And then there were four. Many came and most failed but a few of the world's best footballing nations have shown what it takes to make it to the World Cup semi finals.
Tuesday 8th July 21:00GMT...
Brazil 2-0 Germany...
The host nation are within touching distance of creating a tear teasing, historic event by edging that ever bit closer to the World Cup final. A win would see them head into Sundays final as heavily backed favourites, not because they are Brazilliant at football but because they have a twelfth man in the form of a country behind them. Last Friday they studded me as an on looker by beating the best performing team in the competition and this stated that they won't back down to nobody. Even though they have lost young Neymar to a deadly injury, I still think they have enough passion and skill to defeat anyone; David Luis is a fine example after scoring his thumping thirty yard free kick then proceeding to errupt in emotion after.
Someting tells me that Germany just aren't going to have a pleasant ride in this fixture and are going home empty handed. In the game previous they put up a solid, stereotypically disciplined performance but when it came to attacking there was no finesse at all. Hummels and Neuer may be the Deutschland's only saviours here but it's in the goals department where they are really going to struggle. Muller vs. Luis will be extremely thrilling but overall I think the Brazillians will out samba the boys from Europe.
Wednesday 9th July 21:00GMT...
Argentina 1-1 Holland (Holl Win ET)...
Manchester United fans will expectedly be counting their chickens before they hatch after this World Cup. It seems to me that after off loading poor Mr.Moyes they've dug their way to find a genius gem. Luis Van Gaal has brought his overlooked Flying Dutchmen to the semi finals of a World Cup after some degree level footballing tactics have been showcased; Costa Rica are the most recent of victims after his brave move to bring on Newcastle keeper Tim Krul for the penalty shoot out. But was it Krul's unclassy craftiness that won the game or purely the touch of a tactical god?. Say what you like but there is no denying that Holland have been outstanding and put on a audacious deal of class consistently through the tournament. Yes, Robben is arguably a cheat but he shouldn't overshadow the brilliance of an aging Sneijder or punish the skill of a high flying Robin Van Persie.
With the Argies, again as I said previous, they haven't been all what was expected of them. There is enough pressure on little Lionel Messi to make the poor guys legs collapse and with nothing going for him or towards him from the other ten players around him, they're struggling. The smallest glimmer of a chance can only come from Madrid's Di Maria but even his fitness is quietly low; they have come this far with what has been dubbed by many as "the easy route" but the hard hitting Holland boys won't be so light on them. A question that beckons on this spicy square up is whether or not Higuain will be able to follow up from his last game goal and whether the blue and white back men will cope with Hollands pacey attack. Looking back on past scores from these two leads me to a draw but in extra time the legs and talent from the Dutch bench can carry them to a classic final.
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