FORLAN IS HAVING A LAUGH. ISN'T HE??..

So the first of the World Cup semi final clashes takes place in Cape Town tonight. But the question I want to ask is, are this quartet really the best four teams in world football ?

Germany are certainly there on merit and probably so to are Holland. But are Uruguay really one of the four best teams out there, or have they made it this far mainly due to the luck of the draw?

Prior to the World Cup, Spain would clearly have been selected by nearly everyone as one of the four best teams, but have they honestly been better than Argentina, Brazil, Ghana or even Japan during this tournament? They were fortunate to beat ten-man Chile and were very poor against both Switzerland and Paraguay.

The European Champions' only decent performance came in the second half against Portugal. But maybe this suggests that they can raise their game against the so called ‘stronger’ teams. We shall see tomorrow night.

I am debating this point because of something Diego Forlan blurted out, and it made me think. Forlan was interviewed by ITV immediately after the shoot out win over Ghana (this may explain his outrageous statement) and he suggested that Uruguay are now one of the four best teams in the world. Are they really? They are according the record books.

Of course Luis Suarez – by handling on the goal-line- did what any member of any team would have done. And this event was especially high profile and given abnormally wide coverage because it was done in the last minute of a World Cup quarter final when the scores were level.

If it had been in the 15th minute, no one would really have remembered it. But the fact remains that the Ajax striker did cheat, and that’s why Forlan’s statement left me a feeling a little ill at ease.

Holland (or the Netherlands, let’s not be pedantic here..) meanwhile, remind of me a lot of France in 1998. They are more functional than the fluent passing team we often associate with the Dutch and they possess hard working and willing runners ready to do the so-called -dirty work'.

Players such as Marc Van Bommel, Dirk Kuyt and Nigel de Jong are far from the ‘total football’ type Dutch players were are used to enjoying, but they are proving to be effective.

The combination of those players and, in addition, two or three fantastically gifted flair players is doing the trick for Holland. And just like the French in 1998, they are winning without performing at their best and by very narrow margins.

In addition, the twice beaten finalists have an excellent goalkeeper in Maarten Stekelenburg and an extremely organised defence – something many of us thought would be their downfall. Make no mistake, they have been lucky at times, but you need that to win this competition.

We must also remember however, that the Dutch have been very unfortunate in tournaments gone by, so maybe now is their time. It is clear that Suarez is a huge loss to Uruguay and I expect another narrow win for the Netherlands tonight. Wesley Sneijder will probably once again prove to be the difference.

Holland's defeat of Brazil was mainly down to the Brazilian’s uncharacteristic errors and lack of discipline. Dunga’s side should really have killed that game off before the break when they were totally in the ascendancy. Previous Brazil teams would have done that, but this team lacks a certain cutting edge.

The five times winners were disappointing throughout their campaign. And though I didn’t expect them to display a lot of flair during the tournament, I did expect their defence to be tighter. It was much vaunted prior to the competition.

They do however lack the graceful, exhilarating players of the past, and you have to question Dunga’s decision to leave both Pato and Ronaldinho out of his squad. Of this crop of players, Robinho is inconsistent (this tournament was almost like a miniature version of his Manchester City spell) while Fabiano can frequently go missing and get frustrated. Kaka looked short of match fitness throughout and appeared to have the whole world on his shoulders at times.

But in four years time, despite the pressure of being the host nation, you wouldn’t bet against them would you? This last eight years have been a blip in their colourful World Cup history, but 12 years is nothing really, try 44…!!!

The outstanding team of the tournament so far has been Germany. It is no coincidence that both England and Argentina – two fancied sides – capitulated against the swift counter attacking of Joachim Loew’s young outfit.

Much of the credit has to go to the coach, who pin-pointed the weaknesses of both teams perfectly. With England he pinpointed their lack of mobility in the centre of the pitch and against Argentina, Loew noted how little the front three of Tevez, Higuain (especially) and Messi track back past the half way line. The Germans punished both this flaw and the lack of creativity of the Argentines in the middle of the park and his tactics worked brilliantly.

Maradona probably regrets not playing Juan Veron in the middle, but quite honestly with that defence his team would still have been comfortably beaten. As Alan Hansen pointed out on the BBC – three of the German goals were from about three yards out!

Even if a team, such as Argentina, have a brilliant front three of four, you cannot have an average back seven and win the World Cup and there were just too many flaws, Messi or not.

I think the quarter finals were as good as the Argentines could have expected, and Maradona has had a decent first World Cup as boss. It will probably also be his last, but he can leave South Africa with his head held high (although that still wouldn’t be very high would it? And ironically his side was defeated by Loew...)

Bastian Schweinsteiger was the player of the quarter finals and has probably been the player of the World Cup so far. He keeps possession brilliantly, but being a natural right winger, is also not short of skill, as he demonstrated by his weaving run to create Germany’s third goal. Louis Van Gaal switched him to central midfield at Bayern Munich earlier in the season and must be given a huge amount of credit for identifying Schweinsteiger’s more natural gifts.

On Saturday, he was majestic and his performance was reinforced even further by the sound of his catchy German name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a commentator mention one single player’s name as much as Schweinsteiger’s was said on Saturday. Or maybe Steve Wilson - the BBC commentator - just over did it for the effect. Either way it was an outstanding performance from the 25 year old.

Schweinsteiger’s central midfield partner, Sami Khedeira, has also been outstanding although in a less eye catching manner. And it just goes to show how teamwork and a clear understanding of the basics can defy age barriers when it comes to performance. England should take note.

Germany have revolutionised the traditional thinking of football analysts in this World Cup, and have been an absolute joy to watch. Would Michael Ballack have even made a difference had he been fit? It’s hard to imagine them playing any better.

Saying that, the Spanish will not present such as easy obstacle in the German’s next match, and I predict either a narrow Spanish win or a penalty shoot out in the second semi final in Durban.

It is a repeat of the Euro 2008 final when Spain were comfortable winners and I feel their passing game may just wear out the Germans this time round. The Spanish are more creative in midfield than both England and Argentina and have very few weaknesses. They give little away at the back and I believe the German’s counter-attacking game may actually be nullified by the similar style of the Spanish.

I am also predicting a Fernando Torres goal as I feel the Spanish (also remarkably reminiscent of France in 1998. Although minus Zidane, they have better attacking players) will finally come to life and show the world what they are capable of tomorrow evening.

While Spain were average against an organised, but functional Paraguay side, they should have had another stone wall penalty and just about deserved to win. I think the fact that the team are still in South Africa when they probably shouldn’t be will inspire them.

Expect a much better performance from Del Bosque’s side and one thing’s for sure, it certainly won’t be a three or four goal German victory, mark my words!

Finally a small mention has to go to everyone’s second team – Ghana. While they were average in the early group stages, against Germany in the last match of Group D they began to show signs of their potential.

The heroes of Africa undoubtedly grew as the tournament progressed and it was genuinely heart-breaking to see them crash out on Friday night in such dramatic fashion.

In both the last 16 game against the USA and in the quarter finals the Ghanaians were terrific. The team - who were without Michael Essien remember? – worked tirelessly, passed fluently and played some of the best football of the competition in extra time against the Uruguayans.

Kevin Prince Boateng’s stock must have risen three fold during this tournament and unlike so many African teams of the past, Ghana were very organised at the back and kept their discipline in midfield. Also, despite them only playing one up front, they were still invigorating to watch in the true African style. And let’s face it, without meaning any disrespect to Uruguay, Ghana deserved a semi final place.

Just imagine how good they could have been if Essien had been fit? We will never know, but I felt almost as disappointed for Ghana - and especially their Rennes striker – Asamoah Gyan - as I did when England lost to Germany. At least the Ghanaians gave everything.

Hopefully other African nations can be inspired by the performances of Ghana and begin to produce several teams of a similar stature in the near future. We have all been waiting for that African domination but it has never come close to happening. Maybe this could be a turning point.

Congratulations to Ghana for their sterling contribution in South Africa. They have been a shining light in a tournament that, in all honesty, has been quite disappointing.


Now let’s hope it produces two memorable semi final matches over the next two days. And I for one cannot wait for the Germany-Spain clash tomorrow night.

Many people are craving for a repeat of the 1974 final between the then West Germans and Holland, when the ‘boring’ Germans defeated the Johan Cruyff inspired, ‘total football’ Dutch side. This time it could be classed as roles reversed if the two countries meet on July 11th, but I don’t think this will happen.

I fully expect it to be a Netherlands v Spain final on Sunday night in Johannesburg. Watch this space...