As soon as the smoke of the Anglo-German war ended, the match between Argentina and Uruguay was about to take place, a civil war between two teams in the Americas.

Argentina coach Maradona announced before the game that Argentina would compete with the Germans for a ticket to the semi-finals.

Uruguayan coach Tabárez declared that they would give the world a miracle!

At half past eight in the evening, the match between the two sides at the Johannesburg Football City Stadium began, and the real test of Maradona's coaching ability began.

In the early stages of the match, both sides were very careful and launched tentative attacks. In the sixth minute, Forlan's powerful shot from the left side of the penalty area opened the prelude to both sides' attacks.

Argentina then launched a furious attack on Uruguay with their powerful attacking power.

In the twelfth minute, Messi's 20-meter hanging shot was saved by Muslera and confiscated!

A minute later, Di Maria's shot in front of the box was deflected wide by Lugano!

Argentina took the lead in the 26th minute when Messi crossed and Muslera made a timely save from Tevez. Messi took two steps forward and picked up a pass, and Tevez scored with a header from an obviously offside position. The score became 1-0!

Players from both sides surrounded the linesman theory, but the referee insisted on scoring a penalty!

This is the second consecutive match in this World Cup where the referee misjudged, and the referee was widely criticized after the game.

The goal hit Uruguay too hard, and Argentina took the opportunity to widen the score gap. In the 33rd minute, Godin made a mistake in front of the penalty area, and Higuain took the ball and shook Muslera and shot into the empty goal, and the score became 2-0!

It was Higuain's fourth goal of the tournament and he was temporarily second in the scorers' charts. There was thunder of joy in the stands. Argentine fans are excited and see the hope of qualifying.

Then, Uruguay, who were behind the score, launched a frantic counterattack. In the 37th minute, Forlan made a long diagonal pass from the right, and Suarez headed a ball from 10 meters in front of the goal and was confiscated by Romero.

In the 42nd minute, Maxi Pereira cut inside from the right and fired a long-range left-footed shot that Mascherano blocked with his right leg.

With the referee's two short and one long whistles, Argentina temporarily took a 2-0 lead and ended the first half.

At the start of the second half, Argentina made another kill. In the 52nd minute, after the Beast Tevez pass was blocked. If you step forward, you will shoot hard!

The ball penetrates directly into Muslera's ten fingers. The score became 3-0, and Argentina victory was in sight!

Maradona on the sidelines cheered like a child, and his pre-match words were about to come true. A 3-0 lead, under the onslaught of Uruguay. Argentina chose to retreat.

Seventy minutes. Uruguay's efforts paid off. Edinson Cavani cuts inside the right to the left. Forlan struck past Otamendi and crossed through the open space behind the Argentine defence. Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero hesitated to reach the ball, and Suarez was eight yards from goal. The right foot is pushed into the net from a small angle.

The score became three to one, and Uruguay closed the score gap. In the ensuing game, Maradona commanded his team to remain composed, holding the score 3-1 until the end of the game.

Argentina reached the quarterfinals and Uruguay were eliminated. The Argentine domestic media praised their team, saying they were getting into the groove.

Maradona was also given rare praise, with the Argentine newspaper The Independent saying: "Maradona has begun to adjust to his role as a head coach. ”

……

On the 28th, there will be two knockout matches, namely the Netherlands vs. Slovakia and Brazil vs. Chile. The media generally expected the Netherlands and Brazil to emerge victorious, as they had the upper hand in terms of strength and were more experienced in the tournament.

At four o'clock in the afternoon of the 28th, the Durban Stadium, the match between the Netherlands and Slovakia officially began.

The Netherlands have conceded just three goals in their last seven World Cup games. The Netherlands won all of their games in the group stage, extending their unbeaten run to 22 games, and the team's World Cup winning streak was four in 1974 to reach the final.

Arjen Robben started for the first time in this World Cup, replacing the injured Van der Vaart, and Kuyt switched to the left. The rest of the positions were all regular in the group stage, with Van der Wiel returning to replace Blarouz.

Since the 0-0 draw with Russia in 2005, Slovakia have scored in each of the 49 games in which they have played. Slovakia has never played the Netherlands since independence, but Czechoslovakia have won six of their nine meetings with the Netherlands.

In the first round of the 1938 World Cup, they eliminated the Netherlands 3-0 after extra time, and in the semi-finals of the 1976 European Championship, they defeated the Netherlands. Weiss Sr. made only one change to the starter, with Weiss Jr. replacing suspended midfielder Steerba.

If there is a dark horse in this tournament, it is Slovakia. They were in Group F with traditional powerhouses Italy, Paraguay and New Zealand, and Slovakia finished second in the group.

Slovakia took the lead after the start of the game, and just 74 seconds into the game, Weiss Jr. sent a low cross from the left, and Jendrisek fired a left-footed volley high from 24 meters in front of goal, leaving the Dutch in a cold sweat.

The Netherlands then organised an attack, and in the fifth minute, Robben, who started for the first time in the tournament, crossed from the left, and Sneijder fired a powerful shot from 25 yards out in the middle, and the ball went over the crossbar.

The Dutch team, with their powerful attacking power, launched a tidal attack.

In the seventh minute, Kuyt's cross from the left was met by Van Persie's header from nine yards out, and Zabavnik stepped forward and fired a powerful shot. It's just a pity that the ball went wide of the right post.

In the 11th minute, Van Persie split the ball in the middle, and Sneijder's right-footed shot from 13 meters from goal on the left side of the penalty area was confiscated by Mouja.

Slovakia was in danger in front of the goal, and finally the goal was broken in the eighteenth minute. Slovakia threw the ball into the touchline and was tackled by Mathieson, and Sneijder played a diagonal long pass from 50 yards to the left side of the backfield behind Zabavnik. Robben broke through with the ball on the right rib, then changed the line and cut crosswise, dodged Giulica and Zabavnik, and fired a low left-footed shot into the bottom right corner from 20 meters in front of the goal!

The score became 1-0!

It was Robben's 14th goal in 49 international appearances as he showed what he could do at the World Cup, with Netherlands boss Donny van Marwijk raising his fist to cheer on his protégé.

It also came from a quick counter-attack, with two of Germany's three goals yesterday coming from a quick counter-attack. From this point of view, quick counter-attacks have become a must-have conventional weapon for all teams.

Slovakia did not dare to press the attack after conceding the goal, and the two teams got into a midfield struggle, and the scene became extremely dull. The fans in the stands even let out loud boos. However, both teams were unmoved and ended the first half of the game in a dull way.

After a fifteen-minute break, the two sides changed sides and fought again. After the start of the second half, the Dutch team stepped up their attack.

In the 50th minute, Robben almost copied the previous goal, Van Persie turned and burst into the penalty area and was destroyed by Giulica, Robben took the ball on the right and cut inside 16 meters from goal with a left-footed volley. The ball was touched by Muha's fingertips and came out of the far post!

Sneijder's corner from the left is headed out. The Netherlands continued to organize the offensive. Sneijder passed straight from the left, Robben and Kuyt kicked the wall and then burst into the penalty area and crossed, Mathieson was blocked by Muha with his left foot eight meters from the goal!

In the 65th minute, Robben counterattacked at high speed on the right rib and crossed diagonally. Sneijder turned and volleyed from 20 yards in front of goal and was blocked.

Over time. Slovakia, which was behind by the score, stepped up their attack.

Sixty-third minute. Kuzka fired a low shot wide of the left-hand post from the centre circle.

In the 67th minute, Hamsik split the ball, and Stoch's powerful volley from the inside of the penalty area on the left was held up by Stekelenberg. In the ensuing corner. Kuzka shoveled with his instep outside the middle, and Vitek volleyed with his left foot from thirteen meters in front of the goal, which was bravely defused by Stekelenberg!

In the 84th minute, the Dutch team widened the score gap. Shktel was found guilty of a foul on Huntelaar with a high leg behind his back, and Shkettl was very unhappy. But just as he protested, Van Bronckhorst took a quick free-kick from the left side of the midfield and hoisted it into the left side of the box!

Kuyt got a header in front of goalkeeper Muha, shook the goalkeeper and cleverly crossed the middle, where Sneijder slotted a right-footed shot into the net from near the penalty spot.

The score became 2-0!

With a two-goal lead, the Dutch are expected to qualify, and they are focusing on defence. Just when people thought that no one could change the score, Slovakia scored. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Kuzka's long-range shot from the left touched the defender into the penalty area, and Yakubuko took the ball and was tackled by Stekelenberg, penalty!

Stekelenberg gets a yellow card, and Vitek hits the bottom left corner!

The score becomes two to one!

It's a pity that Slovakia's goal came too late, and they were unable to recover, losing with a score of 1-2, and they could no longer play the dark horse. The Dutch progressed to the quarter-finals, but they were criticized by many media outlets.

Milan Sports commented: Due to the large difference in the strength of the two teams, and the Netherlands no longer take the flashy route, this game is quite boring. Under the dreak, the key to breaking the deadlock for the Dutch team was Robben's "one trick".

The Dutch goal came from a counter-attack, and in the 18th minute, Slovakia's sideline ball was tackled by Mathieson, and Sneijder's long diagonal pass from the back field was precisely distributed to Robben on the right. Van Persie ran outside to deflect away the Slovak defenders, and the knowing Robben cut the ball cross-cutting to a low left-footed shot 20 yards from goal, which drilled into the bottom right corner and into the net.

It was the quintessential Robben-style goal, which he tried again and again at Bayern last season.

The Dutchman lacked attack in this game and did not reflect the true character of a strong team, and it was sad that Van Marwijk's Dutch side were drifting away from the flashy football.

……

Brazil and Chile are also a matchup between strong and weak. At half past eight o'clock in the evening of the 28th, at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, the match between the two teams began. Brazil attacked aggressively and frequently threatened Chile's goal.

In the 35th minute, McConn's cross from the right was blocked by Contreras, and he took his team's sixth corner kick on the right side, and Juan's header from nine meters from goal went into the top left corner!

The score became 1-0 and Brazil took the lead!

In the 38th minute, Juan cleared the ball with a big foot in the penalty area, and Fabiano rubbed his back header to Robinho on the left. Robinho countered with the ball and crossed low, Kaka pushed the ball with his right foot at the top of the arc of the penalty area, Fabiano shook off Bravo in the tackle against offside, and advanced the empty goal five meters from the goal on the right side!

The score became 2-0 and Brazil widened the score gap!

Kaka assisted, Fabiano scored, this Kaka is a rare brilliant picture in this World Cup.

Brazil scored again in the 59th minute, Ramires broke the ball in the middle line and drove straight in, broke through to the edge of the penalty area, and knocked it cross. Robinho curled the ball with his right foot from 13 meters in front of the goal, and the football went into the net on the right post!

The score was 3-0 and Robinho's goal sealed the win. In the end, Brazil finished Chile 3-0 and will compete with the Netherlands for a ticket to the semi-finals.

……

On the 29th, the last match day of the first round of the knockout round, Paraguay will play against Japan, Spain and Portugal.

At 4 p.m., the match between Paraguay and Japan was first played at the Loftos Stadium. Both teams have never reached the quarterfinals in the World Cup. The two sides have met six times in history, with Japan having one win, three draws and two losses.

Paraguay almost opened the scoring in the 20th minute, Riveros passed, Barrios turned and burst into the left side of the penalty area, and the lone shot from 10 meters out. The football was blocked by Eiji Kawashima with his legs, and Yuto Nagatomo cleared the siege.

Japan also shot hard from 30 meters in the 22nd minute with the color, and the football hit the crossbar and popped up!

In the ensuing game, the two sides played a very close game, with both teams being very defensively focused. At the end of 90 minutes, no one could break through the opponent's goal and had to go into extra time.

However, after 30 minutes of extra time, the two sides still did not score and had to play a brutal penalty shoot-out. Both sides scored in the first two rounds, and in the third round, Komano hit the crossbar with a powerful shot, and the Japanese formation shì was grim. Paraguay seized their chances and scored penalties in the next two rounds.

At the end of the game, Paraguay won a penalty shootout 5-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals, and Japan fell to a brutal penalty shootout. So far, the Asian teams are all out.

With the final match left in the first round of the knockout round, the eyes of the world turn to the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, where Spain and Portugal will be matched.

This is the second strong match in the quarter-finals, and the two teams have met 32 times in history, with Spain holding the upper hand with 15 wins, 12 draws and 5 losses. However, there is no record of the two sides in the World Cup finals.

At half past eight in the evening, the game started on time, and the first to get into the groove was the Spanish team.

Less than a minute into the game, Capdevilla passed the ball and Torres' powerful shot from the edge of the box on the left was saved by Eduardo.

In the third minute, Xavi passed the ball and Villa's powerful shot from 30 meters on the left was saved by Eduardo. The passive situation at the beginning also made the Portuguese goalkeeper express his dissatisfaction to his teammates.

In the seventh minute, Xavi passed the ball, Villa burst into the left side of the penalty area, and the shot from a tight angle was saved by Eduardo again.

In the twelfth minute, Xavi took a tactical corner kick and Torres swept a shot from the right side of the penalty area, the ball just over the crossbar.

Portugal also gradually got into the rhythm of the game, in the 17th minute, Ramos fouled Coentrão, Cristiano Ronaldo took a free kick from the left, and the ball bounced off the ground and was easily collected by Casillas.

In the 23rd minute, Almeida passed the ball, and Ronaldo's long-range shot was wide again.

The Spanish team, with their strong midfield ability, controlled the game and frequently created killing opportunities. Portugal, on the other hand, could only danger Spain's goal from set-pieces.

The deadlock lasted until the sixty-third minute, when it was broken. Spain's successive passes on the edge of the Portuguese penalty area, and finally Xavi's clever backheel pass, Villa's shot from the edge of the small box was saved by Eduardo!

The astute Villa then fired into the net for his fourth goal of the tournament.

The score became 1-0!

Portugal still did not improve in attack when the score was behind, and the football was still firmly controlled by Spain. Spain came close to scoring again in the 77th minute when Xavi crossed the ball and Villa fired 25 powerful shots into the top left corner, but the ball was saved by Eduardo.

Spain secured their last ticket to the quarterfinals with a narrow 0-1 win over Portugal thanks to a goal from Villa, where they will face Paraguay for the semi-finals.

So far, the quarterfinals have all been produced, and the quarterfinals are: France vs Ghana, Netherlands vs Brazil, Argentina vs Germany, Spain vs Paraguay.

Among them, the matches between the Netherlands and Brazil, Argentina and Germany are strong dialogues. (To be continued......)