World Cup Favorite?

Ryan: So, the Semi's are set. What a tournament its been so far; my goodness its been exciting. Star studded Holland vs. underdog Uruguay will play on July 6th to put one team through to the Finals. Wesley Sneijder has been a force during this tournament, scoring the game winner against Brazil in a huge upset two days ago, but Diego Forlan has put Uruguay on his back and carried them to the Semi's. What a stunning route Uruguay has taken to get this far, highlighted by the absurd ending to the Ghana game, with Suarez's intentional handball and Gyan's missed PK, followed by a 4-2 victory in the shootout. The other Semi, Spain vs. Germany, could very well have been the final if the tournament had been set up differently. Spain is finally coming into its own defensivly, but the shockingly poor form of Fernando Torres has prevented them from being the offensive power they should be. What more could be said about the way the Germans have played? Klose, Mueller, Ozil, and Schweinsteiger have played so well, running counter-attacks at an unmatched level. Although Mueller is banned from the Spain match, I still predict Germany will win, setting up a final with Holland. In a dramatic Final, I predict that the dominant force that is Germany will steamroll their opposition, and capture yet another World Cup title. What's your take?

Jason: I'm obviously going with my man Fernando Torres and Espana. He's bound to have a break out game. He's too good to not do anything the entire tournament. Spain also has David Villa who has been the second best player in the World Cup behind Klose, who could win his second golden boot. In the other semi-final game I think Holland will prevail fairly easily. Uruguay has had a great run including some very memorable moments,

(intentional hand ball), but Holland led by Wesley Sneijder has too much fire power for Uruguay to handle. Spain v. Holland next sunday and Espana will prevail.

Ryan: First of all, your man Torres is fresh off an ankle injury, and looks terrible. He can't score, and I don't believe he should even be a starter. Liverpool's Number Nine is one of my favorite players as well, and it's painful for me to watch him have such a hard time doing things he usually does so gracefully. Also, Spain, for all their star power, does not play well as a team. Villa is taking advantage of the opportunities Xavi and Xabi Alonso create for him, as well as the opportunities he creates for himself. But, he is the only player on the whole team that seems to remember he is one of the best in the world, and the team has really limped through the Cup, winning games by only 1 goal almost every time out. On the other hand, Germany has scored 4 goals on 3 seperate occasions, including blowouts of world class teams Argentina and England. The whole team is playing so well, and their counterattack is something not even Spain will be able to keep up with. The only reason Spain has a chance to win this game is because Mueller is out, but Germany is good enough to compensate for the loss of one player. It just seems too unlikely that the more talented side, Spain, will finally learn how to play as a team in the Semifinals of the World Cup. This is the team that lost to the USA last year and Switzerland just last month. As fun as they are to watch, I cannot pick them to beat the German juggernaut.