World Cup Thoughts

I'm glad Brazil got eliminated. My whole life, I've hated really good teams. I despised the Bulls, hate the Yankees, can't stand the Patriots. Brazil kind of feels the same way to me. Sure, I can respect Jordan, Jeter, Brady, and Kaka, but I sure as hell don't want them hoisting a trophy. I think no matter what happens from here on out in the World Cup, I'll be pleased.

Uruguay: Wow. Improbable? Sure. Luck? A little bit. However, Uruguay has seemed composed the entire tournament. Diego Forlan is resurrecting the storied history of soccer in this South American nation, and he's probably the player that will benefit most from his performance in South Africa. He'll land a high price transfer to an EPL squad most likely. Anywho, I really like their chances against Netherlands.

Netherlands: Congratulations on beating Brazil. Wesley Sneijder has played admirably. Dirk Kuyt is a stabilizing force in the midfield. They are going to need a spark to get past Uruguay, but don't count the Dutch out. I can easily see them turning up the heat in the semifinals.

Germany: A surprising offensive juggernaut, but they have the players in place who know how to finish. Led by Klose and Podolski, the Germans have to be the favorites from here on out. Manuel Neuer has also been spectacular in net.

Spain: Riding David Villa's heroics for most of the tournament has propelled the Spaniards into the semifinals. Does their run end here? Perhaps. Iker Casillas has come up big time and time again to keep opponents off of the scoreboard, but can he, Puyol, Pique and the rest of the Spanish defense contain the bloodthirsty German forwards? I'm hoping they can. If Fernando Torres and Andres Iniesta can give Villa some support up top, look for Spain to push through to the finals.

Predictions:

Netherlands 2, Uruguay 1

Spain 3, Germany 2

We'll see how my predictions hold up after this week's matches.