Round of 16 Wrap Up

There were some great games, and some not so great games, but 16 teams have become 8 and we are 11 days away from crowning a new world champion. Our predictions weren't on the blogosphere but on paper (and we would lie and change them, otherwise we wouldn't be the Most Honest Footy Blog*) so lets see how we did.

Uruguay beat South Korea during a rain-soaked affair that forced the few supporters to ride it out under the shelter of the stadium. A brilliant goal by Luis Suarez sent the South Americans through the the quarterfinals.

RGaucho- Uruguay, cornezinho-Uruguay, Daave-Uruguay. No surprises here.

Ghana ended the USA hopes of a deep run with a 2-1 victory in extra time. The USA again conceded two sloppy, early goals (first at the start of the game, then at the start of extra time). Ghana displayed their dominance with how effortlessly they pressured the ball and were clearly not as spent at the end of the 120 minutes.

RGaucho-USA, cornezinho-USA, Daave-USA. It would not be worth predicting correctly that Ghana would win, had to go with our boys.

Germany maintained their dominance over England in cup competitions with a 4-1 thrashing. Sure Lampard was denied a goal thanks to the ref seemingly falling for an optical illusion, but there was no question that the young Germans were superior to the listless Three Lions.

RGaucho-Germany, cornezinho-Germany, Daave-Germany. All the cards were in their favor. England squeaked through the group and Germany exposed them.

Argentina handled Mexico with ease in a 3-1 victory. Carlos Tevez's first goal was offside by about two Maradonas (note: a Maradona is a unit of length referring to the width of one Maradona, which varies in time but is now approximately 3 feet.) However, Mexico then handed a goal to Gonzalo Higuain before Carlos Tevez rifled in a shot that required no questioning.

RGaucho-Argentina, cornezinho-Argentina, Daave-Argentina. You had to know we wouldn't back Mexico, especially against such talent. And they knocked them out in this round four years ago.

The Netherlands dispatched the Slovaks with ease with goals from Robben and Sneijder. Slovakie blew some good chances and were able to pull one back with a meaningless penalty with the last kick of the game.

RGaucho- Netherlands, cornezinho-Netherlands, Daave-Netherlands. This was pretty straight forward.

Brasil cruised past Chile with a 3-0 performance. Chile went toe to toe for the first 33 minutes, but Juan's header goal off a corner killed their drive and Luis Fabiano danced past the defense and keeper just five minutes later.

RGaucho-Brasil, cornezinho-Brasil, Daave-Brasil. We all loved Chile's aggressive offense and quirky 3-3-1-3 formation, but getting past the canary yellow juggernaut was never going to happen.

Paraguay edged out Japan on penalties in what was an incredibly boring game. Neither team really deserved to win, and if Yuichi Komano hadn't fired his spot kick off the crossbar then they might still be going.

RGaucho-Japan, cornezinho-Paraguay, Daave-Paraguay. It really was a flip of the coin.

Spain passed their way past Portugal with a one-nil victory thank to David Villa, but La Roja Furia also showed their ability to grind out a win against a team only set on defense. Portugal's captain and diva, Cristiano Ronaldo, spent more time attacking the turf while pouting then attacking the Spanish net.

RGaucho-Spain. cornezinho-Spain, Daave-Spain. Portugal had the quality to win, but were disconnected going forward for the past 7 months.

Totals: RGaucho-6/8, cornezinho-7/8, Daave-7/8. Granted, most of the match-ups were pretty easy to call. Lets see how well we do for the quarterfinals.

*not an actual award, but we definitely would win it.