Now that we're in the knockouts, the draw essentially divides into groups again. So, on one side, the winners of Groups A, C, E and G join up with the runners-up from Groups B, D, F and H, and these eight teams fight their way to the final. There is a further group of four, as the teams from Groups A, B, C and D play together, as do the ones from E, F, G and H. As a result, we'll continue our graph-related coverage with the four new "Second Round/Quarter Finals" groups that have emerged, to see who can come out on top of those to progress to the Semi Finals.
The winners of our notional Groups 1 and 2 will face off in the Semi Finals, as will the winners of Groups 3 and 4. We'll return for the semis to evaluate the last four teams.
GROUP 1 - WINNERS A & C, RUNNERS-UP B & D
URUGUAY
The South Americans looked pretty comfortable in their three games, though it wasn't the most difficult group by any stretch. They seemed a little overcautious against a French side they could have certainly beaten, but against the other two they were never really in any danger.
USA
They've certainly looked far from their best, though they've also been very unlucky with a few refereeing decisions, notably the disallowed goal that would've given them a win against Slovenia. However, they ended the group on top, so all that is forgotten. They will, however, need a serious improvement to make it much further.
SOUTH KOREA
Their group ended up rather tight, but the Koreans had the strength to get past their two other real rivals. After winning their first game at a foreign World Cup four years ago, they've achieved their first Second Round appearance on foreign soil, too. They'll just be happy to be there.
GHANA
The only African team to look at least reasonably good, their three low-scoring games gave little away. It's difficult to see how well the Black Stars will cope in the knock-out stage, but they'll certainly be difficult to break down. In this group, the Semis look unlikely, but it's too close to call.
URUGUAY vs SOUTH KOREA
The Koreans have energy and good attacking prowess, but Uruguay have a rock-solid defence, while Korea's defensive frailties have been exposed by worse teams than La Celeste. Uruguay are brimming with confidence, and they should be able to break down South Korea with few problems.
URUGUAY WIN
USA vs GHANA
Neither team was thoroughly convincing in the groups, but neither of them looked terribly bad, either. They're very evenly matched, and picking a winner is hard. We'll go with the States, as they seemed to have more fight in them in the group stage.
USA WIN
POTENTIAL QF: URUGUAY vs USA
Unless the USA either get lucky or find a real spark, they'll struggle against a very tough Uruguay side.
URUGUAY WIN
GROUP 2 - WINNERS E & G, RUNNERS-UP F & H
NETHERLANDS
Three wins, but hardly fantastic performances. Nothing wrong with that, of course: if they're saving their best for the knockouts (and Arjen Robben's back from injury) then that's for the best. We'll just have to see how much they can improve, though they're arguably in the easier side of the draw.
BRAZIL
They're the highest-rated team in the world, but let's be honest, they've had a slow start. It seemed like they were running on low power against North Korea and Côte d'Ivoire and were practically dead against Portugal. Like the Netherlands, perhaps they're just biding their time to unleash their power in the latter stages. We shall see.
SLOVAKIA
Shock winners over Italy to reach the Second Round, Slovakia looked rather poor in their first two before that famous and thoroughly deserved win. If Slovakia can maintain their momentum, they could cause yet more upsets. Seriously, though, they're in a nightmare group now, so we'll leave them as 'underdogs'.
CHILE
Came into the tournament quietly confident of success, and results suggest a low-scoring but ultimately solid side.
NETHERLANDS vs SLOVAKIA
The Slovaks should not be underestimated after brushing Italy aside, but there's a big difference between Italy and the Netherlands right now. The Dutch are heating up, and it looks like Slovakia will get burnt.
NETHERLANDS WIN
BRAZIL vs CHILE
To the uninitiated, this seems like an easy guess, but after seeing the Seleção saunter through their group, one suspects they may be caught unawares. They shouldn't: Chile finished one point behind them in qualifying, though it's worth pointing out Brazil thrashed them twice. Chile could certainly do something, but we're going for Brazil.
BRAZIL WIN
POTENTIAL QF: NETHERLANDS vs BRAZIL
What a match this could be. Two of the tournament favourites as early as the Quarter Finals. If Robben hits his stride, the Dutch can make the Semis.
NETHERLANDS WIN
So, that's the first half of the draw taken care of. Come back tomorrow for the second half.
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