World Cup 2010 Predictions: 1/2 Finals

Three South American teams join Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup semifinals.  All four of these teams are extremely aggressive so the possibility of high-scoring affairs is very likely.  One can only hope that this year's World Cup has as much drama as four years ago when both matchups were decided by one goal (one ending in extra time).  Which teams will move one match away from eternal football glory?  Here are my predictions for the 1/2 final matchups with each team's group result in parentheses.

Uruguay (Group A winner) v. Brazil (Group G winner):  Familiarity is the major theme for this semifinal between the country who won the first ever World Cup and the country with the most World Cup titles.  Uruguay and Brazil met twice in South American qualifying with Brazil taking both matches by scores of 2-1 and 4-0.  No matter which way you slice it, Brazil seems to have the decisive edge in this match.  The midfield will be totally dominated by A Seleção, which will lead to few chances up front for Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) and Luis Suarez (Ajax).  Dunga's finesse style will completely stymie Uruguay offensively and on the other end, expect Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) to have scoring chances early and often.  Brazil moves on to their fourth World Cup final in the last five tournaments.  Prediction: Brazil

Argentina (Group B winner) v. Spain (Group H winner): The best player in the world faces off against arguably the best team in the world in this semifinal match.  Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and the Argentines have the daunting task of taking down the mighty Spaniards.  The Albicelestes are on a short list of teams that have the talent take down Spain and will have to play a strong match to do so.  Javier Mascherano (Liverpool) will be a key for Argentina at defensive midfielder.  If he can neutralize Xavi (Barcelona) in the middle of the field then Spain's offense will not run as smoothly.  Much like Messi is for Argentina, Xavi is the straw that stirs the drink for Spain.  Argentina has a greater chance of slowing down Xavi than La Furia Roja does of shutting down Messi.  In what should be a highly entertaining matchup, Argentina will have just enough to get past Spain.  Prediction: Argentina.