Sixteen have become eight and all the favourites came through. What have we learned?
Firstly, my predictions were about as accurate as a Uruguayan linesman's eyesight. I expected Paraguay v Japan to be tighter than a Yorkshireman the day before payday and so it proved, the South Americans coming through after a shoot-out in which I read neither goalkeeper came any closer to making a save than during the preceding 120 minutes. I also thought Uruguay would edge it against South Korea and they did, lifting the tempo impressively after conceding an equaliser. Argentina and the Netherlands were always going to beat Mexico and Slovakia quite comfortably. And I anticipated Spain would eventually find a way through a Portuguese barricade, although we could have done without Capdevila faking an injury even if the imaginary culprit Costa had hacked his way through the game.
Maybe five out of eight isn't bad. As for the rest... Chile didn't fulfil my prediction that they would give Brazil a tough game, although of all the teams that are out I'll miss them the most, with their commitment to attack and willingness to get stuck in both reminiscent of the England of old even though their skill level (i.e. they have some) isn't. Ghana overturned the USA, suggesting that Group D really was the weakest of the lot, as The Sun suspected at the beginning. I loved the Ghanaian change strip of red and yellow stripes and the fact that when Gyan could have fallen down to get Bocanegra sent off, he stayed on his feet and scored.
Which, in view of Matthew Upson's feeble attempt to haul down Miroslav Klose, brings me neatly to England. My prediction that we would sneak past Germany was a case of heart ruling head, although both punters and pundits seemed to share my view. Most England sports teams have to be either world-beaters or total failures in the eyes of the Press and the less informed public, because the middle ground is less interesting and doesn't sell newspapers. I suspect that if Lampard's goal had stood the Germans wouldn't have scored twice without reply in the second half, although there wasn't enough in our team's performance to suggest we could have beaten them.The defence was a shambles, the midfield was always chasing shadows, Defoe got no service and Rooney was anonymous again, although I noted he managed a shot on target two minutes from the end, which may have been his second of the tournament. One of my predictions was right though: just after the third German goal went in I told my assembled family that another would follow and in short order, it did.
Predictably the BBC World Cup coverage is now swamped with a dissection of England's campaign, which at least makes a change from the usual vivisection. Now it's whether Capello should go, which players ought to be dumped, whether there's a new generation of better youngsters coming through. I'd prefer them to concentrate on the teams left in the competition who (with the possible exception of Paraguay - did I mention I wish Chile were still there instead?) deserve their places. In any case the wonderful Gills365 pubcast - four ordinary football fans sat in a room masquerading as a licensed establishment - has provided far better analysis of the failings of English football from top to bottom than any mainstream media outlet I've come across.
I'll write some more on England when I have any more enthusiasm for the topic than most of the players appeared to - and that could be a long time coming.
In the meantime I'm thoroughly excited about the prospect of four World Cup quarter-finals even though I'll probably see at most two and a half of them. Argentina v Germany could be a classic. Both teams look better in attack than defence and it will be interesting to see whether Joachim Loew finds it as easy to unpick the Argies as he did England (summarised as "we knew the defence was a mess and they would leave gaps in midfield"). Many observers have written off the Germans but their pace on the counter-attack could cause Maradona's men some problems. I have to go with Argentina but I reckon Germany will score and it could be close.
Uruguay v Ghana is the battle of the underdogs. Both teams impressed in spells during their last games: Uruguay seemed almost complacent in their superiority until South Korea equalised, then raised their game again and eased clear, while Ghana managed a couple of quick bursts early in normal and extra time to beat a disappointing American team. No African team has ever gone past the quarter-finals at a World Cup and I don't think that will change: my hunch is Uruguay will edge it. Incidentally, on the subject of the Americans, Landon Donovan gave a tearful, unintentionally hilarious post-match interview in which he said he'd had "an incredible journey". The comedians on Alan Davies's podcast suggested perhaps he'd been upgraded from economy to business on his flight to a loan spell at Everton, and was overwhelmed by movies on demand. Presumably England were not afforded such luxuries on their return to London yesterday.
I have to back Brazil against the Netherlands because unlike Brazilian teams of the past, they are solid and don't look likely to concede a lot of goals. Robben v Michel Bastos could be a great battle but I fancy Maicon to be a threat on the other side and Robinho can unlock defences, unless playing for Man City. A Dutch win wouldn't be a huge surprise to me but I have the South Americans to win it by a couple of goals.
That leaves Spain with the unenviable task of preventing a Latin American clean sweep in the semi-finals and I think they will do it. Probably they'll find themselves playing against a packed defence for the fourth time in the tournament but their willingness to throw the full-backs forward (Sergio Ramos was brilliant against Portugal) should give them the extra bodies they need to work an opening. I'll take Spain to win 1-0.
To be honest though, I don't mind at this stage who wins either any particular match or eventually the whole tournament. It would be good if FIFA could throw out boring Paraguay and reinstate cavalier Chile - did I mention I enjoyed watching them? Failing that, I will find new heroes and villains over the coming days to root for or against. And may the best team win... provided it isn't Paraguay.
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