With South Africa and Mexico kicking off the 2010 World Cup in less than 48 hours, it's time for our predictions to be kicked up a notch. We've already given you our thoughts on who'll advance out of the group stages here. So, with that prognostication in mind, it's time to see who'll be moving on to the prestigious Final Four of the knockout round!
The Contenders
-With our predicted group draw, it's fairly clear that, in one of the deepest World Cup tournaments ever, there are more than only a few countries who consider merit in the semifinals. However, in our World Cup Bracket, these nations come close to making the semis, only to fall short.
Serbia-A trendy pick as an underdog thanks to their tremendous backline, we just don't see the Serbs having enough firepower up front to take out more balanced attacks after the group stage.
Italy-If this tournament were 2 or 3 years ago, Italy might be a lock to make it to the semifinals. But the aging of so many of their influential players (Cannavarro, Pirlo, etc.) will see this World Cup end early for the defending champs.
Mexico-We see El Tri making it to the round of 8, but they're shaky defense and at times questionable discipline will see them fall short on the world stage.
Argentina-Yes, it would be quite the story for the world's greatest player (Lio Messi) and the world's craziest national team manager (Diego Maradona) to make the semifinals. But, without picking his best 23 players, we see Argentina suffering an upset in the early portions of the knockout round.
Netherlands- The Dutch always play the most attractive football in the big events, but they don't do enough of the little things to win the ultimate prize, especially considering who they might play in the quarterfinals.
Ivory Coast/Cameroon/Nigeria-And as much as we'd love to see an African nation reach the semis in the first World Cup on African soil, there just isn't enough balance in any of these sides to advance that deep into the knockout stages. A healthy Didier Drogba might have made a difference, but we're at least expecting one of these teams to make it to the quarterfinals.
So...who do we predict will make the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup?
(1) England
Projected Path: vs. Serbia (2nd round), vs. Mexico (QF)
-Perhaps a bit of a sentimental choice, but England does have a relatively easy path towards the semifinals compared to other teams. If they can survive a defensive slugfest against Serbia, they will go against a Mexico side they have just beaten 3-1 at Wembley. While England has suffered heartbreak after heartbreak in the World Cup since 1966, this would be only their second trip to the semis since that triumph, the other being in 1990. But, there's no doubting the talent the side has, especially with Wayne Rooney up front, and the talent they finally have at manager with Fabio Capello
(2) Brazil
Projected Path: vs. Chile (2nd round), vs. Netherlands (QF)
-The Brazilians enter as one of the favorites to win the World Cup, as usual. But, they perhaps face the toughest road of any of our Final 4. First they would have to dispatch fellow South African rivals Chile, who finished joint 2nd in CONMEBOL qualifying. Then, they would play perhaps the match of the tournament, a quarterfinal date with the Dutch. Like we said, Holland at this point in the tournament could well be taking South Africa by storm with their attractive brand of football. And, in other years, Brazil might play right into the beautiful game. But, under the steely hand of Dunga, the Brazilians have the grit and toughness to shut down a high-powered attack while still possessing enough offensive firepower to advance.
(3) Germany
Projected Path: vs. USA (2nd round), vs. Uruguay (QF)
-It seems there are 3 certainties in life: death, taxes, and Germany in the World Cup semifinals. Since its inception, the Germans have made it to the semifinals 11 out of 19 times! Simply astonishing! And even without their captain Ballack, there's enough quality and leadership to advance the Germans past the U.S. and the winner of a slugfest between Argentina and Uruguay. Simply put, the Germans are the best example in the world of the sum of the whole being better than the individual pieces. Of course, another weak quadrant of the draw also would help matters.
(4) Spain
Projected Path: vs. Ivory Coast (2nd round), vs. Cameroon (QF)
-The other co-favorite with the Brazilians, the defending Euro 2008 champions would also have a difficult time of it in the knockout rounds as we project them going up against two African nations, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon. And while all the focus for the Spaniards success is on their attacking prowess (Torres, Villa, Xavi, Iniesta) they are just as strong at the back with Casillas between the posts and Pique and Puyol anchoring the defense. Their world record streak of 35 unbeaten matches shows the quality in this side, and even facing the emotion of two African nations won't be enough to deter Spain on their quest for glory.
So, with our semifinalists in place, who will make it to the World Cup Final and ultimately hoist the world's biggest trophy? We'll give you our picks for England vs. Brazil and Spain vs. Germany as well as our tournament winner and team of the tournament tomorrow on the eve of soccer madness! Until next time, it's bye for now!
Resource by Mr. Yoder
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