World Cup Soccer Heads Into Home Stretch- by Tom Dolittle

After 3 weeks of white knuckle suspense, the largest professional sporting event on the planet, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is 3 games away from determining the best Soccer team in the world. 

Heading into the semi finals, 4 teams remain: Uruguay will play the Netherlands and Germany will play Spain in the semi-finals; then the winners will meet in the championship on July 11, 2010.

The 23 day crescendo reached its highest point so far in the tournament this weekend during the quarter finals.  The four teams advancing to the semi finals won their victories in front of sold-out crowds at 4 of the 10 stadiums where the games were played.  Celebrities including Leonardo Dicaprio and Charlize Theron were in attendance.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is expected to be the most-watched television event in history. Hundreds of broadcasters, representing about 70 countries, are transmitting the Cup to a cumulative TV audience that is predicted by FIFA officials to reach more than 2 billion people. New forms of digital media, however, are the highlight of this edition of the event. "With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet", said Jake Coyle of the Associated Press.

The final four teams have had their shares of ups and downs on their way to the final game.

In a nail-biting finish, Uruguay advances to the semifinals for the 1st time since 1970 with a 4-2 penalty kick shootout win over Ghana.  Asamoah Gyan had a chance to win the game for Ghana, and for the African continent on a penalty kick after a handball foul in the final seconds of the game, but the sure-footed Gyan sent the ball bouncing straight up off the crossbar, and The Ghanaians were headed home in tears.

The Dutch can’t be called underachievers anymore.  Not after the way the Netherlands rallied to upset five-time champion Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals Friday.  One of the shortest players on the field, Wesley Sneijder put the Netherlands ahead in the 68th minute on a header -- a thrill so huge he ran to a TV camera, tapped the lens and stuck his face in for a close-up.  "It just slipped through from my bald head and it was a great feeling," Sneijder said.

For the Germans there was no trash talking needed.  They were simply too good for Argentina.  Miroslav Klose scored twice to move into a tie for second on the all-time World Cup scoring list, and Thomas Mueller and Arne Friedrich added goals to give Germany a resounding 4-0 victory in the World Cup quarterfinals.   

As flashbulbs lit up the stadium, the Germans hugged and high-fived each other before walking around the edge of the field and saluting their fans while Argentina coach Diego Maradona took a slow walk to midfield, hands jammed in his pockets, while several of his players broke down in tears.

Spain’s star player David Villa has millions of friends back in his home country and two pretty good ones in South Africa – both goalposts at Ellis Park.

Villa banked in the only goal of Spain's 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the World Cup quarterfinals off not one post, but both of them. Villa took the tournament scoring lead with his fifth goal, in the 83rd minute, setting off a crescendo of blaring vuvuzelas in the stadium and further cementing his status as his nation's top player.

His goal Saturday night finished off a brilliant, three-way passing combination that typifies the way the European champions like to play. It sent Spain into the World Cup's final four for the first time in 60 years and highlighted a chaotic second half.