World Cup Bracket (As of June 26, 2010 - 12:15pm)

Uruguay just completed a 2-1 upset of South Korea, so I pulled Joa aside to get his take on the major upcoming matches on the upcoming Round of 16.

The knockout round is here! Lets take a look at some of the must-watch games this week:

USA vs Ghana
While the USA may not be the first team that many people have as a favourite, if you’re Canadian, lets try to support them. In the grand scheme of things, if they win, it’s great for both Canadian and North American soccer. With greater support for the sport, who knows.. we might get a shot at the World Cup in 10 years time. At the same time we might completely forget about the Leafs and make TFC the new Toronto powerhouse!

Germany vs England
The bars will still be packed for this game, despite the G20 protests. Germans and the English are known for their beer loving nature so you can’t expect them not to be out! Although it might be because you should expect a boring game (although I might be wrong). Germany is the slight favour, but for some reason my gut feeling says England will take it. Hopefully Wayne Rooney will provide the spark for his team.

Mexico vs Argentina
Good luck if you don’t get dizzy, because it’s gonna be Speedy Gonzales vs. the Flash. This match will be exciting to watch and will be at a really fast pace. And if you look at their lineups, they look like they had a few shots before the game too! Expect lots of goals and prepare to be entertained. I want Mexico to go through for one reason: if you’re Brazilian, there are two teams you have to cheer for: (1) Brazil and (2) whoever plays Argentina. My wish? Giovanni do Santos scores a nice goal, runs to the Argentinian bench to celebrate and yells at Diego Maradona to shut up!

Portugal vs Spain
What a classic game! There won’t be a favourite, even though people are picking Spain, Portugal still looks like a very strong team. The only downside is if Portugal wins, you won’t get a day or two of regular sleep in the west end area of Toronto. Expect a good amount of goals as David Villa is on fire!

Cristiano Ronaldo Stats against Spain
Passes: 13
Shots on goal: 8
Dribbles: 9
Checking himself out on the big screen: 253 times.