Round of 16 Predictions

Uruguay – South Korea

Korea are the type of team that give teams trouble because of their athleticism and ability to run all day, but can quickly be exposed by teams that have superior skill as seen by their match against Argentina.

Uruguay was very impressive in the group stage and should have too much firepower for the Koreans, who advanced out of one of the weaker groups. Look for Forlan and Suarez to give Korea nightmares.

Uruguay 2 – 0

USA – Ghana

Ghana is the type of team that the USA traditionally struggle against since they are similar in their strengths – power, speed and athleticism. If Michael Essien was healthy in this match, he would swing the pendulum towards the Ghanaians, but right now Ghana look relatively uninspiring going forwards.

Ghana is goal shy right now with both of their goals coming from penalty kicks and their best bet may be to keep the game scoreless. USA seems to have a flair for the dramatic and I’m going to go with them to continue that streak.

USA 1 – 0 (ot)

England – Germany

Hardly the match that the English would have hoped for as they face their age-old rivals, yet both teams failed to find their top form during the group stage. This is a match that could prove to be entirely unpredictable as both team have been hit and miss so far in the tournament.

I like the English to finally find their feet and Wayne Rooney to break his goal scoring drought. The English have a soft center at the back, which could be exposed by the Germans, but I just don’t see Klose doing the trick. Look for this to be exposed by teams later down the road though.

England 2 – 1

Argentina – Mexico

A rematch of their Round of 16 encounter from four years ago, the Mexicans will be eager for revenge, but run up against an in-form Argentina. Greece may provide a blueprint for how to stifle the Argentines, but I don’t think Mexico has the players or desire to play that type of soccer.

Argentina still has some things to sort out at the back and I am not sure whether they will be able to grind out the 1-0 victory they will need to find at some point during this tournament. However, you must say that the Argentines have been playing some very nice free flowing soccer so far. When you have Messi in your side, anything is possible.

I say history repeats itself, down to the T.

Argentina 2 – 1 (ot)


Holland – Slovakia

The impressive Slovaks will be ecstatic to have reached this stage in the competition, especially after a disappointing first two games. Holland has yet to fully impress, even though they have three victories, but maybe this is a good sign for them. Traditionally they hit their stride during the group stage and then falter at the end.

Marek Hamsek has been an inspiration for Slovakia and they have some good role players in the form of Vittek, Stoch and Weiss. Skrtel has kept them solid at the back, but I just don’t see them breaking down the Dutch defense. With Robben returning, I expect this to be a one-sided affair as I think Slovakia’s win was down to poor Italian defending.

Yet, this could be exactly the type of trap game that gets the Dutch, as Russia was pretty unknown as an international commodity in Euro2008. Still, I like the Dutch to cruise home.

Holland 3-0

Brazil – Chile

What a match this will be. Chile will struggle to replace their suspended players, but Alexis Sanchez has had a breakout tournament at this level and reminds me of a young Ronaldo on the wings. Chile is exactly the type of team that could give Brazil struggles because of their all-out attacking approach, yet they lack a true center forward with Humberto Suazo hurt. They have really impressed me so far this tournament, from their flashy play to their excellent fans.

Brazil has been in cruise control in the group stages, so it will be interesting to see if they can turn it on. I expect this game to be similar to when these two sides met in World Cup 1998, a very open affair. Look for Fabiano to grab a brace and Maicon to grab another.

Brazil 3-1

Japan – Paraguay

Japan have been arguably the biggest surprise team in the Round of 16 as most, including myself, would have predicted that they finished bottom of their group. Their free kick prowess was certainly on display against Denmark and it is clear that their trigger man will be Honda.

I’m not very enthusiastic about the way that Paraguay played in the group stage and don’t see them having the ability to make a deep run in this tournament as the other 4 South American sides. I’m going to go with the upset here, with the Japanese grabbing an early goal and then holding on.

Japan 1-0

Portugal – Spain

The battle of the Iberian Peninsula is one that will not excite the Spanish, but they will surely be happy to avoid the Brazilians at this stage. I just don’t get the feeling that the Spanish side has completely gelled at this stage and Portugal might just be the side to dump them out.

We haven’t really seen that much from Portugal either however. They played a stale 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast in a match that neither dared to lose, trounced North Korea 7-0, and then played to another stale 0-0 draw with Brazil where again both were happy with the draw. It’s not the greatest sample size to judge the Portuguese from, but for some reason I like them here to do the job and knock out the Spanish. CR9 has yet to really shine this tournament and look for him to score the winner.....in penalty kicks!

Portugal 2 -1 (pk)