The quarterfinals of this World Cup were certainly a round to remember!  Heavy favorites Argentina and Brazil got sent home early, while little guys Ghana and Paraguay put up great fights, and almost advanced to the Semi-Finals.  The Germans continued to be the surprise of the tournament, while Spain continued to look lackadaisical, yet also continue to get the only result necessary: the win.

There are only four matches left in this World Cup, and at this point you can count on all four remaining teams having a legitimate shot at winning the title.

Last round, ManinBlack had an absolutely dreadful showing, as his Argentina, Brazil, and Ghana picks were all wrong.  Sharkey, meanwhile, also missed on the Brazil/Netherlands game, but correctly picked Uruguay, Germany, and Spain to reach the Semifinals.

Here’s their take on those semifinals.

Tuesday, July 6

Uruguay vs. Netherlands

2:30 PM EDT

Both teams come into this match without a single loss.  While the Netherlands has won every game, Uruguay’s lone blemish, if you can call it that, is a single draw against France.  Of course, that was their first match of Group Play, a time span that seems much longer than the few weeks it has been.  It would  be unfair, therefore, to hold that against them.  Instead, I’m going to look at the two teams’ recent play.

Uruguay snuck by South Korea, winning by a goal.  In their most recent match, they needed penalty kicks to get by a Ghana team that, while playing a most impressive tournament, many thought were another four years away from really contending.  Meanwhile, the Dutch outplayed Slovakia, and then Brazil, winning both games 2-1.  The Brazil game was really what did it for me in terms of thinking of the Dutch as a legitimate contender.  They were great.  And they’ll continue to be great.  I think the World Cup final will be a more interesting one with the Dutch in it, and I like their chances to advance.  They’re my pick in this game.

While I agree with everything my colleague said about the Dutch, I think he’s underrating Uruguay slightly.  Yes, they haven’t won with style like some other teams in this World Cup have, but winning four straight games in any World Cup, regardless of the opponents, is quite the impressive feat.  It would absolutely not surprise me at all to see Uruguay win this matchup, and make it to Sunday’s finale.

If Uruguay does lose, it will be only the 8th time that neither team in the Finals is from South America.  This also happened in 2006, when Italy defeated France for the title.  The last time this happened in back-to-back World Cups was 1934/1938.  1954, 1966, 1974, and 1982 were the only other times a South American team hasn’t played for the title.

Granted, that’s a lot of meaningless stats that don’t matter at all once the game begins, but it is a bit of history worth mentioning.

Now that I’ve filled your heads with Pro-Uruguay propaganda, I’ll go ahead and join MIB in picking Netherlands to reach the World Cup Finals.

Wednesday, July 7

Germany vs. Spain

2:30 PM EDT

Before the tournament started, I picked Spain to win it all.  (I picked a Netherlands/Spain final, btw, for those keeping track at home).  And even though I fell off their bandwagon during group play, I think they still have a chance to do so.  They’re playing quietly and mightily at the same time.  They’ve dispatched Portugal and Paraguay in back to back games, giving up zero goals in the process.  They’re looking good, and have played a stifling defense at times.

The Germans, meanwhile, have been making a ton of noise this World Cup.  They beat rival England 4-1.  Then, to prove it wasn’t a fluke, they went out and trounced an Argentina team that many thought may reach the Final by a score of 4-0!  They have, by far, looked like the most dominant team in the knockout stage.

So who wins in this classic “offense vs. defense” showdown?  Defense wins championships, right?  Maybe.  But I just have to go with the team that has outscored its opponents 8-1 in the last two games.  My pick is for the Germans to meet the Dutch in the final.

1934, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, and now, 2010.  Those are the World Cups that Germany has reached at least the semifinals.  12 out of 19 times.  By comparison, Brazil has 10 semifinals appearances, Italy has 8, and Argentina, France, England, and the Netherlands have combined for 13.  To say that this is a familiar place for the German National Team is an understatement.

(Oh, btw, Spain has one appearance, in 1950, when they lost the semifinals and also lost the 3rd Place game)

For this German National Team, though, this is not only new territory, it’s also completely unexpected.  Maybe people, myself included, thought this team would struggle in this World Cup.  I expected them to make it out of group play, but before the World Cup that was as far as I thought they’d go.

Since play started, it’s been clear this Germany team was a lot better than we all thought.  They’re playing great, and they have a great shot at winning the championship.

Spain, on the other hand, has rarely if ever had this good of a chance to win the World Cup.  From top to bottom, this team is stacked.  Like Uruguay, they’re not playing with flash, but they’re getting the right outcome, and have won their last four matches.

This game is as close as can be, and nearly impossible to predict.  It cases like this, you have to look for X factors.  For me, there is one huge X factor.  20 year old German striker Thomas Muller is out for this match, due to yellow card accumulation (the second yellow card being questionable at best).  That’s a huge loss for this young German team, as Muller has blossomed in this World Cup, scoring 4 goals in 5 matches.

It’s a shame to go out because of something like that, but not having Muller may cost the Germans a shot at the championship.  Personally, I hope it doesn’t, I hope they win, and I hope they play the Dutch on Sunday for the title.

But I think Spain is able to contain the German attack, and move on to the country’s first ever World Cup Final.

Sharkey vs Man In Black Watch

ManInBlack had a rough go of it last round, picking incorrectly on both matches he and Sharkey differed on.  In the knock-out stage now, they’ve differed five times, with Sharkey picking correctly in four of those matches.  This time, they both agree on the Netherlands, while they differ on Spain vs. Germany.