The World Cup's knockout phase has provided plenty of drama, excitement, goals & classic footballing moments & now we are in the final phase of the tournament with only 3 crucial matches plus the third place playoff left to consider.Having started with correctly predicting only 12 of the 16 teams which qualified for the knockout stage, I managed to predict 7 of the 8 winners & all 4 of the quarter final winners correctly.
A special mention at this stage of the tournament must go to the black stars of Ghana. They preserved the pride of African football with their entertaining displays & in the process proved me wrong in the first knockout phase & were then desperately unlucky not to qualify for the semi finals.
Many of my "non football" friends have commented on Uruguay's Suarez & his handball which earned him a red card but ultimately resulted in the heartbreaking elimination of Ghana. What Suarez did was simple: a heroic sacrifice for his country & an awful act in the eyes of his opponents & many fans. It must however not be judged as a cynical act as he did it as a mixture of reflex reaction, instinct & desperation.
Now to my prediction for the semi finals:
Uruguay vs Netherlands: Whilst my dream final is the repeat of the 1974 final between Germany & Holland, if Suarez was not suspended & the fitness of Uruguay's influential Captain Diego Lugano (familiar to the die hard Socceroos fans) was not in question, I would have tipped Uruguay to potentially beat Netherlands. However, like Argentina & Brazil in the last round, Uruguay have had reasonably easy run thus far & are yet to prove themselves against a world class opponent. On the other hand, holland have won all their games so far & have not lost for more than 24 internationals. All of these factors, & taking into account the magical display of Arjen Robben against Brazil, I tip Holland to narrowly beat Uruguay & make it to their third World Cup final.
