What: Netherlands vs. Brazil
When: Friday, July 2, 10 am ET
Where: Port Elizabeth Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth
Easily one of the most appealing matches of the World Cup. This game has the potential to be an exciting offensive display, reminiscent of Brazil’s 3-2 win over the Dutch which lit up Dallas during the quarterfinals of the 1994 US World Cup.
“We expect it to be very open,” said Brazil head coach Dunga, participant in the exciting match 16 years ago. “At this knock-out stage we can't expect a closed, defensive encounter. All the players are first class and I expect a beautiful game against the Dutch.”
The Oranje haven’t exactly been the spectacular attacking machine they were before the World Cup, but they’ve won comfortably up until now and have the talent to score on a dime. No bad for a team with players who admittedly exactly get along.
“Yes, there are some situations,” said head coach Bert van Marwijk. “Some players don’t like each other; it is not important.”
La Seleçao, conversely, are a united bunch and have won nearly every game in convincing fashion thus far. Furthermore, they can match, if not surpass, the Netherlands’ attack with the likes of Robinho and Luis Fabiano leading the way. The South Americans, though, have the upper hand defensively, and that could prove to be the difference on Friday.
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What: Uruguay vs. Ghana
When: Friday, July 2, 2:30 pm ET
Where: Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
The last time Uruguay made it into the last four was 1970. This year, led by the duo of Diego Forlán and Luis Suárez, there’s no ruling La Celeste out of making it into the finals and perhaps taking home their third World Cup trophy.
"We are having a good World Cup," said Forlán. “We are confident we can reach the semi-finals to give joy to our people.”
But the Black Stars have an even bigger motivation: They don’t want to just give joy to their country, they want to bring it to the entire continent. The only African nation to make it into the knockout stages in South Africa, Ghana could become the first African side to make it into the semifinals.
Ghana will look to hold their rivals off with their excellent organization and blazing speed on the counterattack, which Uruguay will counter with scrappiness in the midfield and lethality in the attack. It should be an interesting match, and the winner will go on to face their toughest test yet against either Brazil or Netherlands.
