Wow! That was one hell of a game. Let's review the game, shall we?

Van Bromckhorst Goal

Pure class.  Left foot cracker that got the stadium on their feet and forced Uruguay to open up.

Diego Forlan Goal

Classic Diego Forlan.  I've always said it, give Forlan an inch of space and he will take you to the cleaners.  One of the best players in the entire tournament in my opinion.

Wesley Sneijder Goal

Sneijder sneaks up on David Villa and is now a contender for the Golden Boot.  Controversial goal, but no protest from Uruguay. Clear goal for me. van Persie did well to keep his foot off it.

Arjen Robben Header

The most predictable player on the planet scores a sweet goal with his head and not his left foot.  Great goal to seal the win for the Oranje. Almost.

Maxi Pereira Extra time Goal

Le Grove, one of my favorite bloggers, tweeted something to the effect of "the Netherlands defend a lead like Arsenal."  If you follow Arsenal you know that they rarely keep a clean sheet and almost always give away a late goal.  It's classic complacency.  Uruguay were clever enough to catch the Dutch fast asleep on a set piece that was played short to Pereira who neatly curls it past Stekelenburg to give Uruguay last minute hope.

Final score: 3-2. Not too far off in my prediction.

Awesome, awesome game.  Results should be of no surprise to anyone.  Tomorrow Spain faces Germany and as predicted in this morning's post, Germany will edge out Spain by 3 goals to 2.

Thanks for reading and keep supporting Live Breathe Futbol.  There are 3 games left in the World Cup. I am sad. Maybe we'll have our own World Cup of sorts over here to keep the excitement going. Follow us on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol 

After a few days off, the World Cup returns tomorrow with a ferocity that no other sporting event can rival.  Over the weekend we saw Germany systematically annihilate Argentina by 4 goals to none and Spain get lucky against Paraguay.  Neither of those results should have been surprising to anyone, unless you are a Messi-faithful, in which case you failed to see the problems in the Argentine squad that were not exposed earlier because they hadn't faced a side as organized and disciplined as the Germans.  Without further adu here are my predictions for the semi final showdowns.

Netherlands v Uruguay

Prediction: Netherlands 3-1 Uruguay

Why:  The Netherlands have been my pick to win the entire tournament and everyone did not believe me.  A few posts back I mentioned my friend saying that history did not favor them, but I think that issue no longer applies and here's why.  They have earned their stripes: they defeated Brazil fair and square.  The Brazilians have shown the most quality as a squad so far in my opinion and the Netherlands found a way to come back from an early deficit to beat them.  They succeeded in tiring out the Brazilians (which was a very intelligent tactical move by van Marwijk) and made them lose their shape and composure towards the end of the game.  That was fun to watch.

As far as Uruguay is concerned, much responsibility will be placed on Diego Forlan's shoulders since Suarez's "Hand of God" in the QF against Ghana sees him performing a Hudini disappearing act in the Semi's.  Suarez has 3 of the 8 goals scored by Uruguay in the entire tournament. That's one hell of a loss for them.  The Dutch on the other hand don't have a "go-to" striker and share the responsibility pretty evenly.  This goes to show a more composed approach to the game that has been successful so far with the Oranje winning every single game they have played so far.  However, Heitinga will have to keep tabs on Forlan the entire game and Van Bommel will be key in the middle of the park.

Spain v Germany

Prediction:  Germany 3-2 Spain

Why: This will be a test of tactics and discipline.  Whoever can be the most composed and the most disciplined will win this game.  I presume this will be the Germans because they have been very consistent in their sonning of teams in this World Cup.  Spain has also been very impressive, but too much goal-scoring responsibility has been placed on David Villa's shoulders.  I believe that Germany will have no problems keeping tabs on the striker.  Germany has managed to amass 13 goals in 5 matches, averaging out to 2.6 goals a game.  Spain has only scored 6 goals so far with David Villa being responsible for 5 and Iniesta for the other one.  Hardly the showing of a complete squad.  If you have watched Spain play, only the goal against Portugal was a result of great one-two passing between Iniesta, Xavi and finally Villa.  The others have been moments of sheer brilliance from Villa.  At this stage in the World Cup, and in this era of futbol, great teams tend to be more successful than individual players (if you get me).  David Villa can not single-handedly beat Germany. Thus, I'm touting the Germans to win this one.  Keep your eye out for the Kloser to shut the door on Spain's hopes for their first World Cup.

So it looks like we will be witnessing an all European final once again. I'll predict the final once I see the Semi's, but I'm still sticking with the Netherlands to go all the way even though Germany is very teasing.

What are your predictions? I presume that at this stage in the tournament it is almost impossible to be wrong if you've been keeping up with the tournament.

Enjoy the games tomorrow and the next day.  Thanks for reading and please follow us on twitter @LiveBrtheFutbol.

What's up guys? We've had a two day break from the World Cup as the teams remaining in the tournament need to rest up before the Quarter Finals that resume tomorrow morning.  I've had some time to review matches, scores and other factors that may affect the games tomorrow and Saturday so here are my predictions.

Ghana v Uruguay

Prediction: Ghana 2-1 Uruguay

Why: Ghana is the last African team left in the tournament, so of course they are going to win. Just kidding. Seriously, Uruguay has performed very well this tournament, but their defense is yet to be tested in my opinion.  In order for Ghana to win they must shut down Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez.  How will they do this? Forlan has to be closed down quickly and not permitted too much space; we saw what he did to S. Africa when they left him a yard of space.  As for Luis Suarez they have to prevent him from getting in behind defenders because he is very good at doing so.

Netherlands v Brazil

Prediction: Brazil 2-2 Netherlands. Netherlands advance on penalties

Why: They are both very quality sides with immense talent.  M. Bastos is the left back and he fancies going forward so I think the Oranje will be able to catch Brazil on a counter attack spearheaded by Arjen Robben.  It won't happen twice, though.  I presume the Netherlands' 2nd goal will come from Dirk Kuyt.  Fabiano gets one and Kaka gets the other.

I'm still contemplating long and hard about the Argentina v Germany game, but I think Germany will edge out Messi and co.  Check back for more on that.

Spain v Paraguay

Prediction: Spain 4-1 Paraguay

Why: Nobody has figured out how to stop David Villa. 

What are your predictions??

I'm once again posting from my mobile phone while on the subway to work. Anyhow, I'd like to apologize in advance to anyone who is looking for completely unbiased World Cup commentary because you won't get that with this post. I'm Nigerian and I had a very big emotional connection to today's match. Carrying on.

Uruguay v Mexico

Not much to say here, because, barring a South African victory against the tumultuous French, both Uruguay and Mexico would advance. Despite the Bafana Bafana victory, Mexico advanced to the knockout round with a better goal difference. Look for Uruguay to be the sleeper team in the next rounds.

South Africa v France

I absolutely love how the Bafana Bafana enter the stadium game after game rejoicing and singing. It shows unity and a togetherness that has been absent in the French camp- and it showed in this game.

The Bafana Bafana got on the score sheet first with a beautiful header from Bongani Khumalo. Had the circumstances been different, this would've been considered by most to be a shock lead. However, Les Bleus have seemed more interested in drama than actually playing futbol in recent times. As if being 1-0 down isnt enough of a kick in the behind, the French find themselves down 2-0 after Mphela scores a scrappy goal. Determined to qualify and riding on the sound of the vuvuzelas blown by their home fans, the Bafana Bafana keep their fingers on the trigger but are unlucky as they find the post a few times and Tshabalala fails to elevate the home crowd with his left foot once again. Les Bleus manage to crush the S. African fairytale when Ribery finds Malouda in the box on a well orcestrated attack that comes far far too late.

Well done by the Bafana Bafana, its truly sad to see such a well spirited team go, or rather, stay home. and I bet Les Bleus are feeling pretty blue right now. No sympathy there from me.

Argentina v Greece

Needing only to tie to secure their spot atop Group B the Argentinians had no intention of settling for a tie. At least Messi did not. Although Messi has perhaps the most shots on goal in this tournament, he is yet to find the back of the net. However, I don't see this as an issue because I see him as more of a playmaker for Argentina than the prolific goalscorer he has become at Barcelona. He draws defenders, makes them look silly before dishing off a pass to a teammate. The game ends two nil and Greece returns home.

Nigeria v South Korea

In order for the Super Eagles to advance to the knockout stages they needed a victory against South Korea and some help from Messi and co. The game begins and 12 mintes into the game Odiah muscles his way past two Korean defenders and fires a beautiful cross into the box and poor defending gives Kalu Uche the positioning he needs to find the net. 1-0 to the Super Eagles. I'm elated, but a bit worried because Nigeria has a terrible habit of going up by a goal only to lose the game. The referee seemed to have a penchant for awarding free kicks at the slightest touch and the Koreans used this to exploit Nigeria's weakness scoring both goals from set plays. Game is at 2-1 and Nigeria, once again, finds themselves playing catch up. Kanu goes off and finally the fast-as-hell striker Obafemi Martins comes on. Obasi switches to the left and becomes more dangerous as he constantly attacks the South Korean box. He finds his way through, gives Yakubu the easiest pass he will ever receive and somehow, Yakubu misses from half a yard from goal. There is no excuse for a fail like this other than Yakubu clearly not being focused. Should be 2-2. Odiah draws a penalty and the penalty master Yakubu redeems himself by scoring and avoids the wrath of the Nigerian people being currently felt by Sani Kaita who watched from the stands. 2-2. The Nigerians continue to press and almost find victory when Obasi plays a beautiful ball through to Martins who goes for a cheeky chip, but puts it wide of goal.

Obinna fancies two long range efforts that are very close, but only cigars see you through the next round.

Personal commentary:

Here is where I, as a Nigerian, let out my feelings about the Super Eagles. Reader discretion is advised.***

1. Decision making. It is horrible. Nigeria's woes are beyond the field of play and the mistakes made on it. NFA needs to be overhauled and we need a Nigerian coach. Yes I said it. Lagerback couldnt qualify Sweden for the World Cup so how in the hell is he going to help Nigeria do well in South Africa? Lagerback is no Westerhoff and seems very timid and quite uninterested in Nigeria's success in the World Cup. Westerhoff still lives in Nigeria for crying out loud- thats because he truly cares about the Nigerian people and our way of life. The closest you'll get to that is a Nigerian coach.

2. Team selection: where is Ikechukwu Uche? why is he not on the squad? Why does one of the fastest players in futbol start the game on the bench? Sure Martins didn't do so hot during this past season, but anybody with his speed is always going to be a threat. And why didn't Odemwingie play this match at all?

3. Defensive errors: This issue is what has plagued all of the African sides in the World Cup so far. They are generally stronger and bigger than their asian, european and south american counterparts, but they forget simple defensive tactics like closing down strikers around the box. Too many goals have been scored by allowing the strikers too much space.

4. Fitness: These guys all look terribly out of shape. Maybe it is because most of them are in their late 30s claiming to be in their mid 20s, but come on, there's no reason for you all to be getting cramps so often.

5. Midfield: Nigeria thoroughly missed Mikel Obi in South Africa. Our midfield lacked creativity and strength. Etuhu was way too jumpy today and committed very stupid fouls.

6. Finishing: see Martins and Yakubu. Also, see the first game against Argentina. Absolutely no attack whatsoever and we were saved from being routed only by Victor Enyeama.

7. Composure: Save for the latter stages in today's game, Nigeria was not composed at all. In their second game against Greece, they fell apart once Sani Kaita was sent off. Playing down a man is not the worst thing that can happen as long as you compose your team and play together. Nigeria successfully accumulated a single point in 3 matches. Dismal. Your success should never hinge on another's. There was no need for us to find ourselves needing an Argentina victory in order to qualify with THREE points! Rubbish.

I have a ton more to say, but I will stop here. Nigeria: lets fix these simple issues and we will once again become the African powerhouse we were in the 90s.

Thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow with another post. the US takes on Algeria and England take on Slovenia in a must win for both English-speaking cousins. Should be exciting. Follow us on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol

Wow. You are probably as shocked as I am at the result of the Spain v. Switzerland game that ended just over an hour ago. The Spaniards came out well organized with a great deal of attacking flair from David Villa and a great chance from Gerard Pique. The Spaniards, made up of 7 FC Barcelona first team members played a very similar passing and attacking style similar to the one played by the Catalan Giants, but that proved to be very ineffective against a well organized Swiss defense.  The Spaniards were forced to take long range shots and it seemed, from the many shots that went far wide and over the bar, that they still aren't used to "Jabulani".  Xabi Alonso came the closest with a stinger of a shot that hit the crossbar.

The Swiss' patience paid off in the 52nd minute when the African-born Gelson Fernandes scored to put them in front after Iker Casillas came out to stop the attack.  I'm pleased with the result because it makes the games a bit more interesting.  The Spaniards, on paper, have quite possibly the best team in the world and most people picked them to win the entire tournament.  However, history tells us that no team has lost their first game and gone on to win the World Cup. We'll see what happens. As ESPN's World Cup tagline goes, One Game Changes Everything.

Now: South Africa v Uruguay. I'm looking forward to a great game. I really hope the Bafana Bafana can squeeze out a victory in this one, but I'm also expecting a great showing from Diego Forlan. Enjoy.