WORLD CUP: Quarterfinals

After two days of no World Cup games, I was going through a soccer withdrawal.  Never thought I'd go through one of those, but it happen.  I didn't know what to do during that time when the World Cup usually is on.  I tried watching TV, but seriously, nothing else is on. Summer television, especially daytime television is terrible! :(

However, World Cup action is back!  I was so stoked for the first day of the quarterfinal matches! :)

Brazil vs. Netherlands

I was ready for another Brazilian win, but the Netherlands took a 2-1 win.  I thought Brazil had it in the bag when they scored a goal within the first 10 minutes.  The rest of the half was scoreless.  It was funny watching the game with my mom because they showed a close-up of Ricardo Kaká, and my mom was like, "He's cute."  Good times. :)

The second half started, and Brazil's defense slowly unraveled.  Netherlands got the equalizer (as the announcers would say) with a free kick that was headed in by Felipe Melo (an own goal!).  The Netherlands took the lead with another header - this time by their own player.  Brazil couldn't get back, and to make matters worse for them, Felipe Melo received a red card in the 72' minute.  With 10 players on the field, Brazil tried their hardest to tie-up the match, but they came up short.

It was sad to see the 5-time champs get eliminated.  I was rooting for them to make it to the Finals.  Pretty sure a bunch of people's brackets are messed up now.  Mine has been messed up from the group rounds (pretty sure I didn't do it right), but yeah.  It'll be interesting to see how far the Dutch will go now that they've conquered the #1 ranked team.  It's definitely games like this that change everything and make the World Cup so interesting to watch! LOVE IT! :)

Luckily, that wasn't the only game...

Uruguay vs. Ghana

With Ghana beating the U.S. in the last round, I was definitely rooting for Uruguay.  Plus, I really like watching Forlán and Suárez when they play.  I was watching the national anthems, and I admit that the Uruguayan anthem sounds like it tells a story. 

The first half was basically scoreless, but both teams had so many opportunities to get the ball into the net.  In the extra time before half, Ghana scored the first goal far down on the field.  Although I was unhappy about the goal, it was an impressive shot.  It's really surprising that Muslera was unable to stop it, but I suppose it was a fast moving ball. 

Ghana had a 1-0 lead over Uruguay when they came back from the half.  Ten minutes within the second half, Forlán took a free kick and bent it straight into the goal.  The ball looked like it was going to go over the crossbar but it swerved down into the net.  The game was equalized and remained that way for the rest of the match, even though both teams had several attempts on goals.  Regular time ran out, and the score was still tied.  

Going into an extra thirty minutes, it was intense to watch as both teams played their hardest, trying to get that one goal to help them move on to the semi-finals.  However, it didn't happen.  You could easily tell that both teams were getting frustrated and desperate as the number of fouls escalated.  Everyone was determined to do anything to stop the other team from winning.  This motive was best displayed in that last minute of the game.  

Ghana had possession of the ball with a free kick only meters away from the goal.  The ball goes up into the middle of the penalty box where scads of players from both teams are waiting.  

Attempt 1: Ghana header is blocked by Uruguayan goalie.

 Attempt 2: Ghana tries to kick the rebound in as Uruguayan defenders try to get the ball out of there in the mist of confusion.

Attempt 3: Ghana gets control of the ball again and aims to shoot again.  Suárez and another Uruguayan player are in the box.  As the ball soars toward the goal, Suárez plays goalie and commits a hand ball, giving Ghana a penalty kick.  Suárez also receives a red card.  

Can we say intense?! I couldn't believe it.  

Gyan took the penalty kick and missed, pushing the game to be determined by penalty kicks.  Five players from each team have one shot to make.  Ghana was so close to ending the match right there and then but no.  On to the penalty kicks...

This was so intense that I couldn't even remain in the seat.  I was standing right in front of the TV, meticulously watching each player take their shot.  For a moment I thought each player was going to make their shot, but then Muslera saved one and one of the Uruguayan shooters kicked his ball way over the crossbar.  Muslera saved another one, giving Uruguay a winning chance.  Sebastian Abreu took the last penalty kick with his soft left-footed shot, clenching the win for Uruguay!

This game had intensity from the first kick-off to the last penalty kick.  I was so into the game too - screaming and yelling at the TV, jumping up and down, etc.  This was one of the few times I got so emotional about a sporting event.

It was sad to see Ghana leave the tournament, especially since they had a whole continent's support.  They were representing Africa since they were the only African county to make it out of the group stages.  I feel like Ghana put up a good fight and making it to the quarterfinals is still really impressive.  I have a good feeling they'll be back in the next World Cup.

On Facebook and Twitter, I was checking out people's reactions to the game, and people keep saying Suárez cheated.  Even if he didn't put his hands up, he still would have been in the way of the ball making a goal.  As I mentioned early, when it comes down to it, competitive athletes will do what it takes to avoid losing, and this is exactly what Suárez did.  The ref called it correctly too; hand ball in the box results in a red card and penalty kick.  Gyan had the opportunity to bring Ghana to victory but missed it.  What's been done has been done. Suárez misses the next game as well.

I can't wait to see the next matches.  Germany take on Argentina, while Paraguay take on Spain.  Both should be excellent matches!  So excited! More World Cup news later....

P.S. I was going to include some video, but ESPN.com disabled sharing. Lame. :(