2014 FIFA World Cup

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, I was expecting Argentina to beat the Swiss and they did, but as with Iran in the group stage they needed a last minute stroke of brilliance to do it.Still, that's them in the quarters.

USA/Belgium was always going to be a close one:Belgium had the better of the play but the Americans defended brilliantly and Howard was superb.And then, as with the Germans against Algeria, Belgium scored right at the start of extra time.After that it practically started raining goals but Belgium managed to hang on to 2-1.

I agree with Slade's prediction that the teams who'll get through to the semis will be Brazil, Netherlands, Argentina and Germany. France/Germany is the one that really could go either way but I think the Germans will just edge it.My instincts are pointing to a Brazil/Argentina final but who knows?There's a lot of teams haven't been convincing and any of them could go out if they have an off day.

[Slade]

I thought Argentina were poor yesterday. It didn't help Switzerland parking the bus so to speak and at times effectively playing with eight at the back. But they should have had enough quality to be able score within normal time. The delivery of the crosses/through balls etc were poor and Di Maria was very disappointing. The Swiss seemed to completely lock Messi out of the game by having several players close him down anytime the ball was near him - very similar to Bosnia and Iran. Ironically Di Maria came to life in extra time and scored quite a good goal. Still it was Messi's beatifully weighted pass which created it. And again I'm left wondering if he wasn't playing then that game would have gone to penalties. Maybe they've just had an off day. A sign of a winning team is often the ability to still win when playing badly. I'm glad the Swiss are out because they were not very entertaining although I accept they changed their tactics because of the hammering they took by France.

Thoroughly enjoyed the Belgium/US game. Best game of the tournament for me. In stark constrast to the Argentina/Switzerland game which I just wanted to be over, I actually wanted it to go the extra time because it was so entertaining. Full credit to the Americans for never giving in but I just felt the Belgians had a lot more and the better of the chances and deserved to go through.

So that's all eight group winners through to the quarter finals for the first time since they went from six to eight groups in 1998. I think these second round matches have all been close with five of them requiring extra time and two requiring penalties. I think it also shows there really isn't that much difference between the teams in knockout phase.

I think most of the quarter final matches will be close. It wouldn't surprise me if the two or more of them go to penalties. The only one I think that won't is Holland/Costa Rica. I'm actually expecting the Dutch to win that pretty comfortably and within normal time again.

People talk about how impressive Columbia have been but I just can't see them beating Brazil. Let's not forget that Brazil haven't lost a competitive match at home for over 40 years.

Interestingly with the France/Germany and Argentina/Belgium matches, both sets of teams played each other in 1982 and 1986. I'm sure they'll mention the incident with Schumacher and Batiston. How France went 3-1 up in extra time, the Germans got it back to 3-3 and won 5-4 on penalties. And there's of course Maradonna's brilliant second goal against Belgium.

The France/Germany game should be good. If it goes to penalties France won't have a hope in hell. When it comes to penalty shootouts at the world cup, the Germans are virtually unbeatable.

You would expect Argentina to beat Belgium but they are going to have to play a lot better than they did yesterday. Also tactically Wilmots is a very good manager.

I would love to see a Brazil/Argentina final but I can't really see anyone beating Netherlands on their side of the draw, so I think it's a case of the Netherlands vs Brazil or Germany in the final.

Interesting fact I read but no team that has won a last sixteen match on penalties has gone on to win the competition and only one of those teams has made it past the quarter finals, which spells bad news for Brazil and Costa Rica.

[Jezz]

Great games so far apart from the Argentina and Switzerland match. Now we have the Quarter Finals coming up which I can't wait for.

France against Germany is going to be a huge game for both sides. I think Germany is a slightly better side than France but France do have some excellent players like Benzema and Pogba who can easily change the whole context of a match and get France over the line like they did against Nigeria. France didn't do too much wrong against Nigeria despite leaving it late to score their goals. Germany were poor against Algeria despite the win they had but you still can't overlook the talent and quality they have in their side with the likes of Ozil and Khedira leading the way for them. My prediction is that this match will go down to penalties and Germany will prevail on penalties but only just!

Brazil against Columbia is another game I'm really looking forward to. A lot of people are doubting Columbia's ability to beat Brazil because of the obvious home advantage Brazil has and the strong record they have on home soil but if there's any time where Columbia will beat Brazil this is the time in my opinion. In contrast to Brazil, Columbia's form up until now has been magnificent with 11 goals in 4 matches and how good have the likes of Rodriguez and Martinez been in this World Cup so far. I'd go as far as saying that Rodriguez has been the player of the tournament so far in the World Cup and imagine if Falcao was playing for them as well. Brazil on the other hand have looked shaky in all their matches but are luckily advancing through to the next stage of the competition as good teams do. I haven't been convinced by them though with a win against Croatia which flattered them and was also assisted by some poor refereeing in that match which changed the momentum of the game, a then poor and lacklustre performance against Mexico followed by an easy win against a low-morale Cameroon side who had nothing to play for but looked promising against Brazil for about the first 30 minutes or so and then a lucky victory against Chile in the last 16. If Neymar is fit, he'll always be a threat for Columbia but I'm tipping Columbia to win this in a tight contest with the final scoreline being 2-1. This is going to be an awesome game and I imagine that the atmosphere will be electric.

Argentina against Belgium is another game I'm really eager to see especially with my interest in Belgium's rise in international football in the last few years and I actually made a bold statement last year on Facebook that they would win the World Cup in June 2013 even though I deep down thought Germany would win the tournament, but nevertheless I predicted Belgium to make the last 8 as a minimum considering the depth and quality they have. Argentina hasn't been in great form lately but with Leo Messi in the side they're still winning games and he'll be Belgium's biggest threat in this game. I actually believe Belgium has more talent than Argentina but with Messi in the side anything is possible for Argentina in a matter of minutes as seen against Switzerland, Iran and Bosnia in this World Cup so far. My tip is Belgium will win in extra time in what should be a thrilling contest.

The Netherlands against Costa Rica will be an interesting game with most tipping the Dutch to get through with relative ease. Costa Rica have had a superb World Cup campaign so far and they should be really proud of their efforts but I have a feeling that the Netherlands will have too much quality and experience around the park for Costa Rica to trouble them. After watching the Costa Rica and Greece game, I just felt that the Costa Rican players started to get tired and fatigued and I just think with a long game against Greece recently and a huge World Cup campaign lately, they must be flat against the Netherlands but I'd love to see them match the Dutch even if they can't win this one. My prediction is that the Netherlands will win 3-0 against them.

[haaf14]

I wouldn't rule out Colombia against Brazil. I have a feeling that Colombia will beat Brazil tonight. My prediction for the quarter-finals are:

Brazil 1 - 2 Colombia

Germany 3 - 1 France

Netherlands 2 - 0 Costa Rica

Argentina 2 - 1 Belgium

[Slade]

I agreed with most of the pundits that it was disappointing in that France didn't try and go for it sooner. They didn't really commit any players forward until the last 15 minutes but I really don't think it would have made any difference. I think had they gone for it before they probably would have lost by a bigger margin. Thought Germany got it spot on today. Tactics were perfect and Low made some crucial changes. He replaced Mertesacker and moved Lahm to right back where he performs better than the holding midfield role. So as I suspected the Germans upped their game. I guess 1-0 is about right. Thought it would be close but was expecting extra time or maybe even penalties.

For me now Brazil just have to beat Ecuador. Nothing against Ecuador. They've been great and thoroughly entertaining but if they win I don't think they will have a chance of beating Germany. The Germans must be stopped!

[haaf14]

So I got my prediction wrong, Brazil beat Colombia, never mind. For me the problem with France was that they lacked the penetration upfront. They have a talented front 3 but lacked the cutting edge. Neuer save of Benzema at the end was top draw.

If that was any other team then would Cesar's yellow card been a red?

[Red Ranger 1]

So, Germany through.Not the most exciting of games but they did the job and they're in the semis.

Meanwhile, Brazil v Colombia was fantastic end-to-end stuff.Colombia lost heart a bit after the second goal(brilliant strike by David Luiz, by the way), when up until then they looked likely to score.The penalty gave them a gee-up and they made a game of it again but not enough and that's Brazil through as well.I think they'll probably inch past Germany and get to the final but it's by no means certain. Scolari had an "Oh, you idiot..." look on his face when Silva got himself suspended and they could be without Neymar unless it turns out to be just bruising.They haven't really come up against a serious challenger yet, and still they're only just scraping through.

[Slade]

Columbia not Ecuador - Columbia! Got to stop doing that, not that it matters now. haaf14, I thought that France also lacked pace of front and it cost them.

Thought Brazil/Columbia was a much better game than what we had to sit through earlier on. At times it was end to end stuff. Thought the referee was a tad inconsistent. I think at first he was trying to let the game flow which was why he didn't book anyone but given how he was being fouled in the first half, I thought the booking of James Rodriguez was really harsh. I think in the first half Brazil were really good and Columbia were lucky to go in at half time only a goal down. But midway through the second half Brazil started to struggle and after James Rodriguez scored the penalty it seemed like they were clinging on.

As I mentioned before so many people keep saying how fortunate and unconvincing Brazil have been but they always seem to do it when it really matters. Thiago Silva suspended is a massive blow for them but I'm hoping that Neymar will be fit even though he has been quiet in the last couple of games. If he's playing, I really fancy them to beat the Germans.

Netherlands vs Costa Rica is pretty much a formality as far as I'm concerned. I think the Dutch will win in normal time and by at least two clear goals. Just can't see the Costa Ricans troubling them at all, especially having to play for over an hour with 10 men and battle out penalty kicks with Greece.

I'm not entirely convinced this will be a formality for Argentina like some people think. I actually think they will struggle against Belgium. I can see the Belgians adopting similar tactics as the Bosnians, Iranians and Swiss did. They will close Messi out of the game, get men back in numbers and play on the break hoping to nick a goal from a set piece. Not a lot Argentina can do about it but the quality of their midfield has to improve. They can't just rely on Messi to bail them out again.

[Jezz]

Two interesting games so far in the Quarter Finals.

Germany were deserving winners against France. France was disappointing in the sense they played far too defensively to trouble Germany at goal despite the 13 shots they had in the game. The Germans were very good and looked calm after Hummels' goal early in the game. They're starting to look very good and with the way Brazil played last night, I think Germany will be slight favourites in the Semi Final tie.

I tipped Columbia to beat Brazil, but somehow Brazil have won despite losing Neymar to injury and seeing Thiago Silva being carded out for the next match against Germany. Brazil without a doubt played with a lot of spirit and displayed plenty of resilience but I still can't see them winning against Germany especially losing Neymar and Thiago Silva for that game. A pity Columbia went out as they've been fantastic in this World Cup in providing us with great attacking football to watch. James Rodriguez has been the player of the tournament so far! Great World Cup campaign for him and I just wonder whether having Radamel Falcao could have helped Columbia reach the Semi Final as well on top of Rodriguez.

For tonight's games I think Belgium and the Netherlands will advance to the Semi Finals.

[Slade]

Well they're through but only just. It kind of reminds me of yesterday's match with Germany and France. Get an early goal then the other team tries to get back into it but is simply not good enough. To be fair to Belgium at least they had a go and didn't park the bus. Thought Higuain was Argentina's best player today. His finish for the first goal was clinical and he did well to nutmeg and go past the defender when he hit the post but perhaps he should have scored. Messi definitely should have scored right at the end. I couldn't understand why the manager took Higuain off though. It reminded me of when Peckerman did the same thing eight years ago. If Belgium had equalised then they really would have been in trouble. The commentator said this and I was thinking the same thing but Argentina have won every game by a one goal margin. So they are in the semi finals for the first time since 1990 but still far from convincing.

I'm assuming they will play the Netherlands because I just can't see the Costa Ricans troubling them at all. Hopefully Di Maria will be back for the next game. He looked pretty good before he was taken off injured.

I'm gutted Neymar is out the tournament. He was Brazil's best and perhaps only world class player. And they will have real problems scoring against the Germans now. They need someone who is a natural goal scorer and can take one chance and put it in the back of the net. Also he has pace another thing that would trouble the German defence. I'm still not counting Brazil out. They have the crowd which will give them a massive lift and I'm sure they will be fighting for their lives.