World Cup 2010 Predictions: 1/4 Finals

It's down to eight.  The pressure is really on the remaining teams now to become heroes for their country and advance on to the semifinals.  The 1/4 finals in the last World Cup were heart-pounding as two matches were decided in penalty kicks.  Will this year's final eight matchups be as exciting? Only time will tell.  Here are my predictions for the 1/4 finals with each team's group result in parentheses.

 Uruguay (Group A winner) v. England (Group C winner): England finds themselves in a familiar position in the 1/4 finals of a World Cup. They were there in 2002 and 2006 with both matches ended in gut-wrenching defeats.  Coach Fabio Capello hopes 2010 will be a different story but his squad will have their hands full with Uruguay.  England can really take advantage of Uruguay if they can get contributions out of their midfield from Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Frank Lampard (Chelsea).  Uruguay's defense is solid but not spectacular and their midfield does lack a true playmaker.  That being said, England's back four is a total patch job with the losses of Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) and Wayne Bridge.  If Uruguay can control the tempo in the midfield, Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) and Luis Suarez (Ajax) should see some good chances up front.  England has been tortured with heartbreaking losses in penalty kicks time-and-time again.  This one will be slighty easier as they get upset in extra time.  Prediction: Uruguay

 Netherlands (Group E winner) v. Brazil (Group G winner): Not many matches in the 2010 World Cup will field more individual talent than Netherlands v. Brazil.  The midfield battles between Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), and Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) of the Oranje and Kaka (Real Madrid), Robinho (Manchester City), and Felipe Melo (Juventus) of Brazil will be worth the price of admission alone.  While the focus of this match will be the offensive firepower, the match will be decided by the play of each team's defense.  That is where A Seleção will have an advantage.  Lucio (Inter Milan) and Juan (Roma) form a strong nucleus in the middle while Maicon (Inter Milan) is arguably the best left back in the world.  The Dutch just don't have the defense that can hold down Brazil for 90 minutes.  Gio van Bronckhurst (Feyenoord) is well past his prime and Joris Mathijsen (HSV) is a real liability at center back.  Defense will be the Achilles heel for the Netherlands yet again.  Prediction: Brazil

 Argentina (Group B winner) v. Germany (Group D winner): In a rematch of one of the best matches from the 2006 World Cup, perennial powers Argentina and Germany square off.  Four years ago, in front of their home crowd, Germany tied their contest with Argentina in the 81st minute and eventually won in penalty kicks.  This year's match will have similar faces from the one in 2006 and possibly an equal performance from both teams.  As fast as Germany is, Argentina will be the aggressor in this matchup so the Germany back line will need to be on their toes.  Expect young midfielder Sami Khedira (Stuttgart) to have the responsibility of following Lionel Messi (Barcelona) the entire match.  Argentina and Germany are evenly matched  for the most part so don't be surprised if this match takes extra time or penalty kicks once again.  Unfortunately for Germany, they don't have a veteran goalie and a home country behind them this time around.  Maradona's bunch will get revenge and move on to the semifinals in a thriller.  Prediction: Argentina

 Italy (Group F winner) v. Spain (Group H winner): Italy and Spain will meet in the quarterfinals for the second straight international tournament.  Spain took the match in Euro 2008 in penalty kicks in a hard-fought defensive battle that saw Italy play for overtime.  As good as Italy is defensively, that strategy won't work this time around.  Spain is even better on offense now plus they have seen this strategy before so it won't be as effective for the Azzurri.  Also, Italy's defense is not as firm as it was two years ago as age has started to catch up with Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) and Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan).  It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Spain may have a 60-40 advantage in time of possession in this match.  Xavi (Barcelona) and Iniesta (Barcelona) will wreak havoc in the midfield, which will lead to open opportunities for David Villa (Barcelona) and Fernando Torres (Spain).  La Furia Roja won't be tested this time around.  The defending champs quest for a repeat title dies in the 1/4 finals.  Prediction: Spain