of the half and when Van Bommel picked up a short corner from Robben, he crossed it into the path of the unmarked Mathijsen on the back post who, like a typical centre-back, got his volley all wrong and rolled off for a goal-kick. Robben forced Casillas into action for the first time minutes before half-time, Casillas dived neatly to the corner to deny Robben scoring for Holland.

Holland may have the momentum going into the break but Spain came out in the second half pretty much like they did in the first. Puyol, who scored Spain's semi-final match winner, looked to feed in Capdevila as he headed down another corner unmarked, but Capdevila couldn't stretch enough to make any meaningful contact. The game opened up more as the players began to tire, Wesley Sneijder played a beautiful through ball just after the hour mark, Robben went through to a one-on-one situation with Casillas and the keeper saved with his outstretched foot when Robben really should have scored. Substitute Jesus Navas proved a handful for the Holland defence as his pace couldn't be matched and he sent a cross in for Villa but his shot was deflected behind by Heitinga to save his country. Twelve minutes from time and Spain should have had their goal; Sergio Ramos was unmarked from a Xavi corner but somehow he managed to head the ball over from six yards out. From here it was Spain who looked the most likely to score and Sneijder had to produce a last ditch tackle to prevent Iniesta running his way through the Dutch defence. However Robben carried a constant threat and when he beat Puyol for pace he looked to be through again against Casillas, Puyol looked to have been holding him and if Robben had gone down he would have won a free-kick and possibly Puyol's sending off. But he kept going and Casillas saved bravely at his feet as Robben this time tried to buy a penalty by tripping over Casillas' body. Howard Webb correctly was having none of it and the final went into extra time.

Again Spain were looking more likely to grab the winning goal but the Holland defence stood up to the task. Xavi had a shot deflected before substitute Fabregas was played through only to be foiled by Stekelenburg. Holland's only real chance in the first half fell to Mathijsen but he could only head the ball wide from a corner. Fernando Torres' tournament was to get even worse when he was allowed a cameo in extra time replacing David Villa, but towards the end of extra time he pulled up after running after a ball and it could well be bad news for Liverpool fans. Ten minutes before penalties beckoned Holland were reduced to ten men; Heitinga pulled down Iniesta outside the box and rightly earned himself a second yellow and Holland's backs were well and truly against the wall. Four minutes from time and Spain were to take the lead, Iniesta was played through by Xavi and smashed the ball home for Spain. There were arguments for offside which replays showed were incorrect and Iniesta's goal correctly stood on that account. However the other controversy came from the end when Dutch substitute Elia tried running against Puyol and Pique and looked to have been sandwiched by them just outside the box, Howard Webb decided not to issue a free-kick and Spain countered and that's where they scored from. For this argument I think Holland do have a case but Spain overall deserved victory and can now celebrate with at least four years of being called World Champions.

Germany Third After Five-Goal Thriller: Uruguay 2-3 Germany 10/7/10

Uruguay line-up: Muslera, Lugano (c), Godin, Fucile, Cavani (Abreu, 88'), Suarez, Forlan, Perez (Gargano, 77'), M.Pereira, Arevalo, Caceres
Germany line-up: Butt, Jansen (Kroos, 81'), Friedrich, Aogo, Khedira, Schweinsteiger (c), Ozil (Tasci, 91'), Muller, Mertesacker, Cacau (Kiessling, 73'), Boateng

Germany just manage to sneak third place after a game with many twists and turns. Without any pressure on this game, we were treated to free-flowing football and a highly entertaining game throughout. Looking at the team sheets it was quite clear who was taking this most seriously but the weakened Germany team still wanted to win without any doubt. Both teams came out on the front foot as the rain poured from the heavens in South Africa. Muller and Cavani were the first to fire their warning shots to let everybody know they mean business. However it was Germany who came closest early on after Arne Freidrich fired a header from an Ozil corner onto the crossbar. Just under twenty minutes played and Germany were ahead; Bastian Schweinsteiger blazed a shot from thirty yards and keeper Muslera could only parry it in front of him, Thomas Muller was the most alert and despite cries of offside from the Uruguay defence Germany were correctly 1-0 ahead after Muller's tap-in. This meant Muller had scored five goals for the tournament putting him level with Sneijder and Villa for the Golden Boot. Uruguay were undeterred by the goal and came back fighting for the equaliser. Germany's Ol' Reliable, Per Mertesacker kept Germany ahead after he headed a Forlan far-post header away to safety. Uruguay were to get their equaliser just four minutes later when Germany's deputy captain Schweinsteiger dallied on the ball and was dispossessed by Perez, he found Suarez who played the ball through to Cavani. He shot on his second touch and fired it into the bottom corner and Uruguay were level. Suarez had a glorious chance of putting Uruguay ahead just minutes before the break but after drawing Butt out of his goal, Suarez could only fire wide from a tightened angle.

Butt played a vital role in keeping Germany level in the second-half making himself big in one-on-one situations against Cavani and getting fingertips to a curling Suarez shot. But just six minutes into the half and Uruguay were to have their deserved lead, Arevalo played a cross onto the edge of the box where Diego Forlan was on hand to volley past the helpless Butt. This spectacular goal also put Forlan on five goals for the tournament making it even more interesting for the Golden Boot. But this time it was Germany's turn to be undeterred and they came searching for the equaliser. It came just five minutes after going behind; Muslera looked uncharacteristically nervous in goal and failed to collect a Boateng cross, it looped over him where the waiting Jansen headed the ball into the empty net. The game became very stretched as both teams looked to take the lead again, this left a lot of open spaces for swift counter-attacks. Again Butt made himself big to stop Forlan and again saved neatly to prevent Suarez from getting his goal. Kiessling had a great chance for Germany when they countered via a breathtaking passing masterclass but Kiessling fired over from fifteen yards. The winning goal was somewhat sloppy from another Ozil corner, Muslera and the Uruguay defence failed to clear and ball bounced up to Khedira who looped his header over the diving Muslera and Uruguay were 3-2 down. Forlan nearly forced extra time with the last kick of the game when they were awarded a last minute free-kick, it hit the crossbar and went behind, leaving Germany with the Bronze medal.

World Cup Final Preview: Holland v Spain 11/7/10

The Final of the South Africa World Cup 2010 is tomorrow and we are guaranteed not just a European winner but also a first-time World Champion. But aside from the two teams a congratulations has to come from a England perspective as we do have English representatives in the final. Referee Howard Webb and his officials Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey will take control of the prestigious event in what will be their biggest game yet. They've already officiated three flawless games so far in the World Cup and they made the grade from the Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan and now move on to the World Cup Final between Holland and Spain. To pick a winner from these two is hard, unless you're a psychic octopus! Holland are thus far unbeaten and deservedly so whereas Spain haven't looked back from their first game defeat to Switzerland. Holland have an immense goal threat with Sneijder, Kuyt, Van Perise and Robben all potential match winners. Spain have looked towards David Villa for their goals but their dominance of possession is second to none and Holland will find it hard to break Spain down. Paul the Psychic Octopus has gone for Spain and I'm very much on the fence, my heart says Holland because I'm big fan of their football but my head Spain and I think my head, like the octopus, will be right with Spain winning 2-1.

3rd/4th Place Playoff Preview: Uruguay v Germany 10/7/10

The penultimate game of what has been a very enjoyable World Cup. Uruguay face off against Germany for the chance to finish third in the World Cup. Uruguay will have Luis Suarez back from suspension and Germany look to be without Miroslav Klose who picked up an injury. Hopefully with some pressure off of this game we will get a decent affair straight from the off and Paul the Psychic Octopus has gone for Germany, which I'm inclined to agree with as they are the better team and I think they will win 3-1.

Possibly The Oddest Thing About The World Cup 2010

Until the Germany-England match there was very little grumblings about a certain aquamarine animal. But since that result the psychic powers of a certain octopus has come to light and brought many into a sense of bewilderment. Paul the Psychic Octopus has predicted each of Germany's results correctly so far this tournament, including their defeat to Serbia and last night's defeat to Spain. Originally born in England, Paul now lives in Germany in a sea-life centre and has been attracting a lot of attention. The owners would place two boxes side by side with the flags of the Germany and their opponents, each box would contain a mollusc and Paul would go to that box of which country he thinks will win. He has correctly predicted Germany's wins over Australia, Ghana, England and Argentina and had also predicted their two defeats. Now he will predict the winner of the 3rd/4th place playoff and also the Final which would be the first game he predicts that doesn't contain Germany, so watch this space!

Header Puyts Spain Through: Germany 0-1 Spain 7/710

Germany line-up: Neuer, Friedrich, Khedira (Gomez, 81'), Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Podolski, Klose, Trochowiski (Kroos, 62'), Lahm (c), Mertesacker, Boateng (Jansen, 52')
Spain line-up: Casillas (c), Pique, Puyol, Iniesta, Villa (Toress, 81'), Xavi, Capdevila, Alonso (Marchena, 93'), Ramos, Busquets, Pedro (Silva, 86')

Spain just about get past Germany in a tight affair, meaning that Spain will face Holland in Cape Town on Sunday for a chance to become a first-time World Champion. On a slightly more light hearted not this result meant that once again Paul the Psychic Octopus correctly predicted the winner. The first half was very cagey with few chances, Spain as usual dominated possession but lacked potency in the way of creating chances. Although Germany saw less of the ball they looked more threatening in front of Casillas and posed a few problems. The best chance of the half for Spain came within six minutes when Torres' deputy Pedro fed in a good through ball past the defence into Villa, however Neuer was off his line quickly and was easily able able to parry Villa's effort. Eight minutes later and Spain should have been ahead; Xavi played a short corner to Iniesta, he crosses into the box where Carles Puyol was unmarked six yards from goal but he managed to somehow head the ball over the bar. After those two chances Spain created next to nothing in front of goal but still dominated possession with around 60% of it. Casillas overall was the busiest keeper in the first half although he wasn't called into action until the half-hour mark, Trochowski, who was in for the suspended Muller, fired a lethal shot from 30 yards and Casillas did well to parry away from a corner, which resulted in a somewhat nervy punch from the Spain captain but no danger followed from that. The big talking point of the first half came on the stroke of half-time; a rather muted Ozil had broke past the Spain defence but was seemingly tripped in the box by the chasing Sergio Ramos but the Hungarian referee waved play on and Spain were a little lucky.

The second half was very much like the first except Spain had found urgency in their possession and started creating more chances. Xabi Alonso and David Villa both fired warning shots just past the post of Neuer's goal and Germany were looking a little nervous, especially coach Joachim Low. Pedro, who looked very good in place of Torres, forced a fingertips save from Neuer and Mertesacker uncharacteristically was caught napping in trying to clear. This allowed Iniesta to steal the ball before drilling it across the six yard box and David Villa was inches away from sliding it home. Low decided it was time to change things and brought Jansen in replace of Boateng, who didn't seem to deal with Pedro very well, then ten minutes later Kroos came on for Trochowski in an attacking move. Seven minutes after coming on, Kroos brought about the first chance of the second half for Germany; he met Podolski's cross at the far post but his side-footed volley was a bit tame and Casillas forced it away. With just over fifteen minutes remaining Spain found their goal, after Puyol's warning header in the first half Xavi placed another corner onto the penalty spot where yet again Puyol rose unmarked to fire a bullet header past Neuer. With Germany needing to come out and attack Spain were able to catch them on the break and should have put the game beyond all doubt. Pedro and substitute Torres found themselves in a two-on-one situation against Freidrich, however Pedro decided not to use the unmarked Torres and Friedrich was able to get back and tackle. Torres also became a guilty party on the greed count when Spain broke into a three-on-two advantage but again Torres went alone and was tackled. But it was to immaterial as the final whistle went and Spain are now through to their first ever World Cup where they will meet the biggest underachievers in World football, Holland.

Robbed It: Uruguay 2-3 Holland 6/710

Uruguay line-up: Muslera, Godin, Gargano, Victorino, Cavani, Forlan (c) (Fernandez, 84'), A.Pereira (Abreu, 78'), Perez, M.Perreira, Arevalo, Caceres
Holland line-up: Stekelenburg, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronkhorst (c), Van Bommel, Kuyt, Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben (Elia, 89'), De Zeeuw (Van Der Vaart, HT)

Holland grab the first spot in the final of South Africa 2010 with a tight win over Uruguay. The score looks tighter than the game was, after Holland scored their second their looked to be only one winner until a mad scramble in injury time. The game started slowly as both teams felt their way into the game, however Holland created a good first chance within the first five minutes; Robben being his menacing self managed to beat the wide man and run down the flank, he laid it off to Sneijder whose curling cross was unconvincingly punched by normally steady keeper Muslera, the ball fell to Kuyt but he volleyed over the crossbar. From there chances were few and far between as the game became slightly pedestrian, that was until Van Bronkhorst fired Holland into the lead via a spectacular strike from thirty yards. It was certainly out of the blue and it was a stroke of genius by the Dutch captain as Muslera could do nothing about it. The game seemed to be crawling towards a 1-0 scoreline at half-time as Uruguay started created a few half-chances but nothing of any danger for Stekelenburg. This coincided with Forlan beginning to drop off from the back four of Holland and come searching for the ball. Four minutes before half-time and it was the turn of the Uruguay captain to score out of the blue; Forlan picked up the ball half-way inside the Dutch and was allowed space to run into, cutting inside onto his weaker left foot he lashed a 25 yard shot which wrong footed Stekelenburg and found the net. Stekelenburg would have been unhappy with himself as he should have saved it but Oscar Tabarez's half-time team talk became slightly easier.

With Uruguay having the momentum, they seemed to start the second half better with Van Bronkhorst and Stekelenburg preventing Uruguay taking the lead. The early didn't seem to startle the Dutch and they gradually grew into the half in search for the second. They should have had it when Van Persie played a lovely ball into the path of half-time substitute Van Der Vaart, his shot could only be parried by Muslera into the path of Arjen Robben who should have scored or at least hit the target, but he blazed it over. Holland were to take the lead just two minutes later via a goal that hinted at offside; Sneijder found the ball on the edge of the box and curled one along the floor, through plenty of bodies and it nestled into the bottom corner. However Van Persie looked to have swung a leg at it and was in an offside position, although he made no contact he was surely active and the goal maybe should not have counted. As for Sneijder that goal put him level with David Villa on five goals for the tournament after Felipe Melo's own goal was awarded to him. From their it seemed there was only going to be one winner and seventeen minutes from time Holland secured a two goal advantage; Dirk Kuyt placed a perfect cross from the corner of the box onto the head of Robben and Muslera was as much of a spectator as were as it floated into the corner. With three minutes of added time and Forlan substituted because of an injury Uruguay looked all at sea, but they managed to find something in the way of salvation; Maxi Pereira benefiting from a short free-kick as his shot, similar to Sneijder's, nestled in the bottom corner. It was to be nothing more than a consolation but it made the final couple of minutes rather edgy for the Orange Army.

Semi-Final Preview: Germany v Spain 7/7/10

Two giants of European football collide to contest a place for the World Cup final, both teams play brilliant possession football, compact defences which offers no central passage and are both brilliant on the counter. They are very much evenly matched and it's hard to pick a winner, Spain have David Villa in top form again and Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso have been inspirational in midfield. Their downfall is the missing Fernando Torres, he's been one of a number of big players who haven't shone thus far and could be the demise of Spain. Vincent Del Bosque has hinted a possibly starting him as a substitute, but their are only two real candidates to start in place of him; Cesc Fabregas is favourite however he'll be playing with a pain-killing injection in his shoulder and doesn't offer a great goal threat. The other is Llorente, the unknown quantity, after coming on against Paraguay he looks strong and can hold the ball up well but also seems to lack goals. Germany's attacking force of Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Ozil, Podolski and Klose have been dominant alongside Muller who is suspended for Germany. A likely replacement could be Cacau who has been passed fit which would still give Germany an all-round goal-scoring threat. The bookies have made Spain favourites for the World Cup now but in comparison Spain haven't looked as good as Germany and I think they will win 2-1. If Spain rollover like Australia, England and Argentina then everyone must believe Germany are the best in the World right now but I think Spain will make Germany a lot harder than the others.

Semi-Final Preview: Uruguay v Holland 6/7/10

So we are nearing the end of another World Cup and the bookies have only one winner in this game. For my money, I share that same winner for it has to be Holland. Holland are without De Jong and Van Der Wiel which may mean that Bert Van Marwijk will give a second consecutive start to Andre Ooijer and maybe start with Elia or Afellay for De Jong. Either was the two missing are replaceable and their deputies will do just a good a job. However in Uruguay's case, their team isn't looking so good; Luis Suarez will be a huge miss and Abreu looks like the obvious replacement but he doesn't look to offer anything as spectacular. Defender Jorge Fucile is suspended which will mean Scotti should start, Lodeiro is out injured but whether he would have started or not is another matter. Coach Tabarez will be nervously waiting on captain Diego Lugano's fitness, which at the minute isn't looking good, this will mean the central defensive partnership will be completely changed and also Godin is a doubt. All hope for Uruguay is now placed on keeper Muslera and arguably best player of the tournament Diego Forlan. Whereas Holland can look towards Kuyt, Robben, Van Persie and another candidate for best player of the tournament Wesley Sneijder. I'm going for a 3-2 Holland win to guarantee a European champion of 2010.

Villa Posts Spain Into Semis: Paraguay 0-1 Spain 3/7/10

Paraguay line-up: Villar (c), Veron, Morel, Cardozo, Barreto (Vera, 64'), Santana, Da Silva, Caceres (Barrios, 84'), Riveros, Valdez (Santa Cruz, 72'), Alcaraz
Spain line-up: Casillas (c), Pique, Puyol (Marchena, 84'), Iniesta, Villa, Xavi, Torres (Fabregas, 56'), Capdevila, Alonso (Pedro, 75'), Ramos, Busquets

Spain just manage to edge out Paraguay in a game that had two penalties, one of which had to be retaken, should have had a third penalty and a possible sending off also a disallowed goal. This close shave means Spain will play Germany in the semi-finals but unless Torres starts to perform Germany will most definitely have the edge, as David Villa is doing all the work in terms of scoring goals. However it was Paraguay who started the better off as Spain seemed to be relaxed which led to early complacency. Santana forced the first save of the game in just the first minute which Casillas was able to deal with. Paraguay were able to keep Spain quiet by closing the Spanish down as quick as possible and stopping them from their dominance in possession. This made the likes of Villa and Torres very lone figures as service just couldn't arrive to them without numerous defenders around them. Valdez looked the most dangerous for Paraguay at the other end and Spain's defence looked a little shaky. Xavi woke the Spain team up on the half hour mark with a volley that beat Villar but also beat the goal, at the other end Santana came within millimetres of scoring but he failed to get his head to the ball from a decent cross by Morel. Four minutes from half-time Paraguay had the ball in the net but it was disallowed for offside, this decision caused the commentators some confusion but by the letter of the law it was correct; as the cross came in Cardozo was in an offside position but Valdez wasn't, Cardozo attempted to head the ball but missed and it went over his head to Valdez who scored. The flag correctly went up because Cardozo had attempted to play the ball, making him active and therefore offside. but it was a huge warning for Spain as the teams finished level at half-time.

The second half had as little action as the first during the first fifteen minutes with neither goalkeeper made to work. But after the hour mark the game suddenly burst into life; Paraguay earned their first corner and as it was whipped in Barcelona's Gerard Pique held onto Cardozo's arm and brought him to the ground. The Guatemalan referee had no choice but to give a penalty and Paraguay looked set to take the lead over Spain and possibly cause an upset. Cardozo stepped up and like Adiyiah's penalty for Ghana it wasn't struck neatly into the corner and Casillas saved it. A minute later Spain went up the other end and Alcaraz fouled Villa in their box, another penalty was awarded, Alcaraz looked to be the last man as well and was very fortunate not to be sent off. Alonso stepped up and scored the penalty but the Guatemala official disallowed it for encroachment of Spain's part. Take two and this time Villar parried the penalty away where a mad scramble occurred. Villar looked to have taken Fabregas' legs away and Spain should have had a second penalty but the referee didn't see it and the linesman failed to give it. From their it was Spain who took the initiative and began to press, Iniesta forced a good save from Villar and the match was ten minutes away from extra time. Seven minutes from time and the deadlock was broken; Iniesta ran through the Paraguay midfield and played a good ball to substitute Pedro who fired against the post, it came out to Villa who struck the same post before it rolled across the line to hit the other post and the ball bounced over the line for a fortunate lead. Paraguay should have forced extra time when Casillas parried Barrios' shot to Santa Cruz but he couldn't lift the ball over the Spain captain and Paraguay's fight was over. David Villa had a chance at the other to grab his second but curling effort was saved by Paraguay's captain and it is indeed Spain who will play Germany for that place in the final.

Argentine Annihilation: Germany 4-0 Argentina 3/6/10

Germany line-up: Neuer, Friedrich, Khedira (Kroos, 77'), Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Podolski, Klose, Muller (Trochowski, 84'), Lahm (c), Mertesacker, Boateng (Jansen, 72')
Argentina line-up: Romero, Demichelis, Burdisso, Heinze, Di Maria (Aguero, 75'), Higuain, Messi, Tevez, Mascherano (c), Otamendi (Pastore, 70'), Rodriguez

They've made Australia look anonymous, Serbia significant and Ghana good in the group stage but since then they've engulfed England and now annihilated Argentina. After their sheer dominating display Germany must be thought of as favourites for this World Cup as South America's grip on the World has now began to fade somewhat. Germany outplayed, outclassed and outwitted the Argentinian giants with a breathtaking performance right from the get go. Germany were 1-0 ahead after just two minutes; Bastian Schweinsteiger, who absolutely dominated the mid-field, took a free-kick just to the left of Argentina's box, it swung in to meet Muller's slight header which went past the stranded Romero. Germany were ahead and the game had to open up which was fantastic news for the neutrals. Germany should have been two up within twenty minutes but Klose managed to fire over from twelve yards after Muller played the ball square to him. Many were thinking whether that might turn the game around for Argentina and within minutes they had the ball in the back of the net but it was disallowed, correctly, for offside on Carlos Tevez's part in the play. Apart from that Argentina couldn't find a way around Germany's defence and relied on long-range efforts which failed to trouble Neuer. Lionel Messi again was disappointing and bows out of the tournament without a goal to his name, he had a few long-range efforts himself but generally failed to miss the target altogether. While Argentina looked for an equaliser before half-time Germany were always looking a threat on the break via Ozil, Muller, Klose and Podolski, the latter could have also put Germany 2-0 ahead before half-time.

The second-half became more open and rather stretched which many thought suited Argentina but their lack of creativity to break through the German defence meant Podolski was free to counter, he made his way into the box before neatly squaring to Klose to tap the ball into the empty net from four yards. With just twenty minutes remaining the game for Argentina looked up and Maradona was already looking a forlorn figure in his technical area. Argentina had no choice but to press even harder and again to avail and like against England, Germany could just break at will and rip Argentina up. My personal man of the match Schweinsteiger made a great little dash from a short corner beating four Argentinian defenders before looping his square ball over the diving Romero where Arne Freidrich was on hand to put the game beyond all doubt at 3-0. This left fifteen minutes on the clock and at this point Germany were just having some fun and Argentina were very much at their mercy. Just before stoppage time Mesut Ozil, who had been rather quiet, was the next to breakout for Germany and Klose was on hand to grab his and Germany's fourth. This leaves Klose level with Gerd Muller on fourteen FIFA World Cup goals just one behind Brazil's Ronaldo which he will be keen to get and maybe even better.

Africa Pays Penalty For Missed Penalties: Uruguay 1-1 Ghana AET, Uruguay win 4-2 on pens 2/6/10

Uruguay line-up: Muslera, Lugano (Scotti, 38'), Fucile, Victorino, Cavani (Abreu, 76'), Suarez, Forlan, Perez, M.Pereira, Arevalo, Fernandez (Lodeiro, HT)
Ghana line-up: Kingson, Sarpei, Gyan, Pantsil, Mensah (c), Annan, Inkoom (Appiah, 74'), Muntari (Adiyiah, 88'), Vorsah, Asamoah, Boateng

In what was a tale of Uruguay versus Africa the rest of the world looked on with mixed support; the romanticists wanted Ghana to win to Africa that happy ending, the purists wanted Uruguay to win because on paper they are the better team, as for the neutrals they didn't really mind who wins but would have thought Uruguay would be the team to do it. It was indeed Uruguay who dominated the first quarter of the match as Ghana failed to get going and Forlan looked very much in the mood to spoil the African party via his dangerous set-pieces. Kingson was very much Ghana's hero as he dealt with chances from both Forlan and Suarez. He even had to stop his own captain from scoring when a shot deflected off Sunderland's Mensah. But Uruguay failed to take advantage of their sustained pressure and Ghana suddenly got themselves in the match. Vorsah and Gyan managed to just hit the edge of the post round about the half-hour mark and it was Uruguay who was holding on. Kevin Prince-Boateng was looking very good yet again and was pulling Ghana's strings, he could have put Ghana ahead just before half-time with a spectacular bicycle kick, but unfortunately for Ghana he didn't connect with it properly and it went over. But Ghana were to have a lead going into half-time via the last action of the half; Muntari found himself in space 35 yards from goal and he decided to smash one, Muslera could only see it late and was unable to prevent it going into the bottom corner.

The second half started the same as the first with Uruguay on the front foot as they searched for that equaliser. Within ten minutes of play Uruguay did find their equaliser courtesy of a curling free-kick from Diego Forlan. Uruguay continued to pile the pressure on and Forlan was playing some great football, a cross managed to beat Kingson but the confident Suarez could only volley into the side netting when many would have put their house on him putting Uruguay ahead. Again Ghana took a while but they did get themselves back in the game and the match started to open up. Suarez nearly took advantage again but Kingson wasn't going to be beaten by his near post and he punched away Suarez's shot in the 71st minute. Again Forlan's free-kicks were looking dangerous and Kingson just couldn't live with them as one hit the side-netting and one was headed over by Suarez who could have had at least a hat-trick.

Neither side could break the deadlock and the game moved into extra time where Ghana began to look the better side, possibly because of their extra time experience against USA in the last round. Gyan began to look predatory and he fired a header over the bar before seemingly beating first-half substitute Scotti but Scotti managed to flick his leg at the ball, which could have gone anywhere, and it managed to just go wide where his defensive partner was on hand to clear for a throw. Boateng also came close for Ghana but his last minute header went just wide. The ultimate drama was to follow and it wasn't even the penalty shoot-out yet; with just seconds left in extra-time and the match hurdling towards the shoot-out Uruguay were desperately hanging on, a corner swung in and Suarez was on the line to block a Mensah header before another header came in and Suarez stopped it via his hands. Ghana were awarded a last gasp penalty and Luis Suarez was sent off meaning he would miss the semi-final, although that looked unlikely with Asamoah Gyan stepping up to take the penalty. Having scored two penalties already this tournament it could be an inevitability that Gyan would score again, but his powered attempt hit the bar and Uruguay were somehow saved, much to the delight of Suarez who was watching from the side.

Uruguay suddenly found themselves to still have a chance of winning and the dreaded penalty shoot-out arrived. Uruguay went first and Diego Forlan made sure Kingson wasn't going to save his penalty. For Ghana, to credit his bravery after just missing a penalty Gyan stepped and made no mistake by sending his effort into the postage stamp (top-corner). Without Suarez to take one, the second fell to Maximiliano Pereira and he blazed it over the bar, Africa could dare to dream. But it was to be short-lived as Appiah stepped up to take the third penalty to make 3-2 but his rolled effort went straight into the arms of Muslera and scores stayed level at 2-2. The tide turned as under-20 World Cup winner Adiyiah stepped up and produced a similar effort to Appiah just with more power and again Muslera saved. This left Sebastien Abreu to step up and win the game for Uruguay, he played a cool, almost ridiculous chip that because Kingson dived to his left found its way into the net. Uruguay now meet Holland in the semi-finals but have worse problems than the Dutch as they will be most definitely without Suarez and Fucile but could also be without captain Lugano as he limped off in the first-half which should give Holland the edge.

Meliocre: Holland 2-1 Brazil 2/7/10

Holland line-up: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Van Bronkhorst (c), Van Bommel, Kuyt, De Jong, Van Persie (Huntelaar, 85'), Sneijder, Robben, Ooijer
Brazil line-up: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio (c), Juan, F.Melo, Bastos (G.Melo, 62'), Gilberto, Luis Fabiano (Nilmar, 77'), Kaka, Robinho, Alves

Holland come from behind to overcome the five time World champions and book their place in the semi-finals. It was a very feisty match with tensions running high from the start which the Japanese referee and his officials dealt with comfortably. Within the opening two minutes Brazil were in the mood and passed the ball about majestically, Robinho clearly brought his man down but he wasn't happy and a brawl nearly ensued but the referee calmed matters quickly and play resumed. Brazil gave the first warning sign within the first ten minutes when Robinho found the net, however it was ruled due to Luis Fabiano being offside before playing the ball to Robinho across the six yard box. But on the tenth minute Robinho was to have his goal after a beautiful defence splitting ball from Felipe Melo, who had a very interesting game, from the half-way line to find Robinho who had stepped in between the defence before finishing past the on-rushing Stekelenburg. Holland were nearly level straight after when Kuyt broke free down the wing and cut inside before forcing Julio Cesar to palm the ball away for a corner. Despite that attack it was Brazil who were looking most likely to score the next goal and they should have been 2-0 up after Alves picked up on a half-cleared corner and crossed into Juan who tapped it over the bar when he should be at least hitting the target. Robinho was arguably the best player in the first half and when he started a move which ended up in Luis Fabiano finding Kaka on the edge of the box, Kaka showed a little of his former self (before his move Real Madrid) by curling a shot into the top corner but Stekelenburg produced a fine save with his outstretched hand to deny the Brazilian.

Holland came out in the second half with their tails up and slowly started to change the game into their favour. Brazil arguably should have been down to ten men when Michel Bastos brought down Robben and if he hadn't have been booked in the first half would have most definitely have been booked for that challenge so should have walking down the tunnel. But justice was to be done as Sneijder took a quick free-kick down the wing to Robben who played the ball back to Sneijder, he swung in a cross where Julio Cesar came out to punch but ran into Felipe Melo who could only skim a header into the far corner and Holland were level with 53 minutes played. Due to Bastos' luck and not being sent off Dunga thought it necessary to replace him with Gilberto Melo as Robben was becoming a handful down the wing. Kaka came close again for Brazil with a clever volley via the inside of his foot but it just sailed wide. Just under twenty minutes to go and Holland went ahead thanks to some more slack Brazil defending; Robben swung a corner into the near post where Kuyt had out-witted his marker to flick behind him where Sneijder was unmarked to head the ball home into the empty net. Brazil's challenge began to fade when karma came around and due to petulance and stupidity, Brazil were down to ten men. Robben was brought down by Felipe Melo who lost his cool and deliberately stamped on the back of Robben's leg and was deservedly sent off. If anyone was going to score again if looked to be Holland as Brazil could create only half-chances, notably one from a trilogy of corners where Van Bommel misjudged the flight of the ball of the third corner and Stekelenburg could palm the ball out in front of him where, luckily, Dirk Kuyt was on hand to clear. Holland though were constantly catching Brazil on the counter and either Robben, Huntelaar, Sneijder or Kuyt could have grabbed a third but it didn't matter. Holland now are clear favourites to reach the final with a semi against either Uruguay or Ghana but they will be without Van Der Wiel and De Jong through suspension after picking up second yellow cards of the tournament.

Quarter Final Preview: Paraguay v Spain 3/7/10

Paraguay, like Ghana, have been somewhat of a dark horse in this tournament and have done remarkably well to get this far. However because Spain can suck the life out of any opponent with their dictation of possession and their talisman David Villa in form and vying for that golden boot I can't see this result being any different than a Spain win, which could potentially provide an all European clash if Germany can overcome Argentina. Torres needs a goal and if he starts against Paraguay this could provide a great chance, whether this happens or not I still think Spain will win 2-0.

Quarter-Final Preview: Holland v Brazil 2/7/10

This could be a lucrative match but unless Holland can find their 'total football' we could be in for a cagey affair. With so much at stake neither wants to lose as Brazil want to win their sixth World Cup, winning one on every continent the World Cup has been hosted in. Whereas Holland, dubbed as the biggest underachievers in World football, would love to take a step further in boosting their international presence. However because Holland have failed to hit top gear thus far I think they will find it hard to do so against the new look dogged Brazil side and Brazil will edge it 2-1, which could potentially make it an all South American semi-final with Uruguay.

Quarter-Final Preview: Argentina v Germany 2/7/10

This looks to be the best quarter-final on paper however what looks good on paper generally turns out to be poor, Portugal v Brazil for example. But both of these teams look the most threatening all-round despite Messi goalless run and if they can repeat the quarter final of four years ago then we will be in for a treat. If it goes well it will go very well if it goes bad it will go very bad and I'm hoping as well as any neutral would that it will go very well. Argentina's defence will be properly tested with the attacking force of Klose, Podolski, Ozil and Muller and I think they may edge Maradona's side 3-2 in a quality affair.

Quarter-Final Preview: Uruguay v Ghana 2/7/10

Ghana have probably been the dark horse of the competition and after just scraping thruogh past USA I think the African flag will stop waving here. Uruguay have a far better team on paper and look more lethal in front of goal. Therefore I think Uruguay will win 2-1 with Ghana playing with their upmost pride and getting a consolation goal, they can most definitely hold their heads up high with this achievement and may even start to dominate African football as their team is relatively young and should be around for a while. Uruguay will help continue South America's dominance in this year's World Cup with a semi-spot with either fellow South American's Brazil or Europe's Holland.

Spain Reign The Iberian Peninsula: Spain 1-0 Portugal 29/6/10

Spain line-up: Casillas (c), Pique, Puyol, Iniesta, Villa (Pedro, 88'), Xavi, Torres (Llorente, 58'), Capdevila, Alonso (Marchena, 93'), Ramos, Busquets
Portugal line-up: Eduardo, Alves, Carvalho, Ronaldo (c), Simao (Mendes, 72'), Pepe (Liedson, 72'), Meireles, Almeida (Danny, 58'), Tiago, Costa, Coentrao

Spain make a date with Paraguay in the quarter finals with a comfortable win against a lacklustre, uncreative Portugal. Eduardo was arguably the busiest keeper of the first half, and the whole match, with Torres showing a brief glimpse of his real self forcing a decent parry of Eduardo. In form David Villa also made Eduardo work with yet another parry to keep Spain level. Portugal looked to nicked the lead half-way through the first half when Tiago's long-range effort forced Casillas to punch but he looked rather shaky and the punch was upwards rather than outwards. This allowed the impressive Almeida to head over him before Casillas managed to recover in time to clear his lines. Ronaldo's only real showing in the game came from a far-out free-kick which again the uncertain Casillas had to parry, which fortunately ended up going to safety.

The second half saw Portugal start off quicker with Tiago narrowly missing after his shot was deflected off Carles Puyol. But that was soon to all change as Spain started to dictate possession and were trying to thread the ball through the Portuguese defence to find the breakthrough, Portugal on the other hand had lost all creativity and front man Ronaldo was looking his dejected self, not for the first time in this World Cup. Unimpressed by yet another below-par display from Torres, Vincente Del Bosque decided to sub him for Llorente just under the hour mark. Llorente supplied height to hold the ball up and looked more dangerous than Torres had done. Llorente could have scored just after entering the fray but his glancing header just went wide before Villa upped the ante by grazing Eduardo's post. The goal was coming and it arrived just after the hour mark with yet another beautiful passing display; Iniesta and Alonso were controlling the midfield and Iniesta found Xavi who was pulling the attacking strings. He played the ball through to Villa whose initial shot was blocked by Eduardo before rolling back into the path of Villa where he calmly looped the ball over the diving body of the keeper and into the net. Ramos thought he'd finished the game off before seeing his bottom corner-bound shot saved by he fingertips of the outstretched Eduardo. Villa was also looking to make the result certain but his fifth goal of the tournament eluded him in this match. Portugal's sorry attempt to get an equaliser declined even more when Costa saw red for what seemed at first an innocuous coming together with Capdevila, who definitely made sure Costa was punished as he rolled around on the floor in 'great pain'. However replays looked to show Costa use an elbow which may not have done as much damage as Capdevila made out but you definitely can't go around with flying elbows and therefore deserved to see red. This lead to Portugal's World Cup campaign end with a whimper and Spain will be favourites to overcome Paraguay in the quarter finals.

2nd Round Preview: Spain v Portugal 29/6/10

After the dull encounter of Paraguay and Japan I'm hoping for a goal-fest and have highly optimistically predicted a 4-2 win for the European champions. However I doubt that will happen especially with Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres failing to emerge in this tournament so far but there is always this game. I'm still predicting a Spanish win but with less goals and a lot closer between the teams.

Penalty Para: Paraguay 0-0 Japan AET, Paraguay won 5-3 on penalties 29/6/10

Paraguay line-up: Villar (c), Morel, Bonet, Santa Cruz (Cardozo, 94'), Benitez (Valdez, 60'), Vera, Da Silva, Riveros, Barrios, Ortigoza (Barreto, 75'), Alcaraz
Japan line-up: Kawashima, Abe (K.Nakamura, 81'), Komano, Tulio, Nagatomo, Endo, Matsui (Okazaki, 65'), Okubo (Tamada, 106'), Hasebe (c), Honda, Nakazawa

Probably the worst game of the round of 16, the game offered very little in terms of entertainment until the penalty shoot-out, the first of this year's World Cup. As both teams have never reached the quarter finals neither team wanted to lose and it showed. However Paraguay's win ensures a South American dominance in the quarter finals with a South American nation in each of the four matches. Paraguay had the better part of possession but couldn't find an opening during the early moments. Barrios hit a shot straight at the keeper before Matsui came the closest to scoring as his shot smashed the crossbar from long range. Santa Cruz has failed to make his mark thus far in the World Cup and could have made amends but his shot from eight yards via a corner sailed wide. Japan looked dangerous yet again from their free-kicks but Paraguay's defensive unit were able to clear any of that danger. Japan could have gone in at half-time with the lead when they broke on the Paraguayan defence with more attackers than defenders, however Honda failed to acknowledge a decent run from Okubo and fired his long range effort wide.

The second half was as good as the first but Paraguay sent the first jab to Japan, but Ortigoza's run came to an end when he was surrounded by Japanese defenders. Again both teams created few chances and the ones they did create failed to pose any threat to the goalkeepers. Santa Cruz, Tulio, Nakamura and Benitez a few of those culprits who could have potentially made their opposing goalkeepers sweat. This plunged the game into extra time and again chances were few and far between and a penalty shoot-out looked ominous after 90 minutes. Again Okazaki, Barrios, Barretto and Valdez maybe could have done better to prevent the shoot-out.

But the final whistle came and it was to be a penalty shoot-out, with a very high quality of penalty taking. It was arguably the most entertaining part of the match and only one of the takers missed. Paraguay went first and never missed a spot-kick but Yuichi Komano unfortunately hit his penalty against the bar at 3-2 leaving Paraguay to just about squeeze through to the quarter finals.