Over the course of the weekend the 2010 World Cup saw the quarterfinals take place, and what a way for the tournament to continue, with plenty of goals, controversy and shock results in South Africa.
Spain now head into the semis where they face the in-form Germans, while Uruguay and the Netherlands will battle it out for a spot in the final.
The semi finals of the tournament will kick off on Tuesday the 6th of July, with the second on Wednesday the 7th, so check out the odds with SportsBet if you want to make a dollar or two.
Below is a round-up of the quarterfinals action over the weekend.
Netherlands Vs Brazil
First to take to the pitch was the Netherlands and Brazil, with the five-time world champions heading into the fixture at $1.95 for the win, and they showed why with an early lead through Robinho which capitalised the dominant start the South Americans had.
Going in 1-0 down at half-time seemed to provide the Dutch ($4.20) with the inspiration they needed; equalising within seven minutes of the restart through Wesley Sneijder who constantly caused the Brazilian backline issues.
The Inter midfielder then provided the unthinkable – the goal which doubled the Dutch lead and therefore saw one of the hot favourites for the title of world champion crash out of the 2010 World Cup – one of the shock upsets so far this tournament.
The Dutch now head into the semi finals of the 2010 World Cup at $3.10 to take out the title and $2.10 to end as runners up with Sportsbet.
Uruguay Vs Ghana
The second fixture of the weekend was a true heartbreaker for any neutral fan, as Uruguay and Ghana both took to the pitch determined to make the semis.
As the remaining African nation in the competition, Ghana felt the pressure from the masses, and rather than crumbling, stepped up to the plate with a fantastic lead through Sulley Muntari during the first half’s extra time.
Diego Forlan provided the equaliser for the Uruguayans with a superb free kick in the 55th minute, which keeper Richard Kingson was just inches from, but kept the Africans within contention on several other occasions.
With controversial actions and decisions continuing at this 2010 World Cup, 90 minutes could not separate the two, and with the last kick of extra time headed for the back of the Uruguayan goal to send Ghana through to the semis, Luis Suarez handled the ball off the line and saw a red card and penalty given against him.
It seemed to work in his favour, as Asamoah Gyan stepped up to the spot and struck the penalty off the crossbar into the rafters, to see the game into penalties – with many football fans upset by the etiquette seen at this year’s tournament by some of the most known faces in the sport.
Ghana was left devastated, with two penalties saved by Fernando Muslera and saw Sebastian Abreu convert the penalty which saw Uruguay through to the semis, as they are outsiders at this stage in the tournament to claim the crown at $12.
Argentina Vs Germany
Next over the weekend was the thriller clash between Argentina and Germany – with many unable to predict who would claim the win, some even pointing towards a penalty finish, but nobody picked what was about to happen.
While the Germans have been impressive this tournament – a notable solid team with little in the way of big names and individuals, complete contrast to the Argentinean side; but it seems the former is the way to win a World Cup as they overcame of the pre tournament favourites to win 4-0.
Germany looked dangerous, with speed on the counter attack one of their best attributes which the Argentineans seemed unable to handle, and immediately put them on the back foot with a third minute goal through Thomas Mueller.
Germany went into the fixture as outsiders at $3.20, but with their precision passing and selfless choices looked every part the champion as Miroslav Klose got closer to the Ronaldo World Cup goal record tally as he netted two, with Arne Friedrich also getting his name on the sheet.
The Germans are now second favourites to claim the title of World Champions once again at 3.10, second only to their semi final opponent.
Paraguay Vs Spain
Rounding off the quarterfinals, Paraguay and Spain provided the 2010 World Cup fans with the only expected result of the weekend with the Europeans coming away with a 1-0 win.
As they have throughout the tournament, Spain looked quietly troubled and saw David Villa save the day once more as he provided the winner seven minutes from time – putting him as the tournament’s top goal scorer and at $1.44 to retain that spot.
As he has so many times for Spain this tournament, skipper and keeper for the European Champions Iker Casillas saved a penalty from Oscar Cardozo around the hour point, which would have seen the South Americans take the lead.
Just a minute later, down the other end of the pitch Spain had the opportunity to rub salt into the wound with their own penalty awarded, and saw Xabi Alonso hit the back of the net, but due to encroachment had to take it again with his second effort saved by Justo Villar.
The Spanish, despite looking rather vulnerable at times this tournament are at $2.88 – favourites, to win the tournament overall.
It was a lucky win for Spain, who now head into the semis where they tee up a superb all-European clash with the in-form Germans, while Uruguay and the Netherlands will battle it out for a spot in the final.
If you would like to check out any of the odds and markets for the semi finals, the golden boot award, the top goal scorer or any other world cup betting market, head to SportsBet now for the best available!
