After watching nearly all of the games in South Africa thus far, I'm having a hard time believing that the WC Semi-Finals are already upon us. But I shouldn't be, this is how the WC always is; short, sweet and full of surprises. This year is no exception with Uruguay facing the Netherlands in tomorrows Semi-Final in Cape Town. It will be the first semi for Uruguay since 1970, having won the whole thing way back in 1950, and 1930. The Dutch return for the first time since 1998, having never won the whole thing, making them perhaps the best footballing nation never to win the Cup.
But enough about boring history, as no current player had anything to do with the previous tournaments, except possibly for Dutch defender Andre Ooijer, aka father time. It comes as a surprise to many that both squads have made it this far, with Uruguay having to face Costa Rica in a playoff just to reach the tournament and the Dutch beating the legendary Brazilians in their previous match. Yet neither side will be content with their success, being so close to the finals. Just because Uruguay are lucky to be here, doesn't mean they'll go down without a fight, we all know they'll use all kinds of crazy, desperate, and intelligent ways to advance.
Speaking of which, neither team will be at full strength tomorrow, due to suspensions and injuries. The Dutch will miss central midfielder Nigel de Jong and right back Gregory van der Wiel to yellow card suspensions, but the good news is that central defender Joris Mathijsen will likely return from his knee injury to replace the aforementioned Ooijer. While the absences of de Jong and Van der Wiel will be tough to replace, the situation looks much more grim for Uruguay.
First, the obvious; star striker Luis Suarez will miss out due to his handball that saved Uruguay and helped them reach the match in the first place. Also suspended is defender Jorge Fucile, while Nicolas Lodeiro is out with a broken foot. However, perhaps the biggest worry of all for Uruguay is captain and defender Diego Lugano, who has been one of the tournaments most outstanding players to this point. The Fenerbahce man went out early in the Ghana match with a knee strain, and will be a game time decision. The problem is that even if Lugano is fit enough to try and play, any slight problem with his knee at a crucial moment will be all it takes for the likes of Arjen Robben or Wesley Sneijder to take advantage and put one in the back of the net. While it will not be portrayed as such, the untimely injury to Lugano is the key to this match, and will no doubt aide in the flying dutch attack.
While the Dutch attack led by Sneijder has been strong, the play of Dutch keeper Maartin Stekelenburg has been stellar as well, particularly in his last two matches. In a short tournament such as the WC, the in-form players are usually enough to take their team though, particularly if the squad is the more talented one. Thus, I see no reason as to why the Netherlands will fall to Uruguay in Cape Town. They have two players on top of their game, and an embarrassment of attacking riches with which to break down the Uruguay defense, who have been terrific thus far. While the absence of the tough tackling de Jong will really hurt the Dutch midfield, the absences of Suarez and possibly Lugano will be far too much for Uruguay and their star Diego Forlan to overcome. The Uruguayans should be applauded for a terrific tournament thus far, but it won't be enough, as I expect the Dutch to tough out a 2-nil win, and march on their way to Johannesburg for the final on the 11th.
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