By Brian Sanders
Brazil has been bustling with action all over the country with the men’s tournament while Rio has boasted the traditional Olympiad fare. As this is a football website, lets proceed with our lucky eight who made it through to the Quarter Finals on Saturday.
Where else to begin but the hosts Brazil. A squad that has the hopes of a nation. Especially since there is little confidence in the national team following consecutive eggs being laid from two Copa America’s and the World Cup two years ago. A healthy Neymar has waited specifically for this tournament, and aside from their breakout final group stage match against Denmark they have been anything but interesting.
Even the modern day Brazil style of hitting on the counter and waiting for set pieces is almost non-existent in this side. The aura of the Brazil name holds sway over the opposition when they could enforce themselves and come through winners.
Facing Colombia, a squad with an axe to grind when talking of Brazil. This country earned their way in by outplaying the United States in a qualifying play-in playoff. Entirely of domestic club players Colombia has earned the same sort of results in terms of points as Brazil, except they happen to look much more dangerous and in better form, scoring goals and playing in a way that doesn’t cause fans of the beautiful game to want to gouge out their eyes with a rusty spoon.
Prediction: who needs a host? 2-1 Colombia
Nigeria won the gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta and have done well in youth tournaments. Currently the senior side has been horrible by not even qualifying for the last two African Cup of Nations. The players in this squad are the hope of a brighter tomorrow for the Super Eagles.
Denmark has been, well Denmark. Solid and by no means looking horrible. A quality generation has come together which is being talked about as the next group of players that will bring this tiny Scandinavian country a bright footballing future. The timing for the Danes could not be better.
Prediction: 1-1 and Nigeria via penalties, keeps the African dream alive.
Flying the CONCACAF flag Honduras scraped their way to this phase with a win over Algeria, a loss to Portugal, and a draw with Argentina; in that order. Of late the national side has struggled as they didn’t qualify for participation in this summer’s Copa America. Made up of players almost entirely from Olimpia and Real Espana players, this squad has much to be proud of. With a chance of additional games for just one last positive result the opportunity looks great for this squad.
South Korea has a unique opportunity ahead of them. Being the only Asian squad left in the competition the Tigers of Asia are merely one win away from defending their 2012 bronze medal. The Korean national side has seen this as the perfect gateway for domestic players to make an impact in front of major world clubs. The question still remains if that will be prove good or ill.
Prediction: 3-1 South Korea
Germany had an exciting group phase scoring a whopping 15 goals. It can’t be taken away that their qualification to this phase was not even looking lightly with the final match against Fiji. The goals have come with relative ease but the defense has been weak. However now we will see what the Germans have in them for this knockout round.
Portugal romped through the group phase when many pundits figured that they would struggle. A squad that is devoid of big name stars has actually functioned quite well despite no high profile player or players to steal the highlights. The from and functionality of the squad makes them very difficult to take on. Even for a side like Germany.
Predicition: 4-2 Germany
