By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
Six teams have already made it to the last eight with big guns Holland and Brazil the most recent entries after their respective 2-1 and 3-0 wins over underdogs Slovakia and Chile.
Four other teams will fight it out tonight for the final two slots – sole Asian representative Japan take on South America’s Paraguay while reigning European champions Spain take on Portugal in an all-European blockbuster.
In yesterday matches, Les and Erwin Wong correctly predicted a Brazil win in regulation time, while all three of us got the Holland win right, with Erwin getting the exact 2-1 scoreline spot-on.
Paraguay vs Japan
Kenneth Says: 1-0 Japan Win
I was a real critic of Japan’s defensive football after watching them grind out a 1-0 win over Cameroon in their first game, however it has proved effective as they limited teams (Holland and Denmark) that play with three forwards upfront to one goal each.
They even showed their attacking prowess in that last game against Denmark when Thomas Sorensen was blew away by two deadly set-pieces by Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo. The last time the Denmark goalie conceded two free kicks in a match? It was against Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2008.
Against a Paraguay side that similarly play with three forwards, Japan is likely to mount up their defensive wall again. As the sole Asian representative after South Korea’s exit, I believe the Blue Samurai will carve out yet another victory to keep the Asian flag flying.
Erwin Says: 1-0 Japan Win
Before anyone gets carried away with Japan’s great 3-1 win against Denmark, we have to remember that Paraguay still start this match as favourites. This is THE year for the South American teams to go far into the tournament, and Paraguay would rather go the way of the Argentines, Brazilians and Uruguayans, than be airport buddies with the Chile team.
My heart, though, hopes for Japan, being the sole Asian representative remaining in the competition, to go through.
The goal glut that accompanied the previous six round of 16 matches was abnormal. The average of 3.5 goals a game so far has bettered the current best of 3.25 at the 1986 edition since the round of 16 was introduced in that year.
This match will put a temporary halt to that. It will be a slow game with a distinct lack of goalmouth action. The type of match that will make you want to switch channels to watch Wimbledon.
But keep that remote control on the coffee table. You might just miss another textbook free kick from the Japanese that will win them the game.
Les Says: Paraguay to win 1-0
I still can’t get it out of my mind that Paraguay could only draw with New Zealand 0-0. (Sorry, no offense to the Kiwis.) Are the Japanese peaking at the right time? They had a poor run up to the World Cup — with the Japanese coach Okada even offering to resign — but are coming off a high from their 3-1 win over the Danish in their last group game. Hard to call this one but my head says Paraguay.
Spain vs Portugal
Kenneth Says: 1-0 Portugal Win
The reigning European champions have not impressed me in this tournament so far. Their record? A lacklustre 0-1 loss to Switzerland, a mere 2-0 victory over minnows Honduras and a lucky 2-1 victory over a Chile side that dominated them. They were only saved by David Villa’s brilliance in the last two matches.
They have not shown the free flowing style of football that won them the 2008 European title. Did i mention Fernando Torres looks a pale shadow of his own self? (No, not his change of hair style.) He used to score goals from all sorts of angles from inside the box but now he can’t even convert 10 chances into one goal!
Portugal aren’t any better, they only showed their class in a 7-0 victory over minnows North Korea and had bored me to death in their 0-0 draws against Ivory Coast and Brazil. However they have kept their backline very tight with Julio Eduardo being the only goalkeeper not to concede any goal at the World Cup so far.
Back him to keep another clean sheet with Torres misfiring, and midfielder Tiago scoring at the other end through a long range piledriver.
Erwin Says: 2-2 after extra time, Spain win on penalties
I arrived at this conclusion pretty much by the method of elimination.
Type of win: By penalty shootout
There has been exactly one penalty shootout in each of the last five Round of 16 stages, and if I had to pick a tie that will go right down the wire, this would be it.
Number of goals: 4
There are world-beaters on both squads — Spain with arguably more — who are more than capable of creating and scoring a goal or two. Or four.
Team to advance: Spain
It was difficult to arrive at this. I pondered long and hard, analysed form guides, stat sheets and previous history. Then my friend, Ryan, pointed me to Nike Football’s “Write The Future” advertisement.
“Who are the main characters in this ad?”
“Drogba, Cannavaro, Rooney, Ribery, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo,” I rattled off.
“And how many of them are still playing in the World Cup?”
It then dawned upon me. Drogba, Cannavaro and Ribery suffered first round exits with their respective teams. Rooney had a stinker all tournament long, and England lost 4-1 to Germany two days ago. Ronaldinho did not even make the Brazil squad of 23.
That leaves Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and the signs are pointing clearly to a Portugal exit and a Spain win.
Les Says: Spain to win 1-0
The Portuguese do not look strong as a unit. They have Ronaldo, but he can do step overs until he’s blue in the face but he is not going to beat 11 men by himself. Apart from North Korea who were embarrassingly inferior, they have not been able to score in this World Cup, drawing 0-0 with both the Ivory Coast and Brazil.
The Spanish with Fernando Torres and David Villa in front, are a terrifying prospect for any team to face. They should edge the contest tonight.
More News on Paraguay vs Japan
Japan could shed Asian ‘underdog’ tag against Paraguay
Japan midfielder Yasuhito Endo full of confidence
More News on Spain vs Portugal
Former Spain coach Luis Aragones: Portugal will win if they take the ball from us
Goal.com: Fernando Torres turning into the Spanish Emile Heskey
2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Fixtures
| SGP DATE/DAY | SGP TIME | COUNTRY A | COUNTRY B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, Sat | 10pm | Uruguay  | 2 | South Korea  | 1 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 2.30am | USA  | 1 | Ghana  | 2 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 10pm | Germany  | 4 | England  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 2.30am | Argentina  | 3 | Mexico  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 10pm | Holland  | 2 | Slovakia  | 1 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 2.30am | Brazil  | 3 | Chile  | 0 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 10pm | Paraguay  | 0 (5) | Japan  | 0 (3) |
| Jun 30, Wed | 2.30am | Spain  | 1 | Portugal  | 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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