FIFA World Cup 2010: What Lies Ahead For The Remaining Eight Teams
Uruguay were the first team to ever win the World Cup, in 1930. They won it again in 1950. It has now been sixty years since Uruguay have held the cup. They may not be fan favorites, but their performances so far have been outstanding, they are all set to face Ghana in the quarter finals. Ghana is one of the weaker sides left in the tournament. The Uruguayans will once again be relying on Athletico Madrid’s, Diego Forlan up front, along with Luis Suarez. The injured Diego Godin will be a concern to the team however.
When the tournament started there were six teams from Africa participating in it. After two rounds, only Ghana is left standing. Ghana proved their worth against a lacking U.S.A. They even came up on top of their group on their way through. Ghana now have the support of all of Africa going into the quarters, this support could make or break the team.
Netherlands are by far the most successful team of the tournament, boasting a hundred percent record. However they now have to face the most successful team in the World Cups history, Brazil. Netherlands have won all four games and are now with returning talisman, Arjen Robben, who has finally recovered from his injury. The main area of concern is their defense, which gets exploited by any decent attack. Netherlands will have to rely on their fire power up front if they are to stand any chance at beating the mighty Brazilians.
Brazil are no longer the same team they were a decade ago, with the likes of Micon and Lucio in their defensive line up, they now have the strongest back four the Brazilians have ever had. Dunga has dropped the likes of, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Pato. Most people would think this would have toned down the attacking threat that Brazil possessed but, Fabiano and Robinho have been so impressive so far, that no one has even started to miss them. The Brazilians should probably try to get the goal advantage on the Dutch then hold back, but the way they are playing, it is highly doubtful that they would settle for just a one goal lead.
Argentina have been the biggest surprise of the tournament so far. Maradonna has lifted the team spirit and made the players give the best performances of their lives. Most people questioned his squad selection going into the tournament but, all those people who doubted him have now shut up. Tevez is playing the role of play maker and Higuain is by far the best poacher in the tournament, his astonishing four goals are proof to that. Then there is the case of Lionel Messi, he hasn’t scored a goal yet but he has caused the opposing defenders to pray for the match to be over as soon as possible on numerous occasions. His influence on the team is phenomenal and a driving factor behind their success. Argentina vs. Germany will be a treat for all football fans to watch, with both teams playing fast paced attacking football.
Germany demolished England, just to prove that they were the best when it comes to the World Cup. Even without their captain, Ballack, the team has done unusually well so far. The combination of Ozil, Podolski, Muller and Klose, has been deadly for all their opponents so far. Klose has thirteen World Cup goals so far and will look to add to this record against Argentina. Their defensive line is also pretty strong with Captain Phillip Lahm at the back along with goal keeper Neuer who has proved his worth since the first minute of the tournament.
Paraguay won Group F, a group that had former World Champions, Italy. They have earned praise from everyone, they managed to beat Japan on a penalty shootout and crawl their way into the quarter finals. But now they face a mountain in the shape of Spain. It’s been a fairy tale ride for them so far and they would be looking to continue that fairy tale. Paraguay are expected to take the game to Spain, but a lot of pressure will be on Santa Cruz’s shoulders, if he performs well, then we may well witness another World Cup shock.
On paper Spain were supposed to win the World Cup by a mile, but the opening game defeat to Switzerland left everyone in shock. They gained some momentum however and qualified on top of their group, they even beat Portugal in the round of sixteen. They are still to prove that killer performance that is expected of them, beating Paraguay won’t be very hard for them, but if they do so they will face off against either Argentina or Germany and that is where Spain’s killer edge will need to kick in.
The round of eight is shaping up nicely and it would be a tragedy to miss even a single game. But let’s just hope the matches can live up to their expectations.
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