Uruguay and Ghana are through to the quarter-finals and today, two more countries will join them.

Germany vs England is a mouth-watering tie for historic reasons (and because the English always lose to the Germans on penalties) while Argentina will entertain fellow South Americans Mexico.

So far, only Erwin Wong and Kenneth Tan have got their calls correct. Both of them correctly predicted that Uruguay would win, with Kenneth even getting the 2-1 scoreline correct.

Germany vs England
Les Says: 2-2 Full Time. Germany win on penalty kicks
If England play the way they did against Slovenia, they should score a few. Wayne Rooney looks like he is about to explode — if not in scoring then in anger. And as for Frank Lampard, how long can he go on without scoring for England at a World Cup? Lampard had 21 shots on goal without scoring in the 2006 World Cup and he is steadily adding to that unwanted statistic.

Germany are not the teams of old, grinding out results with clinical efficiency. This multi-ethnic German team — I never thought I would one day use ‘multi-ethnic’ to describe a German football team — has four members from the U-23 team that thrashed England 4-0 in the final of the European Championships. They look good for a goal or two.

If it goes all the way to penalties, I take Germany to win. I want to see Rooney explode and give another unscripted comment to the camera.

Germany vs England
Kenneth Says: 1-1 Full Time. England win on penalty kicks
I bet the thought on everyone’s mind is that the German Express will roll over the unimpressive Englishmen. However I beg to differ. After scraping through the group stage, Fabio Capello and his boys will have got their act together to achieve their dream of winning the coveted trophy. Even if it means settling the match by a penalty shootout, Steven Gerrard and co will have more resilience than four years ago where they bowed out to Portugal on the spot.

England will be donning their so-called ‘lucky’ red strip tonight again. What happened the last time they wore a similar kit against their arch rivals? A 4-2 extra time win that brought them their first and only World Cup trophy in 1966.

Back the Englishmen to break the voodoo of losing on penalties tonight.

Germany vs England
Erwin Says: 1-1 Full Time. Germany win on penalty kicks

We’ve seen this all before, and here’s exactly how things will pan out tonight:

England, cut to shreds by media, fans and punters alike, come out strong. They play absolutely swashbuckling football and do not look like the team of a week ago. After a great passage of play, they take a deserved lead from a goal scored by a much-maligned player. That could mean anyone from the list of Robert Green, John Terry, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Aaron Lennon, etc.

Then German efficiency takes over, and they draw level. The score remains after 120 minutes, and penalties are needed to separate the two teams.

For England fans, the less said about their team’s penalty shootout fortunes at major championships, the better.

As ex-England player Gary Lineker once famously said (and will be quoted to death again after this match): “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”

More News on Germany vs England
Goal.com: Is English media too demanding for Fabio Capello?
German legend Franz Beckenbauer: Germany look fitter than ‘tired’ England
Fabio Capello settles on penalty takers
Guardian.co.uk: Pep talks made James Milner bend it like Beckham
England to wear ‘lucky’ red strip again
Mesut Ozil hit by personal tragedy before game
Goal.com: Six reasons why England will beat Germany
Previous Encounter in World Cup 1990: Germany 5-4 England
Previous Encounter in Euro 2000: England 1-0 Germany
Previous Encounter in World Cup 2002 Qualifiers: Germany 1-5 England
Previous Encounter in 2007 friendly: England 1-2 Germany

Argentina vs Mexico
Les Says: Argentina to win 3-0
If Argentina loses this game, it will have to be because Lionel Messi got diarrhoea or Martin Demichelis hands out another Christmas present like he did to South Korea. (Or maybe because his long hair covered his eyes.)

Mexico do not look like they have the talent to unpick the Argentinian defense. They had a 1-1 draw with an average South Africa and beat France 2-0 only because the French beat themselves already.

If they beat Argentina, I will eat tacos for the whole month.

Argentina vs Mexico
Kenneth Says: Argentina to win 2-1
How have things changed since the World Cup started? Argentina is supposed to be struggling after their poor showing in their CONMEBOL qualifiers where they scraped into the Finals via a last-gasp win over Uruguay. However they are showing their mettle with their swashbuckling attacking football which is hard for any team in the world to resist. The critics have also stopped sharpening their knives towards legendary coach Diego Maradona.

Mexico, for all their attacking flair, lack a true goalscorer in the team. Carlos Vela and Giovanni Dos Santos are more famous for their trickery than their finishing. Chief striker Guillermo Franco is more capable of hitting the ball into the stands than into the net. Cuauhtémoc Blanco is way off his peak years at 37 years of age while new Man United signing Javier Hernandez is not a regular starter.

Back the Argentinians to nick this one with talisman Lionel Messi finally getting his first goal of the FIFA World Cup.

Argentina vs Mexico
Erwin Says: Argentina to win 2-0
Argentina needed 120 minutes and a wonder goal from Maxi Rodriguez to put the Mexicans away four years ago at the same stage, but this time, 90 minutes will suffice. Perhaps even 45.

Along with Brazil, Maradona’s men have the most potent firepower in the competition. With the attacking players he has in his squad, Maradona must feel he is playing real-life Championship Manager.

Attack is the best form of defence for Argentina and despite their rearguard looking shaky at times, they can outscore anyone on any given day.

More News on Argentina vs Mexico
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre loving for revenge
Previous Encounter in 2007 Copa America: Argentina 3-0 Mexico
Previous Encounter in 2005 Confederations Cup: Argentina 7-6 Mexico
The memorable Maxi Rodriguez volley that won Argentina the 2006 World Cup second round game against Mexico in extra time.

2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Fixtures

SGP DATE/DAYSGP TIMECOUNTRY ACOUNTRY B
Jun 26, Sat10pmUruguay 2South Korea 1
Jun 27, Sun2.30amUSA 1Ghana 2
Jun 27, Sun10pmGermany 4England 1
Jun 28, Mon2.30amArgentina 3Mexico 1
Jun 28, Mon10pmHolland 2Slovakia 1
Jun 29, Tue2.30amBrazil 3Chile 0
Jun 29, Tue10pmParaguay 0 (5)Japan 0 (3)
Jun 30, Wed2.30amSpain 1Portugal 0

For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/

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