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Now that group play is over it is now time for the Round of 16.
Uruguay/South Korea----I'm going with Uruguay. They appeared to have played strong. Still can't figure out why they had a 0-0 draw with France. South Korea played well in group play, but I don't think they have the talent to stop Uruguay.
USA/Ghana---A rematch from the last World Cup when Ghana eliminated USA in group play. No team in this years tournament has scored even close to as many late game goals as the USA. This will be a good match as both squads can really pressure the oppositions defense. USA will win in a close and exciting match.
Germany/England---This match will draw a lot of attention. I am going with England. England appears to be the more aggressive of the two offensively. You can't count out the awesome German defense. I just don't see them keeping England from scoring. The loss to Serbia (last place in the group) by Germany is troubling.
Argentina/Mexico---Argentina will win for 2 reasons; 1) Argentina finished undefeated in group play, 2) Mexico had a 1-1 draw with South Africa. If Mexico was to win it would be a major upset. Argentina has one of the strongest bench rosters in the tournament.
Netherlands/Slovakia---Netherlands will win easily. Undefeated in group play and just too strong for Slovakia.
Brazil/Chile---Brazil should win this one. If they don't it wasn't because Chile was better. Brazil didn't dominate North Korea, which they should have, and their play against Portugal was lackluster. Portugal was lackluster also.
Paraguay/Japan---Most people will probably say Paraguay will advance. I don't think so. Japan played strong in group play. They lost to group winner Netherlands 1-0. Paraguay should have been able to dominate their group. Italy was one of the favorites, as was France, to win this tournament. Both proved to be the weakest teams in their respective groups. With a weak Italian team Paraguay should have had a better record than 1 win and 2 draws. Japan pressures defenders well and will wear down Paraguay's defense. My pick is Japan in an upset.
Spain/Portugal---Both teams have not looked as good as expected. Spain had a surprising loss to Switzerland and Portugal had a surprising 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast. My pick is Portugal. I could be a coward and call this a toss up but I won't. Both advanced, as expected, to this round; but my gut says to go with Portugal.
My thoughts on the USA team:
They have an excellent shot at advancing to the semifinals. Finishing first in their group (first time since 1930) have put them in the weakest of the four brackets. Beating Ghana will put them in the Quarterfinals against the winner of the Uruguay/South Korea match. Seeing how this USA team plays I feel they could beat both of those teams. The Semifinals would see them playing against Brazil or Netherlands. To beat either of those teams would be a monumental step. As it appears on paper USA has a very good chance of finishing no lower than 4th. (There is a third place match between the losers of the 2 semifinal matches.)
