World Cup Semifinals

We're down to 4 in the greatest spectacle in sports. We've got Germany in their 3rd straight semifinal, perennial underachievers Spain and the Netherlands, and the surprise of the tournament Uruguay.

The first semifinal pits the Netherlands against Uruguay. The Netherlands have twice been to the Finals and lost, but haven't been back since '78. Every year the Dutch have high expectations only to have Totaalvoetbal (Total Football) disappoint year after year. However, after knocking off Cup favorites Brazil, Wesley Sneijder and his teammates look to be in good position to become more famous in Holland than wooden shoes and windmills.

Uruguay, on the other hand, used to be giants of the World Cup. They hosted, and won, the very first World Cup back in 1930 then went on to shock hosts Brazil in the 1950 Final. Nowadays? Not so much. Before the 2010 version of the World Cup got underway, Uruguay had only won 1 game on the big stage since 1970 and had to beat Costa Rica in a playoff just to qualify. Now they're the only South American team left standing with great thanks to Luis Suarez's palms. Unfortunately for the smallest remaining country in the field, their prolific goal scorer will now miss the semifinal against the Netherlands. Uruguay was already outmatched with Suarez, and now they lose their #9 in a pivotal game. But they are playing with house money...eh, doesn't matter.

Netherlands 2-0.

The second semifinal sees a Germany squad that entered the Cup with severe question marks after losing their captain weeks before their first game and a Spain side that has yet to really live up to their potential since winning Euro 2008. Germany is the youngest team in the field this year, but have played nothing like it. Their young studs have lived up to the hype and then some. Whether it has been Ozil, Boateng, or Muller, who will unfortunately miss the semifinal due to the ridiculous yellow card stipulations, the Germans have evolved from boys to men in front of our very eyes. After a 4-1 thrashing of England in the Round of 16 and a 4-0 beatdown of Argentina in the Quarters, Germany is looking like the favorites to win the whole darned thing.

Spain, though, has been quite the mystery. Ranked 2nd in the FIFA rankings entering the World Cup, they were among the short list of favorites to leave South Africa victorious. It's been a rocky road to say the least. They opened group play with a shocking 1-0 loss to the Swiss, who coincedently remained very neutral about the whole thing, but still managed to beat Honduras and Chile to win their group as expected. They then fought off a pesky Portugese team 1-0 in the Round of 16 and squeaked by Paraguay after an exciting 2nd half filled with PKs. David Villa is in good shape to win the Golden Boot as he leads all scorers with 5 goals. Villa couldn't be hotter at a better time than now since Spain's star striker Fernando Torres has looked nothing like a star in South Africa and may be benched against Germany. The last time Torres scored a truly meaningful goal for Espana was the only goal in a Spain 1-0 victory at the Euro 2008 Final.

Over Germany.

Spain 2-1.