Classic match-ups steeped in history and involving teams that have won 15 out of the 17 World Cups contested feature in Friday and Saturday’s spectacular World Cup quarterfinals.
It’s a long way from four years ago in East Asia when South Korea, Turkey, the United States and Senegal all gave the last eight line-up an unconventional look.
This time around all the big guns are there — Brazil (five-time winners), Germany and Italy (three each), Argentina (2) and France and England (one apiece).
Only Portugal and Ukraine of those still standing have yet to hold aloft the ultimate prize in football.
It’s a spectacle that has the most powerful man in football, Fifa Chief Sepp Blatter, gushing and claiming part of the credit for ensuring that domestic leagues closed for business well ahead of the World Cup kick-off in Munich on June 9.
”A lot of the traditionally dominant teams arrived in a weakened state in 2002,” the omni-present Blatter said.
”This time we’re seeing quality play from players who came here fresh. They’re in good shape.
”The entire world is holding its breath and football lovers everywhere are out in force.”
First up will be the game that will all but bring Germany to a halt at 5pm on Friday when the host nation takes on mighty Argentina in the first of two inter-continental showdowns.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side, all but written off at home and abroad, have rebounded in spectacular fashion, and with four wins in a row, are being driven along on a wave of patriotic emotion unseen in Germany since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
Argentina, though, have had the measure of the Germans in recent years and have not lost a game to them since going down 1-0 in the 1990 World Cup final to what was then West Germany in Rome.
Captain of the South American side on that day, Diego Maradona, has been leading the cheerleaders for the albiceleste in Germany and he once again had dinner with the players following training late on Wednesday.
The same day, stubborn Italy take on surprise packages Ukraine in Hamburg in what has effectively become the ”forgotten” quarterfinal.
The Italians have had a turbulent World Cup so far, rocked by the corruption scandal that has beset top clubs back home and shocked by the apparent suicide bid of former international Gianluca Pessotta.
The emotions came to the fore on Wednesday when goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, a former Juventus teammate of Pessotto, admitted he was struggling to concentrate on the World Cup.
”I’m finding it difficult at the moment, almost impossible, to talk about football or matches and all the emotions that you’re supposed to feel at a World Cup,” Buffon said.
In Ukraine though they have, on paper at least, the easiest draw going up against a side that was hammered 4-0 by Spain in its opener but then got back off the floor to stagger into the last eight.
Their hopes reside almost entirely on star striker Andriy Shevchenko, who spent seven fruitful years with AC Milan in Italy before moving to Chelsea at the end of last season.
Saturday’s other two quarterfinals see favourites Brazil, still looking to click into top gear, go up against resurgent France, and England hoping to end their losing quarterfinal jinx against bruised and battered Portugal. — AFP
