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Message: <blockquote data-quote="-Nipuna1989-" data-source="post: 7806769" data-attributes="member: 236720">Prediction - Netherlands 1 - 2 BrazilUruguay vs Ghana<img src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3241/uruguayu.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> vs <img src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/1956/ghanay.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Take down the date 2nd July in your diaries folks, for Soccer City is going to witness a game that will change lives and alter history forever. Dark horses Uruguay take on the flag bearers of all African hopes Ghana in one of most exciting and unexpected quarter-final clashes one could have hoped for at this edition of the FIFA World Cup. An intriguing tussle between endless stamina and brute force against that of flawless talent and skill will be on show at the largest stadium in Africa and it'll be a fitting arena for the Ghanaians to become the first ever African nation to make it to the semi-finals at a World Cup. The South Americans too are entering a new dawn in their footballing history as they are making their first trip to the last 8 in 40 years and a win in the game will help them give a nation the footballing joy that it has craved for so many years.Uruguay<img src="http://www.thesportscampus.com/images/stories/football/international/luis_suarez.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />After topping Group A with 7 points of a possible 9, with wins over Mexico and hosts South Africa, the Charruas took on a resolute South Korean team in the round of 16. Luis Suarez who had scored the team's only goal in their 1 - 0 win over Mexico, scored one of the more memorable braces in recent memory with two fantastic goals to give his team a 2 - 1 win over the 2002 semi-finalists. Uruguay dominated proceedings but were provided some very nervy end moments by their opponents on the night. Suarez's exploits took the team to their first quarter-final in the tournament since 1970.Oscar Tabarez is the mastermind behind this whole Uruguayan revolution since they missed out on qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The presence of European talent such as Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, who have taken the footballing world by storm, has helped him achieve this exciting new dawn in the history of Uruguayan football. In the finals, the Uruguayan defence has conceded just the one goal in four games having successfully navigated the group stage without conceding and this combination of a solid attack with a stronger defence gives one the confidence that they can go a long way.The coach has played a 3 pronged attack in each of their last 3 games, and the move to add Edinson Cavani to the frontline, allowing Diego Forlan to drift deep to collect the ball and influence play, has worked wonders. The South Americans have a much better major tournament pedigree in comparison to their opponents on the night. While Ghana are making only their 2nd appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, the Uruguayans have already won the tournament twice, which makes them favourites to win this encounter and keep their amazing run going.Ghana<img src="http://www.thesportscampus.com/images/stories/football/international/kwadwo_asamoah.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Ghana belonged to a tough Group D, which consisted of Australia, Serbia and Germany. They edged their World Cup opener against Serbia 1 - 0, which was perhaps their defining match of the tournament. A 1-1 draw against 10-man Australia was followed by a loss to Germany, and with 4 points and no goals from open play, most considered the Ghanaians to be more than a touch fortunate to reach the last 16.kwadwo_asamoah.jpgThere was nothing even remotely fortunate though about the Black Stars' win over USA in Round 2. Kevin-Prince Boateng gave them the early lead with a terrific solo effort, which really put the Africans in the ascendancy. But the US pulled the goal back thanks to a Landon Donovan penalty in the second half to make the final period of the game very nerve-racking. Asamoah Gyan, who has been the star of Africa in the tournament, scored the winner in the 3rd minute of extra time to make his team only the 3rd African side in World Cup history to go through to the final 8.Milovan Rajevac has led the team to one of its most successful periods in their footballing history taking them to the African Cup of Nations final while also finishing their qualification undefeated. The Serbian has utilised the stars of the country to form the core of the team while giving opportunities to youngsters like Jonathan Mensah and Lee Addy in crucial games. With an average age of under-25, they are the youngest team in the World Cup, and by some distance. The team showed their endless energy against the Americans, who were completely overwhelmed by the fact that the Africans were running circles around them in extra time.Asamoah Gyan has been the focal point of the team's success in the tournament scoring 3 of their five goals in the tournament. Richard Kingson has been another massive player for his country at the finals. The goalkeeper has pulled off some mind-boggling saves that have surely kept his team in the games they would have otherwise struggled to win. Rajevac hasn't utilised the big-name players too much in the tournament, the likes of Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari have appeared largely from the bench and have been reduced to impact players rather than staple first team members.Everything about the team emits the kind of positivity that teams are utterly envious about. The Ghanaian success story has been one that provides a lot of inspiration to countries across the world who can do nothing but dream of a place in the World Cup finals. One hopes for the sake of the host continent that the light fed by African hopes never ceases.Form GuideUruguay (WWWDW)27-05-2010 Uruguay 4 - 1 Israel12-06-2010 Uruguay 0 - 0 France - Match Report17-06-2010 South Africa 0 - 3 Uruguay - Match Report22-06-2010 Mexico 0 - 1 Uruguay - Match Report26-06-2010 Uruguay 2 - 1 Korea Republic - Match ReportGhana (WLDWW)05-06-2010 Ghana 1 - 0 Latvia13-06-2010 Serbia 0 - 1 Ghana - Match Report19-06-2010 Ghana 1 - 1 Australia - Match Report24-06-2010 Ghana 0 - 1 Germany - Match Report27-06-2010 USA 1 - 2 E Ghana - Match ReportKey PlayersLuis Suarez - The Ajax Amsterdam striker did take time to find his feet at the tournament, but he really has taken the tournament by storm now. The 23-year old has 3 goals from 4 starts in the tournament and after scoring almost 50 goals last season for his club, one was all but certain of him stealing our hearts. The Uruguayan has the ability to score great goals and is very swift with good ball skills. And one thing is for certain, the Ghanaian centre-halves will have a tough time keeping this man quiet.Asamoah Gyan - One doubted his ability to score goals regularly from open play but 24-year old Asamoah Gyan surprised us all with his stunning volley against USA which also turned out to be the match winner. He too has 3 goals and averages a goal every other game for his national team. The Rennes striker plays on his own up front and his ability to hold the ball is crucial to Ghanaian attacks.Probable Line-UpsUruguay (4-3-3): Muslera, M.Pereira, Lugano, Godin, Fucile, Perez, Arevalo, A.Pereira, Forlan, Cavani, SuarezOscar Tabarez is likely to stick with the side that beat South Korea in the round of 16 as the team seems to be high on morale and confidence. In this set up, Forlan sits behind Suarez, trying to feed the strikers through the middle while also making runs into the box to make it a triple-spike attack. Cavani takes a wider role, usually on the right, playing on the shoulder of the left back and always trying to whip balls into the box. Diego Perez who had mammoth game against the Koreans would guard the back four while Arvalo Rios and Alvaro Pereira will giving him company. None of the midfield three usually venture too much into the final third.Ghana (4-2-3-1): Kingson, Paintsil, John Mensah, Addy, Sarpei, Annan, Boateng, Muntari, Inkoon, Asamoah, GyanThe Black Stars have a couple of big decisions to make with young Jonathan Mensah and Andre Ayew scheduled to sit out the quarter-final due to suspension. Sources suggest Ghana may appeal Ayew's booking, but as things stand there are a couple of spots up for grab. Lee Addy and Isaac Vorsah could compete for the defender's spot, with both players making one appearance thus far in the World Cup. Sulley Muntari will probably finally get his chance to start in place of Ayew. The rest of the squad is likely to remain unchanged.Prediction - Though it would be great to see Ghana make it to the final four it seems difficult to not pick the Uruguayans. Their attack force is much too strong for the Black Stars who have given a good account of themselves in this year's finals. Ghana have trouble scoring too many goals. Even though they have scored atleast one goal in each and every one of their games one can't help but think that one goal may not be enough to dump Uruguay out of the tournament.Prediction - Uruguay 3 - 1 GhanaArgentina vs Germany<img src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/1265/argentinaf.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> vs <img src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/9715/germany.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Temperatures boiling, nail-biting edge of the seat anxieties, thrilling drama and if you want to be a witness to all of this, you should cancel any prior engagements on July 3rd, as a mouth-watering clash between two footballing giants Argentina and Germany takes place in the FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals in Cape Town. Both sides have been in blistering form, playing eye-catching football, tearing apart defences and now they confront each other in arguably the biggest game of the tournament so far. Huge expectations are pinned on this game not only by supporters but also by all neutrals. It's virtually a World Cup final and let's hope the game lives up to the hype that surrounds it.Argentina<img src="http://www.thesportscampus.com/images/stories/football/international/messi.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />After making heavy weather of their qualification campaign, the Argentines have taken the World by storm. They have mesmerized one and all with their accurate passing, great ball retention, clinical finishing and are looking red hot to go all the way.They cleared the group stage with ease registering convincing wins over Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. The first knock-out clash against Mexico was a stern test but they passed it with relative ease. Mexico started the brighter of the two sides in the initial exchanges, but after the first goal (which should have been ruled out for offside), it was all one way traffic. Gonzalo Higuain added the second after a defensive howler by Mexican defender Ricardo Osario. Tevez made it three after a delightful strike from 25 yards out ensuring their progression to the next phase of the competition.Going forward, the team has looked sublime and it's not surprising when you have the World's best player on your helm. Even though he is yet to find the back of the net, Lionel Messi is the heart and soul of this Argentine side, and has carved out several chances for fellow forwards Tevez and Higuain. Leading goal-scorer Higuain has stepped up well to the international stage and Tevez on back of his performance in the last game against Mexico has joined the party. Javier Mascherano has anchored the midfield ever so well, with Angel di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez joining the front men at every opportunity.To sum things up, manager Diego Maradona has coaxed the best out of his players. His man-management skills are one of the key reasons for Argentina's success so far and he has been their inspiration and motivation. However, concerns still loom large over their back-line as their defence is fallible and is yet to face a stern test. They had some uncomfortable moments against the Mexicans in the initial stages and Martin Demichelis gifted a goal to the South Koreans in the group stage. Another concern would be their focus; they seem to lack that in the final 15-20 minutes against the Mexicans when they took their foot off the pedal. Any such lapses of concentration against the Germans could be very costly.Germany<img src="http://www.thesportscampus.com/images/stories/football/international/miroslav_klose.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The Germans pulverized the English in their knock-out clash, handing them their biggest loss in World Cup finals history. German's youthful side proved too hot for the English as their fluid formation wreaked havoc in the Three Lions defence.Germany under the stewardship of Joachim Loew has been a fearsome proposition. They demolished Australia in their opening game with their unending artillery. Then followed a shock defeat at the hands of Serbians but still they looked much the better side despite playing most of the game with 10 men. They sealed their progression into round 2 with a 1-0 win over Ghana. Concerns were raised whether this young squad will rise to the occasion against the experienced English and they have erased all doubts with a thumping 4-1 win.The German team from back to front has been in great touch. Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich have forged a great partnership at the back. Sami Khedira has been so good that no one seems to notice the absence of Michael Ballack. Bastian Schweinsteiger has been the mortar of the midfield. Mesut Oezil has dazzled, captivating all with his play and Miroslav Klose becomes a different player when it comes to the World Cup finals, now just 3 goals behind Ronaldo's (Brazil) record of maximum goals in the World Cup finals.The match against Argentina would be another amazing experience for this young German side, many of who were part of the side that won the U-21 World Cup. Their confidence would be sky-high and Joachim Loew will have to make sure that this doesn't turn into overconfidence. He has to make sure that this side retains its focus and concentration as they have all the quality in the world to hurt Argentina.</blockquote>

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