In South Africa, meanwhile, only eight teams remain as Friday kicks off the quarterfinals; those competing only have three more games, and three more wins to achieve greatness.
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What looks to be one of the most competitive and close matches of the tournament starts the round in beautiful Port Elizabeth at Nelson Mandela Bay stadium between Netherlands and Brazil.
While Italy, the United States, and England have all faltered and failed to meet expectations, two teams thought to win their respective groups and make their way to the finals have done just that. Both Netherlands and Brazil were destined to meet in the quarterfinals should they top the group stage, and they did just that. Among the top teams in the world, the winner is likely to compete for the trophy on July 11th.
The Oranje have yet to lose in the tournament, and have yet to concede a goal during normal play. The Dutch beat Denmark 2-0 to open the competition, edged Japan 1-0, and beat Cameroon 2-1 in a virtually meaningless final game. To advance to the quarterfinal, Netherlands beat surprise Slovakia, a team simply happy to be in the round of 16, quite handily. The final score, 2-1, was not indicative of a team that allowed only two genuine goal scoring opportunities, both to the Slovakia star Robert Vittek.
After earning nine points in the group stage the Dutch seemed to improve in the knock out round as Arjen Robben started the match and notched an impressive goal, cutting back to centre after taking a pass on the side, and delivering a low strike inside the post past the diving keeper.
As good as the Oranje have been, Brazil has been too. They beat a passionate and defensive North Korea team to open the competition, dominated Ivory Coast 3-1, and then drew Portugal in a half hearted effort by both clubs. To move to the quarters, Brazil manhandled fellow South Americans Chile, by a score of 3-0.
Juan and Fabiano strike within three minutes of one another to take a 2-0 lead into the half, and Robinho scored in the second for the decisive victory.
Betting lines: Brazil will be favoured slightly, but the game is indeed a toss -up. Netherlands have historically underachieved at this point in the tournament despite dominating the group stage. Brazil too have looked strong, but some thought their hearts would not be in it as they look to the games in 2014 as the host nation. The stars on both sides are performing to expectations and between Robben, Van Persie, and Snjieder for the Dutch, and Kaka, Fabiano, and Robinho for Brazil, this will be the most exciting game yet. History goes to Brazil, and they will edge the Dutch in a very close game that will likely see extra time.
