Before the World Cup began, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan commented, “World Cups change lives. It’s the global shop window and who knows what may happen. We could get amazing offers – offers you can’t refuse”. Sullivan was speaking at the time about Robert Green, so in that respect he probably shouldn’t be waiting too expectantly for the phone to ring. However, the point remains valid and there will be plenty of players who will benefit from a strong tournament by securing a move to a better club.
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With the Netherlands having booked their place in the final last night, Germany and Spain come up against each other this evening for the chance to meet them. Spain, pre-tournament favourites alongside Brazil, will go into the game as very marginal favourites against a German side which has defied all expectation in the tournament thus far and who have had praise heaped on them in abundance. Do they have enough to see off the European Champions?
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Before the tournament began, few would have predicted that Uruguay and the Netherlands would be meeting for a place in the final: the Dutch were considered solid but lacking the quality, especially defensively, to come through the predicted quarter-final with Brazil, whilst Uruguay were one of the less fancied South American teams. Now, not only are the only remaining unbeaten sides in the tournament, they are also just one match away from a place in Sunday’s final.
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Those hoping for excitement and upset in the World Cup quarter-finals are unlikely to have been left disappointed by the events of Friday and Saturday: ten goals, three missed penalties, two red cards, one penalty shoot out and one managerial casualty, with another likely to follow shortly. So whilst Dunga is looking for another job and Diego Maradona contemplates his future, it’s Uruguay vs Netherlands and Germany vs Spain in the semi-finals.
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After being starved of World Cup football for a couple of days, the tournament is back today with the first two quarter-final ties. The Netherlands take on Brazil this afternoon, while Uruguay and Ghana meet in Johannesburg later on this evening. So what are your predictions? Who are you expecting to reach the semi-finals? The SportGuru community has had its say on today’s games, as well as tomorrow’s remaining ties between Argentina and Germany (3pm) and Paraguay vs Spain (7.30pm).
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