The quarterfinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup took place over the weekend and saw four more nations’ dream of becoming World Champions dashed as the semi final line-ups were decided.
The semi finals see Uruguay take on Netherlands, while Germany and Spain provide a thrilling European clash.
The semi finals go ahead this week, with the first on Tuesday the 6th of July, and the second on Wednesday the 7th, so check out the odds with SportsBet.
Below is an overview of the quarterfinal action.
Brazil V Netherlands
First to discover their fate were the five-time champions Brazil as they took on the Netherlands in what was one of the fixtures of the weekend.
The game certainly lived up to expectations and saw the South American favourites ($1.95) take the lead through Robinho, although the Dutch were not easily put-off.
While Holland have performed well in South Africa, they headed into the quarters outsiders at $4.20, and punters who believed in the likes of the European stars were rewarded as Wesley Sneijder provided the equaliser and ultimately the winner to see them through to the semis.
The Dutch then looked to the second quarterfinal of the night to see who they would be facing in the semi finals as they sit at $3.10 to take out the title and $2.10 to end as runners up.
Uruguay V Ghana
The second fixture on Friday night saw Uruguay and Ghana battle it out, with the last remaining African nation taking the lead through Sulley Muntari in extra time of the first half.
Diego Forlan netted the equaliser ten minutes after the break, and despite keeper Richard Kingson anticipating the direction of the free kick, could not do enough to get a touch to it.
In a display of controversial footballing, Luis Suarez – one of the South American stars, handled the ball off the backline pushing the goal-bound ball away, which would have provided the winner for Ghana and seen them the first African nation through to the semis of a tournament.
Suarez was awarded a red, and Ghana a penalty, although Asamoah Gyan saw his attempt hit the crossbar, to the rapturous celebrations of the penalised Suarez.
The game then went to penalties, and saw two saved by Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera – which sent the Africans home, absolutely devastated to have lost the way they did, and Uruguay sit as obvious outsiders at $12 to win the tournament.
Argentina V Germany
Argentina and Germany provided another exciting line-up on Saturday, as the two battled it out for a spot in the semis, and the Europeans certainly sent a message to the remaining contenders as they beat the South Americans 4-0.
It was a display of beautiful football, from a solid team not looking for individual credit, but simply to score goals and win games – and that they did.
Tomas Mueller opened the scoring on the third minute, with the Germans then giving the South Americans the respect they have earnt, but Argentina looked slow and largely vulnerable not able to handle the solid teamwork the Germans were displaying.
Miroslav Klose then netted two – taking him just three goals away from the record number of World Cup goals scored by Ronaldo, with Arne Friedrich also getting his name on the sheet.
While Argentina were the favourites, many did pick a German win – however few would have predicted them to beat what were hot favourites for the crown with such ease at this point.
Germany then looked to the second fixture of the night to see who they would face in the semis finals, as they sit at $3.10 for the crown, second to their semi final opponent.
Spain V Paraguay
Spain and Paraguay took to the Ellis Park Stadium for their quarterfinal, and the European Champions were successful once again – although must thank David Villa for taking the game by the scruff of the neck once more.
Both keepers were hardly made to work throughout the course of the match, but Spanish skipper and keeper Iker Casillas kept a cool head on the 60th minute, saving a penalty from Oscar Cardozo which would have seen them into the lead.
Just a minute later and Spain were awarded a penalty of their own, with Xabi Alonso slipping it past Justo Villar, only to have to take it again due to an infringement, and saw the keeper get the better of his second attempt.
With his individual flair for goal, Villa then displayed another fantastic individual show of footwork to give Spain the winning goal just seven minutes from time with a less than convincing win, although sees them top the outright winners odds at $2.88.
The semi finals see Uruguay take on Netherlands, while Germany and Spain provide a thrilling European clash.
Punters looking to check out the world cup betting odds and markets should keep in mind teams such as Germany and the Netherlands who managed to overcome huge outsider odds and provide big payouts, as you check out the great range at SportsBet!
