World Cup Buzz, Day 16 - Will the knock-out stages remove the African continent's final hope for World Cup glory?

The Round of 16 stage begins today with two games bereft of any tournament favourites. However both are extremely close to call, and feature four teams that perhaps haven't been given the respect or attention they deserve. To emerge from the Group Stages of the World Cup is, although a minimum expectation for the top sides, still an excellent achievement. It ought not to be forgotten that France, Italy, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria and Serbia have all failed to do so, and despite the current problems afflicting a number of these teams, nobody would deny that they are still very capable sides. So to tomorrow's first game, and it sees South Korea, perhaps a little forgotten since their magnificent exploits in the 2002 World Cup, take on Uruguay, who were perhaps similarly overlooked at the start of the competition but have managed to establish themselves amongst the tournament favourites, at least to a certain extent. There appears to be little difference between the two sides in terms of quality, and if Diego Forlan is firing on all cylinders Uruguay have an excellent chance of opening the scoring in this game, which may be the key to victory.

However South Korea are an industrious and well-organised side, marshalled by the technically excellent and versatile Park Ji Sung, and aided by the quality of AS Monaco's Park Chu-Young, experienced striker Lee Dong-Gook and young Bolton winger Lee Chung-Young. Uruguay, for their part, and by no means bereft of talent, besides the considerable goal-scoring potential of Diego Forlan. Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani provide additional attacking impetus, whilst the talents of Walter Gargano and Ignacio Gonzalez could be crucial in winning the midfield battle. If I were to make a prediction, which would almost certainly be proved to be drastically incorrect by 5pm tomorrow, I would go with Uruguay to edge it, perhaps by a 2-1 scoreline. If Uruguay score first, and I believe they will, they should be able to control the game, dictate play and perhaps grab a second goal on the break. I cannot see South Korea failing to score, but I feel that as an all-round package the Uruguayans have the potential to go slightly further, and this should be evident during tomorrow's game.

The second game of the day, and the second knock-out tie of this Round of 16 teams, sees the United States, in the position of Group C winner that some England fans felt their side had been pre-destined to occupy, taking on second-placed Group D side Ghana. As the only African representative left in the tournament, the pressure is all on Ghana, who are without their talismanic leader Michael Essien, who has left a huge hole in the Black Stars' midfield. As for the rest of the Ghanaian side, Asamoah Gyan has been hugely impressive in the Group Stages, scoring twice to take his tally for Ghana to 21 goals in 42 games, a very healthy return indeed. Besides Gyan the Black Stars do look slightly light up front, and will need to rely on their impressive array of midfield players, including the vastly experienced Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari, to dominate possession and dictate the play. Defensively Ghana also look rather suspect, and could be vulnerable to the pace and athleticism of the United States attack.

The USA, deserved group winners, have been in good form so far, with their midfield particularly impressive. Players such as Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey have all shown themselves to be particularly adept at the game Americans irritatingly refer to as 'soccer', whilst Landon Donovan, capped 126 times by the United States, demonstrated on loan at Everton his ability to boss the midfield, and has continued to do so at this World Cup. As with the Ghanaians, the USA look rather toothless up front, with the pacy Jozy Altidore their only experienced striker, and primary goal threat amongst their attacking ranks. However, as they demonstrated against Slovenia, the United States are excellent from set pieces, and Ghana will have to ensure that they do not give away a multitude of free kicks in dangerous areas. My score prediction for this game is a rather unexciting 1-1 draw by the end of 90 minutes, heading to extra time and possibly penalties. Given the lack of goal-scoring potential amongst both sides' strikers, it may well be a game of limited chances. However, if it goes to extra time it will be equally difficult to call. Whilst I would expect the United States to be superior to Ghana in terms of fitness over 120 minutes of football, the Ghanaians may well have slightly more about them going forward against an American back four that hasn't been particularly impressive so far.