Tuesday, June 29, 2010

World Cup Quarterfinal 2: Uruguay v. Ghana

Expect a South American semi-final on the left half of the bracket

The quarter-finals offer up some mouth-watering matches worthy of the final. See Netherlands v. Brazil for a look at that match.

Uruguay-Ghana isn't exactly a classic, but it should be fun; one of those two will be insanely happy to go through and both teams have been fun to watch. As a relative neutral, I'm cheering for both.

Quarterfinal Game 2 - Uruguay v. Ghana

Uruguay, perhaps more than any other team so far, has shown the ability to play however is needed to win. They can attack with verve, defend well, or maintain possession if needed. I'm not saying they are the best at it, just that they've demonstrated it more than anyone else.

They've shown that they can score, and some really nice goals too. Diego Forlan creates as well as finishes, and in Luis Suarez Uruguay have a clinical striker. (He had 49 goals in 48 games last season for Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Ghana are a bit of a strange team. Their game against the US showed, I think, the good and bad about this team: They are young, quick, good with the ball, and a bit sloppy. Too often against the US they dallied too long on the ball, particularly Ayew, or were too cute in passing. Resolute in defence, but they were exposed by a quick US move and often resorted to fouling the US players.

The speed and invention of Uruguay should be good for a goal or two, and the South Americans will defend better than the US.

2-0 for Uruguay.

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