Germany v Argentina

Well, I was right about the Dutch pulling an upset. It was, however, a very cynical match that saw two incredibly talented teams resort to the dark arts of foul play and dramatic acting. The Dutch scored two cheap goals to rally from behind, to which the Brazilians reacted like spoiled children who had their favorite toy taken away from them. While the Dunga era will certainly come to a quick end in order to make way for "Project National Glory 2014," the question remains how far this Dutch team can go in this year's competition. They will be clear favorites against either Ghana or Uruguay and I think that they will indeed seize the moment to reach the third World Cup final in their history. Still, we have no idea how good they really are other that their already poor defense has been further weakened through Mathijsen's injury and that they're loaded upfront even with van der Vaart on the bench.

Germany v Argentina


This rematch of a 2006 quarterfinal may be unique in that both teams are seeking revenge. The Argentines because they feel that they should have never lost to a clearly inferior German team, and the Germans because they blame the Albiceleste for losing one of their most important players, Torsten Frings, for the semifinal against Italy (legend has it that Germany would haver never ever lost that game had Frings been allowed to harass Pirlo in Dortmund).



The convincing win against England instilled a ton of confidence into the German team. They clearly believe that they can beat Argentina again (this was particularly obvious in Schweinsteiger and Lahm's overstated trash talking). Argentina, on the other hand, are --naturally, one might say--- absolutely convinced that they are the better team.

Indeed, the speed of the German passing game may cause great difficulties for Argentina, particularly with the unreliable Demichelis in the back (and the lack of a second world class defensive midfielder). Yet, pretty much the same can of course be said with regard to the German central defense (although Mertesacker looked slightly more assured against England) and the enormous firepower of Messi, Higuain, and Tevez.

I terms of overall experience and individual class Argentina clearly has the advantage. On the other hand, Germany may benefit from the meticulous match preparation coach and devoted nose picker Jogi Löw (and chief scout Urs Siegenthaler) have rightly become known for. This is not to say that Maradona's approach of coaching by the sheer force of personality is necessarily at a disadvantage, though. After all, at tournaments like the World Cup motivational skills are crucial (cf. Beckenbauer, Franz [1990]; Klinsmann, Jürgen [2006]).

Prediction: Germany to win rather comfortably.

Spain v Paraguay
Prediction: Spain to win in dominating fashion. Torres to score (at least) a brace.