World Cup 2010: Day 16

No more maths. No more checking phones to see live updates on the group table. No more shocking results to send European football royalty crashing out. It's knockout time.

The last four teams to make the next round were Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Chile. Portugal and Brazil hacked each other to pieces for much of the game - there were eight yellow cards in the first half alone. The draw saw Ivory Coast join DPRK in not qualifying. A 3-0 win for the Africans nowhere near the number needed to usurp Portugal in the case that Brazil won. Spain beat Chile thanks to a goal each from Villa and Iniesta. Chile were reduced to ten men when Marco Estrada got a second caution for dropping Fernando Torres in the build-up to the second Spain goal. Spain scored and Chile got a man sent off. That's harsh. Harsher still was that the Chilean did not deserve to be cautioned for the tussle. Refereeing inadequacies blighting this World Cup aside Chile went through too as Switzerland decided not to bother with scoring against Honduras. A 2-0 win would have had the Swiss through, instead they go home as do the Central Americans. Cheerio, chaps.

The knockouts start tonight. Say hello to the world of extra-time, penalties and scapegoats. Uruguay or South Korea will be disappointed first. Then it's the turn of either Ghana or the USA. It would be nice if African football had one continental representative to have a good run at the World Cup - you can use that as reasoning if you really want the USA to lose. I'm not suggesting you should want that though. There's gonna be a lot of face paint, flag waving and "Americaaaaa... F**K Yeah" down in U-S-Anlitun tonight.

Goal of the Day
He was only given his debut for Spain at the age of 23. He has made up for lost time since. He's got 41 goals in 61 games in international football. He's just three goals behind the once untouchable Raul as Spain's record ever scorer - Raul's 44 goals coming in 102 matches. He makes the best striker in the Premier League - Fernando Torres - look like a carthorse with Nike football boots. He's the reason that Spain are through to the knockouts. He's David Villa. Last night he added another fine strike to his World Cup top scorer bid.

Today's Fixtures
Uruguay vs. South Korea - 10pm
USA vs. Ghana - 2.30am

Where to Watch
It's back to one game at a time so follow the chants of "USA" to find the atmosphere. For the early game the Korean restaurant next to Parkside has Korean commentary. Anywhere around the Lido or in Wangjing would be a good bet for a partisan crowd.