The Whole Delivery

FT (aet): Germany 2-1 Algeria - (Schurrle 92', Ozil 120'; Djabou 120+)   Photos from FIFA.com & Getty Images The greatest Algerian effort ever, one of the most nervy and listless performances from Germany ever. And yet, it still wasn't enough for the massive upset. In between Manuel Neuer's amazing half-goalkeeper, half-centerback performance and Andre Schurrle's arrival, it was enough for Joachim Low and his side to breathe a sigh of relief with their countrymen and women.  Valid Halilhodzic, slammed in 2010 for not getting the most of an Ivory Coast side, was terrific on the day with his tactics after a curious 5 changes made. His moves were just purely sensational, as the inclusion of Lacen, Taider, and Mostefa were excellent against a somewhat lethargic duo of Lahm and Kroos. Ghoulam was having his way with Mustafi on the left, and Feghouli with Howedes and Boateng on the right. And Soudani beat the speed challenged Mertesacker on many oc...

FT: France 2-0 Nigeria (Pogba 79; Yobo 90 OG)  Even a great goalkeeper in fine form is always susceptible to a mistake. And that is what happened to Vincent Enyeama today.  Just his moment allowed Paul Pogba the difference making goal to have France survive a Nigerian side who had better tactics than them.  Deschamps decision to start Benzema with Giroud was a disaster, as Efe Ambrose was having his way all day due to Patrice Evra having no one helping him.  The change to Grizemann should have occurred sooner, but came on to push Les Blues back into the quaterfinals. But Pogba did well to maintain his composure and score what turned out to be the winner, with Joseph Yobo on his 100th (and maybe final) cap a bystander for the header.  France will need a lot better if they are to be a Germany team with Joachim Low's side get through a revenge laden Algerian side.  But he likely will return to supporting Benzema with two wingers inste...

Photo from  FIFA.com Whether it was the beginning of the match or the end, it was all about Keylor Navas. The 27-year-old keeper added to his amazing year by coming up with the denial of Theofanis Gekas to allow Michale Umaña to hit the winning penalty, sending Costa Rica through to their first World Cup quarterfinal. It was the latest great performance from the in-demand Levante man, as his stop of Gekas was the only penalty not given in the deciding kicks. Maybe the only man more coveted for Los Ticos than Navas is manager Jorge Luis Pinto, who saw his team muster up another magical display by his courageous underdog side when Michael Umana picked up a poor second yellow with a rash challenge on Jose Holebas in the 66th minute. That came 14 minutes after Bryan Ruiz added his second goal of the tournament with a clever finish past Orestis Karnezis to give Costa Rica the 1-0 lead. It seemed the CONCACAF side would produce another resolute defensive play with the Gree...

Full time: Colombia 2-0 Uruguay  The image that fits this game completely, king James once more. No one else on Colombia did anything today to break down Oscar Tabarez's fine tactics for the day. There were no clear chances for both Teo Gutierrez or Jackson Martinez, as Jose Pekerman may want to rethink the two forwards for the rest of the tournament. And there wasn't a major sniff for Juan Cuadrado either. But both Cuadrado and Gutierrez were instrumental in the buildup play for the second goal that lead to "King James" doing what he was just destined to do this tournament. Score of create goals. A star turned into a superstar this evening, and it was a joyous thing indeed for a 22-year-old growing before our eyes. Halftime: Colombia 1, Uruguay 0  Nothing more need to be said about that. Oscar Tabarez's side otherwise had great tactics and did win the battle with Jose Pekerman that half. But players decide games, not coaches, and James Rodri...

Final: Brazil 1-1 Chile (3:2 Brazil go through on penalties) The cruelty of penalties once more for us all to see takes more victims, with Gonzalo Jara being tops of them.  Jorge Sampaoli just played his tactics as right as he could, as almost saw Mauricio Pinilla be in the history books forever with a strike that beat Julio Cesar and would have silenced a nation for a long time.  Even if it seemed like they played for penalty and Brazil had the more positive play in extra time, Sampaoli was there for a famous win. And that is what is going to make today so rough for them, and so fortunate for the host nation.  Halftime: Brazil 1, Chile 1 With Neymar being allowed to go all over the field, it has made Oscar's job a little difficult, as he is playing on the right instead of in the middle. It's made his touches ineffective or in non-threatening positions.  Scolari may have to alter that a bit to allow him in the middle more and have ...

For explanation for the team can be found with the good folks at World Soccer Talk from me. The bench of the team included guys who obviously just missed out on the nod. However, it speaks to how you have to play really well in all three matches to get the nod. Also, being steadfast to not just pointing all "offensive players" in center midfield spots is vital here for the team selection. Bench : Guillermo Ochoa; Ricardo Rodriguez, Rafael Marquez, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Jerome Boateng; Thomas Muller, Juan Cuadrado, Miralem Pjanic, Alexis Sanchez, Karim Benzema, Asamoah Gyan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Cahill 

Still the best World Cup song ever and the one that should have always been the official song of 2010 competition instead of that "Waka Waka" forever crap (another "genius" move by FIFA), it's the timeless classic "Wavin Flag" from the always underrated K'naan.   Stay tune for TWD's Round of 16 coverage of The FIFA World Cup Finals tournament, beginning with Brazil and Chile at noon ET on Saturday.