With the first 8 teams and 4 matches set for the elimination round of the World Cup, let's take a look and predict what's going to happen this weekend on the pitch.
MEXICO V. ARGENTINA
Mexico missed a penalty kick that would have tied a match against Portugal. That's their team in a nutshell.
I They played one good half against Iran and maybe another good half against Angola. They'll be outrun and
out-defended by an Argentina side at full strength and full rest after benching their prominent yellow cards
against the Netherlands. Crespo is back and the combination of Juan Riquelme and Carlos Tevez make this a
statement game for Argentina, 3-0.
GERMANY V. SWEDEN
The Germans have become substantially better since Michael Ballack rejoined their midfield but they still have
holes on the backline and until Lehman is challenged is challenged, I'm not buying him as the right keeper for
this side. Sweden has show a remakable ability off the set play and treated the second half of their stirring
match with England like they were an aging prizefighter defending a title. But the with the home crowd and
Miroslav Klose currently outplaying every other play in this tournament, the Germans should have enough to squeak by with a 3-2 win.
That'll set up a quarterfinal match between GERMANY and ARGENTINA. Sweet.
ENGLAND V. ECUADOR
I'm not going to read too much into Ecuador's performance against Germany as they were sitting the best pair of
forwards in the first two sets of matches: Carlos Tenorio and Augustin Delgado. Those two will be back and
they'll be fresh and I think England should be prepared for an initial 20-25 minute assualt where they may
very well fall back a goal. Can England play from behind? I don't think even another heroic performance from Joe
Cole can make up for the loss of Michael Owen, ineffectiveness of Wayne Rooney and inconsistency of David
Beckham. I like Ecuador, 2-1 and I hope I'm not wrong as they've been far more entertaining thus far than a highly touted / overrated English side.
PORTUGAL V. NETHERLANDS
This is the kind of game that makes the round of 16 brilliant. Netherlands went toe-to-toe with a terrific
squad without my favorite player in the tournament, Aryen Robben. Portugal was better than the rest of their
group but it was an unspectacular group at best. Netherlands dominates the possession and has a player like
Ruud waiting to breakout and a keeper like Van der Saar that's coming off a shutout of the most dominant
offensive around. I like it close, 1-0 Netherlands.
Here we come with ECUADOR and the NETHERLANDS. And that's going to be a one strike match in the 67th minute. And a fucking thriller.
AND LOOKING AHEAD TO TOMORROW AND THE UNITED STATES...
I'm looking for an inspired effort from the U.S. tomorrow but I'm a Bears fan and I can smell 2-0 Ghana from a mile away. Just to add insult to injury, the Italians will most definitely beat the Czechs.
USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
Hughes, out.
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