2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

With Brazil's sensational exit at the hands of the Dutch on July 2, Argentina and Germany must have really fancied their chances prior to their clash in Cape Town, while Spain would have entertained similar hopes when they took on Paraguay in the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Prior to this quarterfinal clash, some previews focused on a friendly that these two teams played in March this year. Argentina won the friendly 1-0 in Munich and a rather smug Diego Maradona mocked German rookie Thomas Mueller by referring to him as a ballboy at a press conference. It is not certain whether Mueller wanted retribution for being humiliated by one of the most acclaimed footballers in the world, but if he did desire it, he did it in the best manner possible: by cutting a swathe through a dodgy Argentine defence and scoring a goal in the third minute of a World Cup quarterfinal, thereby ensuring that Maradona is not likely to forget his name in a hurry now. So overwhelmed were the two-time champions by a young German team, that most "experts" (read illiterate Indian TV sportscasters) were calling it an upset. Meanwhile, German goalscoring machine, Miroslav Klose edged ever closer to being the top marksman in World Cup history by hitting his 13th and 14th goals in World Cup and tying with countryman and legend, Gerd Muller and one shy of Il Fenomeno, Ronaldo who tops the list with 15. Being 32, he knows this is his last chance to go one better than the Brazilian who has seen better days in the canary yellow jersey since.

El Guaje (The Kid) is David Villa's nickname, but he should have one more by now: El Midas (or something to that effect). So massive has he been for Spain in this tournament that he has now racked up five goals and seems to be unstoppable, drifting in from the left flank with deadly effect. For the second match in succession, he was in the right place at the right time to tuck in a goal that made all the difference. But, to call this match as Villa's would belittle Iker Casillas' stupendous goalkeeping that saw him keep out a penalty and two one-on-one situations. In fact, immediately following his penalty save off Oscar Cardozo, was another penalty save by Paraguay keeper, Justo Villar who denied Xabi Alonso's spotkick (which was taken twice, due to infringement by Spanish players when he took it the first time) and keep Paraguay in the game. Saint Iker, as Casillas is called, probably had a point to prove as he copped some blame for Real Madrid's season-damaging loss to Barcelona in the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009-10. But with the European champions reaching their first semifinal in sixty years, they will look to emulate the legendary West German side that won the European Championship in 1972 and then the World Cup in 1974.