And Then There Were Four...

The semifinals of the world's greatest sporting event are upon us, with Uruguay facing off against the Netherlands on Tuesday, and Germany battling Spain on Wednesday, each for a place in the final.

The last week of competition has left some nations heartbroken, to say nothing of those of us in the first annual Bellingham View World Cup pool.

Here's what happened since we last checked in...

STU
* As of last Sunday, Stu's remaining teams were Spain and Paraguay

* In the round of 16, Spain outlasted Portugal 1-0, while Paraguay played Japan to a soulless 0-0 draw, advancing by a 5-3 margin on penalty kicks

* This set up a quarterfinal matchup between Spain and Paraguay, so Stu was guaranteed to lose one squad. It turned out to be the South Americans, as La Seleccion -- behind yet another late-game goal from Barcelona-bound striker David Villa -- advanced with a 1-0 victory

* Can Spain stop the steamrolling Mannschaft? Vamos a ver.

* Remaining team: Spain

ROBERT
* As of last Sunday, my remaining teams were Portugal and Japan

* From the entry above, you can see that Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal couldn't match the Spaniard Villa's brilliance, and the Japan was unable to repeat its dead-ball prowess from the Denmark match and failed to advance past Paraguay

* Eliminated

KIMO
* As of last Sunday, Kimo's remaining teams were Brazil and Ghana

* Pre-tournament favorites Brazil looked stellar in the group stage and even moreso in their 3-1 victory over Chile in the round of 16, combining a sturdy Dunga-mandated defense with a strong attack. So, it was not a shock to see them go up 1-0 through Robinho within the first quarter-hour against the Netherlands, and narrowly miss going up 2-0 through Kaka just past the half-hour mark. What was a shock, however, was to see them give up two Wesley Sneidjer goals, then have to play a good deal of the second half a man down after Felipe Melo's stupid stomping of the otherwise lamentable Arjen Robben. No samba in Brazil this year.

* People with far greater writing ability than I have failed to come up with words that would adequately describe the sporting tragedy that was Ghana's hearbreaking loss to Uruguay in the quarterfinals. I still don't believe what I saw unfold on that TV screen, but Ghana is out, and we can only hope that the cheating Uruguayans will be rolled in humiliating fashion by the Dutch.

* Eliminated

JOHN
* As of last Sunday, John's three remaining teams were the Argentina, the Netherlands and Slovakia, the latter two of which met in the round of 16

* The upstart Slovakians couldn't keep the momentum of their historic defeat of the defending world champions Italy, losing 2-1 to the Netherlands, who then went on to deliver the above-mentioned knockout punch to Brazil

* Argentina was demolished 4-0 by a rampaging Germany squad, ending Diego Maradona's hopes of doing the World Cup double of winning as both a player and coach

* I'll be rooting for the Dutch to destroy Uruguay; oddly enough, John won't be, as a win will put the Oranje one victory from joining the exclusive club of World Cup winners, an outcome that offends Mr. Chamberlain's sensibilities to no end

* Remaining team: Netherlands

DAVE
* As of last Sunday, Dave's remaining teams were Germany, Uruguay and Chile

* The Chileans were dispatched with ease by Brazil

* As stated above, Germany continued its roll through the competition by crushing Argentina, and Uruguay parlayed a last-second goal-line handball/straight red card into an improbable and undeserved berth in the semis

* Remaining teams: Germany, Uruguay

Goals

For those whiny sticks in the mud who claim they hate soccer because no one ever scores, the first four knockout round matches of World Cup 2010 played yesterday and today resulted in a total of 15 goals, with no match having fewer than three.

Not bad, imho.

In terms of the pool...

STU

* The United States were eliminated on Saturday at the hands of Ghana, losing 2-1.

* Remaining teams as of Sunday night: Spain and Paraguay

ROBERT

* The Three Lions of England were unceremoniously dumped by a rampaging, counter-attacking Germany squad by a margin of 4-1 on Sunday

* Mexico was also bounced out, with the Albiceleste of Argentina besting El Tri 3-1

* Remaining teams as of Sunday night: Portugal and Japan

KIMO

* Mr. Proudfoot didn't lose a team this weekend

* Ghana showed the U.S. the door, 2-1, earning a quarterfinal clash with Uruguay

* Brazil plays Chile on Monday

* Remaining teams as of Sunday night: Brazil and Chile

JOHN

* Much to his chagrin, Mr. Chamberlain also survived the weekend without losing a team, but he'll bid farewell to either the Netherlands or Slovakia on Monday, as they play one another

* He can't bring himself to root for them, but his Argentines rolled over Mexico today

* Remaining teams as of Sunday night: Netherlands, Argentina, Slovakia

DAVE

* Dave's Germans are looking strong after the England victory, but they face a buzz-saw in Argentina for their quarterfinal match

* Uruguay beat South Korea on Sunday and faces Ghana on Friday in the quarterfinals

* Chile goes up against the biggest giants of them all, Brazil, on Monday

* Remaining teams as of Sunday night: Germany, Uruguay and Chile

The Knockout Stage

After two weeks of thrilling action, the group stage of World Cup 2010 South Africa has come to an end, with 16 teams remaining to enter the knockout stage of the competition, which begins today.

Which brings us to our World Cup pool, in which four friends and I each drew six teams out of a hat, with $10 (I erroneously thought it was $20 in my initial post on the subject) from each to be paid to the person holding the golden ticket bearing the name of the eventual World Cup–winning nation.

And, of course, things didn't quite go according to form.

STU
1. Spain: La Seleccion were pre-tournament favorites, but they shockingly lost their first game to Switzerland before recovering with two stylish wins over Honduras and Chile. Player for player, they have the most talented squad in South Africa. It will be interesting to see if these Galacticos can put it together for a deep run. Next up: Portugal, on Tuesday, in what could be one of the most exciting matches of the Cup.

2. Italy (eliminated): The defending champion Azzurri were embarrassingly knocked out in round one, after three awful performances.

3. United States: Playing the role of comeback kids, the Americans rallied to secure two dramatic draws in their first two matches (albeit, the first via a gift from the English) and then won their third on a thrilling injury-time winner by Landon Donovan. Next up: Ghana, today.

4. Paraguay: The least-bad of the teams in Group F, Paraguay topped the group which defined underachievement. Next up: Japan, on Tuesday.

5. Australia (eliminated): The Socceroos couldn't repeat their charmed run of 2006, exiting the cup after a win, draw and loss in the group stage on goal differential to Ghana.

6. North Korea (eliminated): Their sole highlight was scoring against Brazil in their opening match.

ROBERT
1. England: The Three Lions have looked incredibly shaky, with a poor draw against the U.S. following goalkeeper Robert Green's gaffe heard 'round the world in their first match and a thoroughly disastrous draw against Algeria in their second redeemed only by an unexciting but effective 1-0 win over Slovenia to secure second place in Group C. Next up: Germany, tomorrow.

2. Portugal: One of world soccer's most stylish and yet confounding squads, Portugal had a truly bizarre first stage, with scoreless draws vs. the Ivory Coast and Brazil sandwiched around a 7-0 thrashing of North Korea. Can star Cristiano Ronaldo -- arguably the world's second-best player -- lead them to the promised land? Next up: Spain, on Tuesday.

3. Mexico: El Tri was fortunate to escape their opening match against hosts South Africa with a draw, then they thumped 2006 finalists France before losing to Uruguay by a goal to finish second in Group A. Next up: Argentina, tomorrow.

4. Cameroon (eliminated): Striker Samuel Eto'o is coming off two unprecedented seasons on club level, winning league titles, domestic cups and the European Champions League in each of the past two years with two different teams -- Barcelona and Inter Milan -- but he and his countrymen couldn't advance out of the group stage, losing to Japan, Denmark and the Netherlands in succession for a disappointing result to their 2010 campaign.

5. Honduras (eliminated): Losses to Chile and Spain and a draw to Switzerland equaled a hasty exit from the group stage.

6. Japan: Tenacious performances by Japan led to 1-0 win over Cameroon and a 3-1 decision over Denmark, enough to overcome their 1-0 loss to Netherlands and secure passage to the knockout stage. Next up: Paraguay, on Tuesday.

KIMO
1. Brazil: The Selecao predictably triumphed in Group G, defeating North Korea and the Ivory Coast before being held to a scoreless draw by an overly defensive Portugal squad in their third match. The world's favorite team has added a defensive mindset to their offensive flair in 2010, and they're hungry to take home the trophy for the sixth time. Next up: Chile, on Monday.

2. France (eliminated): Providing the best soap opera of the tournament, France drew their first match against Uruguay, had starting striker Nicolas Anelka thrown out of the team following their second-game drubbing by Mexico, then saw captain Patrice Evra benched for the game three loss to South Africa following an argument with Les Bleus' trainer that resulted in said trainer and the vice-chair of the French Football Federation quitting in disgust and the team refusing to train. Sacrebleu! And good riddance.

3. Serbia (eliminated): Shocking Germany with a 1-0 victory in their second match will remain their highlight of 2010, as losses to Ghana and Australia led to a quick ouster.

4. Nigeria (eliminated): The Super Eagles' hopes of being Africa's standard-bearers were dashed with losses to Argentina and Greece and a draw to South Korea.

5. Ghana: They lost talisman Michael Essien to injury before the World Cup even started, but Ghana have persevered, beating Serbia in their opening match and drawing with Australia in their second before losing to group toppers Germany in their last first round contest. Next up: the U.S., today.

6. Denmark (eliminated): The Danes were not great, losing 2-0 to the Netherlands and then being dumped 3-1 by South Korea. Consolation prize: their second-match 2-1 win over Cameroon.

JOHN
1. Netherlands: The Dutch won all three of their group stage matches to win Group E on nine points, but their Total Football style was never truly in evidence. The return of Arjen Robben from injury will help in the knockout round. Next up: Slovakia, on Monday.

2. Argentina: The Albiceleste have gone marauding through the group stage, easily topping Nigeria, South Korea and Greece to cruise into the knockout round on nine points, behind the scoring exploits of Gonzalo Higuain and the playmaking of the world's best player, Lionel Messi. Caution: The Argentines similarly dominated group play in 2006 only to flop in knockout time. And who knows what distraction manager Diego Maradona will provide. Next up: Mexico, tomorrow.

3. Greece (eliminated): The Greeks were hammered by South Korea and Argentina, rendering their win over Nigeria useless. Their win in Euro 2004 must be hereby consigned to an aberrant fluke.

4. Ivory Coast (eliminated): Didier Drogba gamely played through a broken arm but even his brilliance couldn't pull Les Elephantes through what many deemed the "group of death," with Brazil and Portugal ultimately proving too much.

5. Slovakia: After a draw to New Zealand and a bad loss to Paraguay, Slovakia thought they needed a miracle to advance out of the group stage. Luckily for them, they got one better: Italy for an opponent. Slovakia completely out-hustled and outplayed their more celebrated final-match adversaries and deservingly went through after a thrilling 3-2 victory. Next up: the Netherlands, on Monday.

6. South Korea: A 2-0 win over Greece got their campaign off to a nice start before Argentina kicked them all over the park 4-1. A 2-2 draw with Nigeria got them into the knockout round. Next up: Uruguay, today. UPDATE: In a very good match played in a driving rain, South Korea was level with Uruguay deep into the second half, before succumbing to some individual brilliance by Luis Suarez and losing 2-1.

DAVE
1. Germany: A favorite to perform well at any major competition due to superior organizational skills and a deep sense of national pride, the three-time World Cup champions got off to a rousing start at South Africa 2010 with a 4-0 demolition of Australia before stumbling a bit in a 1-0 loss to Serbia. They regained their footing with a 1-0 victory over Ghana to top Group D. Next up: England, tomorrow.

2. Uruguay: Two-time champions Uruguay drew with France in their opener and then easily handled South Africa (3-0) before edging Mexico 1-0 to win Group A. Next up: South Korea, today. UPDATE: A terrific brace by Luis Suarez has taken Uruguay to the quarterfinals after a 2-1 victory over South Korea.

3. Chile: A pair of 1-0 wins over Honduras and Switzerland put Chile in position to win Group H, but a 2-0 loss to Spain left them second. Next up: Brazil, on Monday.

4. Slovenia (eliminated): When Slovenia beat Algeria 1-0 in their first match and jumped to a 2-0 lead over the U.S. in their second, they must have thought their football dreams were about to come true. Two second-half strikes by the U.S. left Slovenia smarting at having to settle for a draw, and when they couldn't score against England, their campaign was over.

5. Algeria (eliminated): It's hard to win if you don't score, and the Algerians never found the net in South Africa, going scoreless in a draw and two losses in Group C.

6. South Africa (eliminated): The hosts have put on a nice tournament, but Bafana Bafana unfortunately became the first host in World Cup history not to advance out of group play. But, they did have that glorious win over the hapless French in their last match.

More to come...

Mondiale di calcio

World Cup 2010 is upon us, with the world's premier sporting event set to kick off this Friday as the Bafana Bafana of host nation South Africa square off against Los Tricolores of Mexico.

And what would a major sporting competition be without a wager? So, four friends and I drew teams out of a hat, with $20 from each to be paid to the person holding the golden ticket bearing the name of the eventual World Cup–winning nation.

After dropping what we agreed were probably the two lowest seeds in the tournament – New Zealand and Switzerland – we put the remaining 30 teams in three pods of 10, roughly according to the most recent FIFA world rankings, with seeds 1–10 in group one, seeds 11–20 in group two and seeds 21–30 in group three. Each player selected two teams from each group, for a total of six national teams per player.

And the results...

STU

1. Spain

2. Italy

3. United States

4. Paraguay

5. Australia

6. Korea DPR (North Korea)

ROBERT

1. England

2. Portugal

3. Mexico

4. Cameroon

5. Honduras

6. Japan

KIMO

1. Brazil

2. France

3. Serbia

4. Nigeria

5. Ghana

6. Denmark

JOHN

1. Netherlands

2. Argentina

3. Greece

4. Ivory Coast

5. Slovakia

6. Korea Republic (South Korea)

DAVE

1. Germany

2. Uruguay

3. Chile

4. Slovenia

5. Algeria

6. South Africa

I'll be rooting for the Three Lions of England, as they're my highest-rated squad, but I'll happily forego the $80 prize if the Azzurri of Italy – my favorite team since childhood – can somehow regain form to repeat as champions and tie Brazil's record of having won five World Cups.

Forza Azzurri!