Uruguay 2, South Korea 1
Two goals from Luiz Suarez put the South Americans into the quarterfinals on a brutally rainy winter afternoon in Port Elizabeth. A crowd of 30,000 was announced, but the 42,000-seat stadium looked half empty for what turned out to be a decent game.
The winner came on 80 minutes and was an absolutely beautiful strike, bending and dipping inside the far post. That rescued a scoreline created by goalkeeping errors. The very first thing goalkeepers are taught is "if you can't get the ball, stay on your line". Uruguay's first goal on 8 minutes and Lee Chung-Yong's reply after 68 minutes were each created by keepers ambling off the line and coming up empty.
Uruguay set out only to defend in the second half, but after the Koreans deservedly equalized Uruguay flicked the light switch and dominated the rest of the way. Korea had chances, including a 3rd-minute free kick off the outside of the post, and clumsy spillage by the Uruguayan keeper with a couple minutes left, but the Uruguayans dominated this match when they wanted to.
Uruguay is the first South American side outside of Brazil and Argentina to reach the last eight since Peru did it in 1978. The South American sides look great this year.
Ghana 2, USA 1 (aet)
Ghana went ahead early through Kevin-Prince Boateng. Landon Donovan equalized from the spot on 62 minutes. Asamoah Gyan got the winner three minutes into extra time. Gyan played the whole game but looked fresh as a daisy blowing through Carlos Bocanegra before rifling the ball home. Ghana face Uruguay in the quarters.
So now, it's an open question, that question so routinely asked when the USA eventually bows out of World Cups: does soccer now have a bigger toehold on the American sporting landscape? I guess we'll see in years to come. This American team wasn't very good, but I'm not sure that matters. You know what would help? A winning fantasy sports formula. Soccer statistics used to be really scarce (goalscorers only, with dodgy timing of goals). Now, more and more stats are being kept.
The guys who invented rotisserie baseball or fantasy football didn't get rich. The site that first markets a winning fantasy soccer format to the US won't get rich either. But it'll go a long way to keeping people interested in the game between their childhood years and the time their kids take up the sport. It's worth a thought.