World Cup - quarter finals

I'm well chuffed with myself: I correctly predicted Spain to win 1-0 and Uruguay to edge out Ghana. Actually those were two of the safer bets. I didn't foresee the Netherlands overturning Brazil, and although I did expect Germany to score against Argentina you could have got long odds on 4-0. 

The only quarter-final game I saw almost in its entirety was Uruguay v Ghana. There's been a lot of fuss about Suarez handling on the line to keep Uruguay in the competition - and in a way rightly so. But the referee spotted the offence and punished it in accordance with the laws of the game. Ghana had their chance to win the game with the penalty, or subsequently in the shoot-out, and couldn't take it. Let's not forget the free-kick which led to the handball was a laughably bad decision from the ref. 

I don't think anyone would have expected that after all five South American teams reached the knockout stages and four the quarter-finals, only one would still be in the competition one round later. Argentina and Brazil were hot favourites but floundered; let's give Uruguay some credit for the spirit they showed in contrast. As for Ghana, my comment in a previous blog still stands: if in doubt, bet against the Africans.

Germany's crushing win over the team previously billed as the best at the World Cup, might suggest England's result wasn't so bad after all. We scored twice against them, after all. But no one is fooled and the inquest goes on.

I quite fancy Germany to turn over the Spanish now. Joachim Loew found a way to neutralise Argentina and if his team can keep Villa and Iniesta quiet I think they can do damage at the other end. I didn't see the last Spain game, not because Paraguay sent me to sleep but because I was out. Apparently it was tight and Villa scored - in other words it could have been almost any Spanish game in the tournament. Meanwhile, the Dutch are hot favourites (less than even money with most bookies) to beat Uruguay inside 90 minutes yet I expect it to be close, possibly with extra time required. A Holland-Spain final would suit me, guaranteeing a first-time winner of the Jules Rimet Trophy, but I have a sneaking feeling the Dutch will face the Germans in a rerun of the 1974 final.