In the Rainbow Nation, Fernando Torres has looked nothing like the man who has been haunting Premier League defenders for the past few years. It’s not just that his long blonde locks have given way for a trimmed look.

On paper it’s the most lop-sided of all the quarterfinals, though of course, the World Cup isn’t won on paper; it’s won on the field. European champions Spain will start favourites when they line up against Paraguay at Ellis Park here on Saturday, and will look to enter their first World Cup semifinal in 60 years.

Diego Maradona’s coaching credentials will be put to a stern test when his team face Germany at Cape Town. The biggest name in modern football hasn’t felt the heat at the dugout so far in the tournament but Saturday will be a different day.

Old wounds have been reopened and angry words exchanged. The mind games are at full throttle before the biggest draw of the quarterfinals at Cape Town on Saturday. The cracking tie between Argentina and Germany has received all the attention and hype it richly deserves and the watching world can’t wait for the real action to begin.

The bid to win the rights to host the Fifa World Cup is a high-stakes affair with a very thin line dividing what is legal and what is deemed unethical.
The Football Federation of Australia in their hopes of getting the World Cup Down Under may have crossed that thin line, and Fifa has said it would investigate allegations that they offered illegal inducements and gifts to sway the opinion of the voters.

Ghana need more than the pride of playing for an entire continent and the pumping of adrenalin when they face Uruguay at Soccer City in the quarterfinals on Friday. The thought of becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup should be their biggest motivation.

These are tough times for referees. The World Cup has seen them stumble from one blunder to another and the heat on them is unmistakable. The best referees remain invisible during matches but anonymity has eluded the men in black here.

To err is human, goes the old adage. Under-fire Fifa is in no mood to have any of it and have sent back three of the referees whose blunders re-opened the debate to include technology to aid the officials.

Ghana will become the first African team to reach the semifinals of the World Cup if they beat Uruguay at the Soccer City Stadium on Friday. But they could be without four key players as they attempt to make history.

Brazil defender Juan believes the Selecao has what it takes to snuff out the attacking threat posed by Arjen Robben and company quarterfinal clash with The Netherlands.
“Robben is a great player, who is in great form,” Juan said on Wednesday in Johannesburg. “Our job is to stop the balls getting forward to him. It will be an important step on the road to victory. We have to be very well organised in defence so that nothing surprises us,” said Juan.