Day 2 of the Quarterfinals brought us a pair of highly anticipated matches, Argentina vs. Germany and Paraguay vs. Spain. First up, Zee Germans were loaded for bear against La Albiceleste, running a 4-2-3-1 attack with the powerful Miroslav Klose at point, to control the midfield against Diego Maradona's 4-4-2 attack featuring Higuain and Tevez. Germany came off an absolute smashing of England, while Argentina was all smiles to see Brazil gone. It took all of three minutes for Germany to draw first blood. Thomas Muller pounded in a free kick at 3' and Germany then proceeded to systemically dominate the midfield, but Argentina would not be denied. They slowly built momentum up against the German juggernaut and counterattacked when they could, relying on infernally fast break chances to thread the German defense. Several opportunities just missed and by halftime we had a real match on our hands. In the second half, both sides fought valiantly, Argentina was beginning to look like they could break through at any moment...and that's when Germany slammed the door on the Gauchos for good. Klose blasted in a goal at 68' and Arne Friedrich added one at 74' to rip out Argentina's heart. The Germans added a fourth goal, another from Klose, at 89' to put an exclamation point on it and to serve notice to all that this Cup belonged to them, and it was theirs to lose. Argentina certainly was in no shape to argue as they were skunked 4-0.
Meanwhile in the late game, Paraguay took on Spain for the last Semifinal spot and and both teams were pumped. Paraguay took a 4-4-2 squad into battle led by Valdez and Cardoso, while La Furia Roja spotted up a 4-3-3 attack with Iniesta, Torres, and David Villa in the middle. The opening gambit belonged almost solely to La Albirroja as Paraguay worked to control the midfield early and did, patiently playing a counterstrike strategy against Spain's powerful offense. Spain looked sloppy early and this allowed Paraguay to dictate the flow and played the long ball to try to burn Spanish keeper Iker Casillias, while Spain couldn't organize anything on offense with Paraguay's midfield swarming Villa and company, despite Spain's 2-1 advantage on time of possession. Spain just couldn't manufacture a chance if it came with a kit and instructions. Valdez dented the back of the net at 40' but a clear offisides meant it was all for show, and Spain just didn't seem to know what to do on offense, and Paraguay just sat there on defense. The second half was more of the same, a battle for the middle that devolved into trench warfare. Finally frustration bubbled over and the fighting began. Pique yanked down Cardozo in the box for a penalty and Casillas took the shot for Paraguay only to see keeper Casillas vacuum the ball up. But not 2 minutes later Alcaraz takes an arm to David Villa on the other side of the field and Spain got a PK! Villa's shot sailed right into keeper Villar's arms, and both teams...went right back to trench warfare. Finally, the fates took pity on the crowd and it was David Villa's pinball off both posts that found its way into the back of the net at 82' for Spain, and that was your winner, smartly sparing the universe from another 30 minutes of "game play". Spain will face Germany, and the winner will take on either Holland or Uruguay.
My prediction here is that despite South American dominance in the event, you'll see Germany and Holland in the final match. We'll see.
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