Everyone knows that predictions are a fools game, but we also know that
there is nothing else to do when there isn’t football on that awful day after
the group stages. So, just for fun, here is the way I see it going.
Second round
Brazil v Chile
Arguably the tie of the round and
as the hosts enter the ‘must win’ territory of the knock0out phase the pressure
will grow by the minute. Chile’s best chance is to hold off the early surge
from Neymar and others, and try and keep the ball like they did so well in the group
stage. If they can get to 60 minutes at 0-0 then the pressure might force
Brazil into something silly. I don’t think they will be able to, but I don’t
expect Brazil to win by any more than 1 goal.
Columbia v Uruguay
Without the only player who looked like a threat in front of goal
(albeit against a schoolboy English defence) the Uruguayans will almost
certainly not be strong enough for the all-conquering Columbians. The speed
with which they move both the ball and themselves has already left their group
opponents mesmerised, and I expect the same here. Comfortable win for the
Columbians.
Netherlands v Mexico
Netherlands haven’t really had a tough match yet, other than for about
30 minutes combined they cruised through the group stage. Mexico have already
parked the bus effectively against Brazil, and their best chance in this match
will be doing the same again. Whether they can resist the temptation to go
forward if the Dutch sit deep, inviting the counter, will be interesting to
see. Expect the Netherlands to win, but it might not be done in 90 minutes.
Costa Rica v Greece
This could be an interesting game of style over substance, with the
Greeks packing the midfield and their well-drilled defence, while the Costa
Ricans looked good going forward against poor group opposition without being
tested really at the back. This could end up being played mostly in the middle
third of the pitch, and watch how soon the Greeks start playing for penalties.
It’ll probably come down to a moment of brilliance or an error, and both
circumstances favour the Costa Ricans.
France v Nigeria
France made enough changes in their last group game to come back fresh
for this, and will the Nigerians have already put in their best performance in
the loss to Argentina. I expect them to cause the French some problems, and if
they score the first goal they might just cause a big upset. Having said that
if France play like they did in the first two games, especially attack like
they did against Switzerland it could be a rugby score. France to win, but not
without difficulties.
Germany v Algeria
While Algeria might just be happy to be here I fancy them to cause the
Germans some real problems, especially on the counter attack. Having said that
Germany should have enough to see them off, don’t be surprised though if it’s
very tight for the first 70 minutes.
Argentina v Switzerland
Argentina will win this without too many problems. Switzerland will be organised
at the back but that won’t stop Messi if he brings anything like his top game. I
don’t think the Swiss showed enough against the best team in their group to
give an indication that they might even run Argentina close, so I expect this
to be fairly comfortable.
Belgium v USA
I’ll start with an old cliché; either of these teams could win this
game. The USA managed to get through despite losing to Germany and the Belgians
never really got out of third gear in their group, despite winning all three
games. If they can move into top gear then they’ll have enough to beat the USA,
but they haven’t shown any sign of doing that yet, and a well-drilled USA side
should have enough to reach the last 8.
I’ll update the predictions after the next round, but here is the way I
see it going, at this stage.
Quarter finals
Brazil v Columbia
France v Germany
Netherlands v Costa Rica
Argentina v USA
Semi finals
Columbia v Germany
Netherlands v Argentina
Final
Columbia v Argentina
Winners: COLUMBIA
