We are still in the second round, but there have already been some exciting match-ups set for the quarterfinals. Brazil takes on the Netherlands on Friday, while Germany faces Argentina on Saturday. Germany knocked off Argentina in a penalty kick shootout in the quarterfinals in 2006, while Brazil eliminated the Netherlands in both 1994 and 1998. In the meantime, there are still two matches left in the second round.
Paraguay vs. Japan
10:00am - ESPN
Loftus Versfeld Stadium - Pretoria, South Africa
Winner: Japan
Japan scored three quality goals and ran circles around Denmark in their last match. Paraguay is a better team than Denmark, but japan is a very confident team right now and their playmaker, Keisuke Honda, is in excellent form. Japan's two free-kick goals against Denmark show that they may have figured out the tricky Jabulani game ball, which is bad news for Paraguay's goalkeeper. South American teams have done extremely well so far at this World Cup so expect Paraguay to put up a tough battle in what should be a fairly even match.
Spain vs. Portugal
2:30pm - ESPN
Green Point Stadium - Cape Town, South Africa
Winner: Spain
Spain entered the tournament as one of the favorites, and after a loss in their opening match against Switzerland they have looked fairly strong. One concern is the form of striker Fernando Torres, who doesn't look like he has fully recovered from a knee injury suffered playing for his club, Liverpool. Spain's defense has also looked vulnerable at times, but their midfield, led by Iniesta and Xavi, combines extremely well with forward David Villa and the trio is capable of scoring at any time. Portugal's defense hasn't given up a goal yet (but Ivory Coast was clearly happy with a 0-0 draw in the first match, North Korea barely showed up for the second, and by the time they played Brazil in the last group match they both knew a tie would be good enough to advance) and Ronaldo and Simao Sabrosa are always dangerous.
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