2014 FIFA World Cup

[Red Ranger 1]

When Argentina scored at the start, again with a brilliant strike, from Higuain this time, I suspected it would be a replay of France/Germany with it being the only goal and so it turned out.Well, at least they didn't leave it late this time.

And then we have the Netherlands.The longer the game went on, the more obvious it was that they wouldn't score if they had all night.They had a golden chance at the end of 90 minutes that was stopped by a brilliant if slightly lucky clearance off the line, then they hit the woodwork at the end of 120.I was willing the Costa Ricans to win it, partly out of supporting the underdog, partly because the attitude of the Dutch stank at times, with Huntelaar elbowing the goalkeeper in the face and somehow escaping with a yellow card being particularly unsporting.But I never really believed they'd win a shoot-out, despite their doing well against Greece, and so it proved.Bringing Krul on for the penalties was an interesting decision but it worked.

So...still a strong possibility of a Brazil/Argentina final.Both the semis could go either way since no-one really won convincingly, it was either the odd goal or penalties.This could be the point where it gets really interesting...

[Slade]

Even though I wanted Costa Rica to win (partly because I wanted Argentina to have an easier route to the final and also because it annoyed me the way Robben dived and won a penalty against Mexico), I have to admit the Netherlands were the better side and probably deserved to win based on the amount of chances they had. I thought Costa Rica were very lucky to get to penalties TBH. Diaz should have been sent off for a second yellow. No doubt about it. I also felt that certainly during normal time the Costa Ricans never tried to win the game and at times were effectively parking the bus. I don't blame them of course. They couldn't really play any other way else they would have got hammered. In spite of that they defended magnificently and Navas was top class. That's been the story of quite a few goal keepers in this world cup. Pulling off some brilliant saves. As it started to get closer and closer to penalties, for a minute there I thought the pendulum had swung in Costa Rica's favour. They had a penalty shout in the first period of extra time but more importantly they had a really good chance right near the end. It actually started to seem like shades of the Euro 200 Semi final between the Netherlands and Italy where the Italian's were just defending for virtual the whole match, Holland had missed two penalties and when it reached the end of extra time you just knew the Italian's would win it. It think it was cruel for Costa Rica to lose like that but based on the overall match probably the right result.

Onto the semi finals. So all the big teams are there and no surprises in the knockout rounds which is unusual because you always have at least at a world cup. I still think Brazil are capable of beating Germany even without Neymah but whether they will is a different story. It will be interesting to see what Scholari does to compensate for Neymah's absence. And without Silver are they going to be able to deal with players such as Muller, Kloser etc. I would like Argentina to win but they won't play as defensively against the Netherlands as the Costa Rican's did. So I honestly think they are really going to struggle with the front three, Van Persie, Sneijder and in particular Robben. I suspect that Holland will try and hit them on the break and if Argentina go a goal down quite early they could be beaten by two or three. It will also be interesting to see how the Dutch contain Messi. They could just revert to how they were in the final last year and how the Brazilian's were with James Rodriguez and adopt the more physical approach.

As I mentioned earlier I want a Brazil/Argentina final but I think the more likely is Germany/Netherlands which is my least desired out of the possible permutations.

[haaf14]

No team has impressed during the quarter-finals. I also wanted Costa Rica to win but it would have been good to see them in the semis, I think they would have given Argentina good game. I remember a comment by Alan Hansen made when the Ticco's (great nickname) qualified from the group he said something like 'they are not going to win the World Cup, they have qualified but I can't see them progressing'. I know everyone would have thought they wouldn't do that well after qualifying but the way he was talking about them he was speaking down at them like there was no chance in hell that would happen. Who would've thought that they would take the Netherlands to penalties in the quarter-finals?

[Jezz]

Disappointed to see Belgium eliminated, but Argentina deserved the win and great performance by Costa Rica but the Netherlands will be relieved about advancing to the Semi Finals through penalties.

So tonight we have Brazil against Germany which should be a ripper. Without Neymar and Thiago Silva I find it difficult to see how Brazil is going to win this game but with the home crowd behind them and their never say die attitude anything is possible. If Brazil wins this game, it would be massive for them. Germany have some demons to overcome as well considering they've been eliminated in the Semi Finals in the previous two World Cups of 2006 and 2010 where they lost to Italy and Spain respectively so they'll want to advance to the Final this time round.

[Slade]

Wow. I thought Germany would be more likely to win out of the two but I never expected them to win by seven goals to one. After the first goal I thought fair enough. After the second I thought Brazil would have a long way back. After the third my jaw dropped. And after the fourth and fifth goals, I was in absolute stitches. I've never laughed so hard in my entire life - Four goals in six minutes It was embarrassing. I actually ended up feeling really sorry for Brazil and felt even worse for the fans. The tears started to appear after the second goal. I knew they would struggle to score goals without Neymah but I had no idea Tiago Silva's absence would cause such an issue for the defense. They were all over the place. I'm worried about the backlash in Brazil as there was a lot of public objection to them hosting the world cup. Are Germany favourites now or has this performance flattered them? I think what typified it for me was the way the Brazilian fans were booing the team at halftime and at the end and they were applauding the Germans towards the end of the game. I can honestly say now without doubt this is the worst Brazilian team I have ever seen.

I don't know who's going to win tomorrow but I'm hoping that Argentina can do it as I feel they are due another world cup and I think it would be good for Messi.

[Red Ranger 1]

Excuse me while I have a coronary.

7-1?! Brazil lost 7-1?! That is genuinely their worst defeat ever, a record that has stood since they lost 6-0 to Uruguay in 1920.I was at work this evening and word started to filter around that it was 4-0, then 5-0 and...To be honest, it's hard not to cheer, I lost all respect for Brazil when they tried to get Silva's suspension overturned.It just shows how poor they are, needing the referee to beat Croatia, squeezing past some relatively easy opponents and getting hammered beyond repair the minute they run into someone in their weight class, albeit with a couple of key players absent.It's reminiscent of how they bombed in 1990 when a quirk of fate meant that what was meant to be an easy draw ended with them meeting Argentina in the second round.Germany have got to be favourites after that but I think they've just proved that anything can happen.

So, after an all-South American final looked nearly certain, there's now a strong possibility of an all-European final, which really would be history in the making.Or possibly Germany/Argentina, which tends to be colourful.After things have seemed pretty pedestrian since the group stage, this World Cup just got very interesting...

[Jezz]

I'm shocked by the scoreline but I'm not surprised about Germany winning as I expected them to advance to the Final after Brazil lost Neymar and Thiago Silva to injury and suspension from their previous match against Columbia. Brazilian football will really need a big rebuild in my opinion. I wasn't convinced by them at the start of the tournament but they kept progressing along the way but last night just demonstrated how far away they are from being number 1 again in the future.

Germany were at their ruthless best and if they play like that on Sunday in the Final then it's hard to see either the Netherlands or Argentina from stopping them. I tipped the Germans to win the World Cup at the start of the tournament as they have the perfect blend of youth and experience. Also well done to German striker Miroslav Klose who has become the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history as he surpassed Ronaldo's record from Brazil!

In regards to tonight's match, I'm finding this extremely difficult to predict as both sides are neck and neck in my opinion. A lot of this is going to come down to individual brilliance. If the Dutch can't contain Messi, then they'll be in some trouble but on the other hand the Argentinians must contain Robben or else look out.

Last night's game was easy to tip especially with Neymar and Thiago Silva out for Brazil but this game is extremely hard to predict. I think it's going to go down to penalties and it will be a matter of luck of who prevails to the Final. Whoever wins this, I expect an epic game on Sunday but I'm worried that Argentina may struggle against a team of champions like Germany as opposed to the Netherlands. Their record against Germany in recent times hasn't been flash. The Dutch would love to make it and atone for their loss in 2010 and set up a replay of 1974. On the other hand the same could be said for Argentina who'd love to atone for what happened in 1990 as well but I guess the Germans got revenge on them after what happened in 1986. Either way it's going to be a fantastic spectacle.

One way or another this should be a ripper and I can't wait! I tip the Netherlands to prevail on penalties but I have this odd feeling that it could be one-sided in favour of the Dutch. One way or another, I can't see Argentina smashing the Netherlands if they win tonight.

[haaf14]

Jezz, I agree I saw Germany winning but I didn't expect them to win the manner that they did. Brazil were absolutely humiliated and just after conceding the second. Defensively they were poor making the same mistakes over and over again. As I heard one journalist say last night 'if you are marking this game out of 10 then Fernandinho deserves 1 for putting his shirt the right way round'. Absolutely shocking.

[Slade]

For the first time in 24 years they're through to the final. Argentina vs Germany again. And for the third world cup in a row they play each other.

That match itself was dreadful. One of the worst games of the tournament. Both teams cancelled each other out and seemed too afraid to commit too many players forward so there weren't too many clear cut chances. Best part was the penalty shootout. I liked the way the Argentinians were together like that. I think overall based on the match they deserved the victory. For me Holland didn't do enough to win the match. Not sure based on that performance they can beat the Germans. And not sure if they deserve to beat them. Personally I think if the Germans play like they did against Brazil then they will beat Argentina pretty comfortably although Argentina have been defensively sound. They've only conceded three goals so far and not a single goal conceded in the knockout phase. Mascherano was immense. His tackle right near the end of normal time was vital as Robben probably would have scored. I was extremely disappointed with Messi. Definitely his worst game so far. Hopefully he will play a lot better in the final.

The third place playoff between Brazil and the Netherlands should be interesting. The Brazilians will obviously be playing for pride.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, that game had 0-0 and penalties written all over it from what I saw.I'm not quite sure what the Netherlands did to deserve my antipathy, maybe squeezing past Costa Rica in an unsatisfactory manner, but I laughed when they missed their first penalty and again when they missed the third.I actually hadn't thought about the third place play-off, the two humbled giants trying to prove they don't entirely suck.

So, Argentina/Germany.I was thinking yesterday that no European team has ever won the World Cup in America.And with it not being an all-European final, it might not happen this time either but Germany have certainly got a very good chance of being the first.Could be a good game!