Unfortunately for Football fans the 2014 edition of the World Cup is almost over, but we do still have 4 games to go in the tournament with the 2 semi-finals, the 3rd place Play-off and of course the final all to come. The drama has been massive so far especially in the group stages and then with several Last 16 games going down to extra time and penalties and even though many of the quarter-finals weren't quite that close there were still 4 very close and exciting games in those quarters. The first of those quarters saw an early Germany goal prove enough to see off the French who battled hard but couldn't force an equaliser and the Germans will now play Brazil who just overcame against Colombia, looking in control for a large part but still having to see off a valiant Colombian side winning by just the single goal. The quarters saw Argentina see off Belgium by a single goal after the world cup's dark horses couldn't quite hit top form and they will now play the Netherlands who thanks to Louis Van Gaal's tactical genius to bring on Tim Krul for the penalty shoot-out saw Krul star as Netherlands saw off Costa Rica in the tightest of fashions.
This then is my look ahead to those semi-finals, and who I think will line up for the big final on Sunday:
Semi-Final Draw:
Brazil Vs Germany - In my opinion Brazil have still not been at their best in this world cup and have become pretty reliant on some of their key players to get them this far, rather than playing as a strong team unit. With the absence of key players like Neymar and Thiago Silva though through injury and suspension for this semi-final it will force Brazil to play better as a team unit. They've managed to scrape through knock-out games against Chile and Colombia but the important thing for them and their fans is that Brazil are still in their home world cup with as good a chance of winning as the other 3 sides and if they can put 2 brilliant performances together than they will win it. However, Brazil will be under even more pressure now without Neymar and although they've coped well so far, I'm not sure how long this can continue. Germany will obviously be under pressure themselves but they don't have that same expectation to deal with as the world cup hosts, and the Germans have quietly gone about their business as a very strong unit who in my mind given the results they've picked up, seeing off some tough opponents with a very strong team they've built, they are my new world cup favourites especially as they may see themselves as underdogs with nothing to lose in this match, while Brazil have everything to lose.
Prediction: Germany
Netherlands Vs Argentina - This semi-final looks even tighter than the first one with Netherlands and Argentina both being very evenly matched. Early on for me Argentina definetly have the fire power with the likes of Messi, Di Maria and Aguero in the team but for them their defence has been a massive issue because for all the goals they seem to score they still haven't won a match by more than a single goal and that's not the convincing kind of performance levels that will win you a world cup when you come up against much tougher teams playing much better football than Argentina's previous opponents have been. The Netherlands though have been much better in my view always fighting to the death in matches with their strong team that certainly has strength in depth and for my money if it was managers that won world cups Louis Van Gaal would win this from here for the Netherlands because his tactics have been great in beating Spain so comfortably and to pull off that tactical masterstroke for Saturday's penalty shoot-out against a very strong Costa Rican side. Having reached the world cup final in 2010 this Netherlands side is no stranger to matches on the biggest stage of all, while Argentina have struggled in recent world cups, with this being their best performance in one for some time. That extra little bit of experience therefore that the Netherlands hold and that extra all-round strength they have to exploit Argentina may just be the difference.
Prediction: Netherlands
It should be a really fun and enjoyable conclusion to the World Cup from here for the neutrals with the some really great sides remaining in the competition and for those of you supporting one particular side it will be a very nervy ride if your team is to win the world cup, but after such an exciting and dramatic world cup so far we should have an equally exciting and dramatic end to the tournament and I hope all of you enjoy it. Who will win the World Cup? Well let's just wait and see!
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