OK here's my 4 cents:
Germany - Great Offensive team, really fantastic to watch, but thier defense is, at times, unfourtunately shaky... Winning all thier groups games they faced Sweden in the R'o'16 where two early goals put them thru. They did well against Argentina and derservedly got thru, but Klose as a defender, which conceeded the Ayala goal, was . Thankfully he redeemed himself. It seems to me, however, that Germany either play explosively in the first 20 or last 20 mins of a match, is that a good thing or a bad thing? If they can break Italy's Catenaccio and manage to hold off the likes of Totti Gattuso and Pirlo and the strikers up front then they will be thru to the final. If that happens, then on the 9 of July, with Ballack at the helm and the whole nation behind supporting them, we could well have our new World Champions.
Italy - Their strong defensive backline has only been breached once throught this WC. And they've got the goals that have seen them through as well. Controversially thru in the R'o'16, they convincingly beat Ukraine 3 - 0. A very solid and cohesive team, with stalwart stars from midfield controlling the play. They might had even been favourites for this match if Germany weren't the Hosts.
Semi Final predicition 2 - 2 A.E.T. Pens victory for Germany
Portugal - After the heartbreak of 2004, Portugal are back to where they belong. It'll be a tough match against France but they just might do it and make the final. With exciting players like Deco, C.Ronaldo, Simao and the ever-present Figo, they have a great attacking flair. Winning all their group games and coming out of the Battle of Nurnberg on penalties, they relived Euro 2004 with another win on Pens against England. However they did have the 11-10 advantage and couldn't seal it after 2 hrs of football. They're gonna have to take anything that comes their way in this semi-final. Hopefully this semi wont be thier bowing out of the competition, and Portugal can silence the ghosts of 2004 asap.
France - A compact, cohesive and criticised team. If anything it should have been Brazil to receive the criticism but that's another story. France played kinda odd in the group stage with 2 draws and a 2 - 0 win against debutants Togo. However their form shone thru against Spain, after having fallen beind they rallied to equalised b4 half-time and go on to win the match 3 -1. France then took this preformance with them to play a lacklustre Brazil, only beating them 1 - 0 thanks to shocking Brazilian marking . With stars like Henry, Zizou and Viera, this Golden Age of French football still are capable of pulling off the impossible. Having removed Brazil of their WC, France might have the belief to go all the way like they did 8 years ago.
Semi Final predicition 2 - 1 for France A.E.T.
Germany - Great Offensive team, really fantastic to watch, but thier defense is, at times, unfourtunately shaky... Winning all thier groups games they faced Sweden in the R'o'16 where two early goals put them thru. They did well against Argentina and derservedly got thru, but Klose as a defender, which conceeded the Ayala goal, was . Thankfully he redeemed himself. It seems to me, however, that Germany either play explosively in the first 20 or last 20 mins of a match, is that a good thing or a bad thing? If they can break Italy's Catenaccio and manage to hold off the likes of Totti Gattuso and Pirlo and the strikers up front then they will be thru to the final. If that happens, then on the 9 of July, with Ballack at the helm and the whole nation behind supporting them, we could well have our new World Champions.
Italy - Their strong defensive backline has only been breached once throught this WC. And they've got the goals that have seen them through as well. Controversially thru in the R'o'16, they convincingly beat Ukraine 3 - 0. A very solid and cohesive team, with stalwart stars from midfield controlling the play. They might had even been favourites for this match if Germany weren't the Hosts.
Semi Final predicition 2 - 2 A.E.T. Pens victory for Germany
Portugal - After the heartbreak of 2004, Portugal are back to where they belong. It'll be a tough match against France but they just might do it and make the final. With exciting players like Deco, C.Ronaldo, Simao and the ever-present Figo, they have a great attacking flair. Winning all their group games and coming out of the Battle of Nurnberg on penalties, they relived Euro 2004 with another win on Pens against England. However they did have the 11-10 advantage and couldn't seal it after 2 hrs of football. They're gonna have to take anything that comes their way in this semi-final. Hopefully this semi wont be thier bowing out of the competition, and Portugal can silence the ghosts of 2004 asap.
France - A compact, cohesive and criticised team. If anything it should have been Brazil to receive the criticism but that's another story. France played kinda odd in the group stage with 2 draws and a 2 - 0 win against debutants Togo. However their form shone thru against Spain, after having fallen beind they rallied to equalised b4 half-time and go on to win the match 3 -1. France then took this preformance with them to play a lacklustre Brazil, only beating them 1 - 0 thanks to shocking Brazilian marking . With stars like Henry, Zizou and Viera, this Golden Age of French football still are capable of pulling off the impossible. Having removed Brazil of their WC, France might have the belief to go all the way like they did 8 years ago.
Semi Final predicition 2 - 1 for France A.E.T.