World Cup 2010 : Quarterfinals Cast complete !

Only eight teams are left in the World Cup 2010 after two weeks of fierce competitions!

Of the eight, four are from traditional powers South America , three are from fancied Europe and only one from host continent Africa!

Quarter-finals
Netherlands v Brazil
Uruguay v Ghana
Argentina v Germany
Paraguay v Spain

All the quarterfinalists topped their respective groups except Ghana which was runner-up to Germany in Group D.Only Group C,topped by the USA(beaten by Ghana)and England(booted out by Germany),had no quarterfinalists.




For purposes of comparing the teams' performance in the run-up to the World Cup 2010,here are their World and respective Zonal rankings as of May 2010 per FIFA:

1. Brazil ( # 1 CONMEBOL)
2. Spain ( # 1 UEFA)
4. Netherlands ( # 3 UEFA)
6. Germany ( # 5 UEFA)
7. Argentina ( # 2 CONMEBOL)
16.Uruguay ( # 3 CONMEBOL)
31.Paraguay ( # 5 CONMEBOL)
32.Ghana ( # 6 CAF )

With the exception of the Uruguay - Ghana match ,it looks like the rest of the quarerfinals are UEFA against CONMEBOL : the best of Europe versus the powerhouses of South America! Techniques vs artistry ?


North America (USA, Mexico and Honduras from CONCACAF), Asia (Australia,South Korea,Japan and North Korea from AFC) and the Oceania-Pacific(New Zealand from OFC) had all their teams way-laid by their South American, European and African rivals !

A look at the Quarterfinals pairings show who may be slight favorites to make it to the SEMI-FINALS based on their rankings! Barring any upsets,we predict the following to move on to the semis:
A)Uruguay,the higher seed over Ghana, should make it easily ;
B)Germany and Argentina match is hard to call but Germany may pull it off and progress ;
C)Brazil is expected to breeze through the Netherlands though an upset is possible ;
D)Spain is the hands down favorite and should advance over Paraguay

Given the assumptions above,we can look forward to the matches in the Semis as pre-scheduled by FIFA:
Scenario 1) Winner D-Spain vs Winner B-Germany

Scenario 2) Winner A-Uruguay vs Winner C-Brazil

Under the preceding scenarios, a Europe vs South America finals might just be possible after all!

Needless to say , anything is possible in this World Cup and I may have called it all wrong!