World Cup Buzz, Day 23 - Surely there can be nothing better than watching your enemies fight to the death?

After last night's injustice, where lethal marksman Luis Suarez demonstrated his talent, not for goalscoring, but cheating in order to ensure his side's progression to the Semi-Finals, today's Germany vs. Argentina showdown should provide a bit of much needed relief. Despite showcasing some of the world's foremost players, it will also be a good opportunity to watch either German or Argentinean fans, players and coaches crying at full-time, a sight to savour for the millions of downhearted England fans across the country. On a purely footballing level the match is deeply intriguing, for it will almost certainly be the first time that the managerial credentials of Diego Maradona, as well as his tactical knowledge and understanding, have been tested at this tournament. No disrespect to the following sides, but games against Nigeria, South Korea, Greece and Mexico haven't been the most taxing, and generally Maradona has been able to dispatch his extremely talented charges and watch them overcome their opponents with ease. The test Joachim Low's Germany will almost certainly provide will not be easy in the slightest. Fresh from a convincing 4-1 victory over England, which I think a few news outlets in this country may well have covered, the Germans are a force to be reckoned with. Despite the innane and pointless comparisons with previous German sides, Low's players proved to the world that they are resilient, tactically sound, technically excellent and most of all extremely talented. On paper Argentina have more experience, and it is fair to say that Germany, like their opponents, have not been tested against opponents of the highest calibre as of yet.

Mesut Ozil will continue to attract the interest of commentators, fans and pundits alike, as I imagine will Lionel Messi's percieved underachievement at this tournament. It will be interesting to see whether Argentina's defence will be able to cope with Germany's lethal counter-attacking, especially when it's array of attacking stars are pushing forward hoping to break the deadlock, or in search of an equaliser. Having said that I doubt that even a manager as tactically dubious as Maradona will afford Low's side the amount of space that England's generous defence did on Sunday. The most intriguing battle could be in midfield, where I actually believe the Germans to be superior to their opponents. Schweingstieger was for me the man of the match in Germany's thrashing of England, and was able to dictate the play and control possession with ease. Up front the devastating combination of Messi, Higuain and Tevez constitutes Argentina's main threat, and I doubt it will go away from this game empty handed. My score prediction for the game is 2-1 to Germany, a result which may well only be achieved after extra time. Perhaps it's the disappointment of Sunday, perhaps it's my low opinion of Maradona, but something tells me it will be Deutschland Uber Argies tomorrow.

The second game of the day may appear to many a foregone conclusion, a match that Vicente del Bosque's Spain simply need to turn up to in order to win by a handsome margin. Whilst I do believe that Spain will ultimately progress, the relative difficulty they've had in progressing to this stage appears to suggest that tomorrow night's Quarter Final clash will be close, and by no means a classic. With Fernando Torres patently unfit and almost entirely ineffective as a result, the goalscoring burden has fallen on Spain's second most successful player in that regard, David Villa. The new Barcelona forward has been in vintage goalscoring form, and I would back him to be the difference against opponents Paraguay. The seemingly unbeatable midfield partnership of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta should allow the Spanish to dictate the pattern of the game, but expect resolute, 'backs against the wall', to borrow yet another footballing cliche, defending at all times. Paraguay for their part will be hoping to steal a goal on the break, and in Roque Santa Cruz they have a forward well versed in playing up front on his own, and capable of scoring from set-piece situations, where the Paraguayans ought to be most successful.

Having disregarded Spain as contenders to lift the famous Jules Rimet trophy in my pre-tournament prediction piece, and betted accordingly, nothing would please me more than to see the Spanish knocked-out, in time honoured fashion, just as the competition hots up and the pressure is really put on them to succeed. However I simply cannot see it. After all, any side able to justify leaving Cesc Fabregas on the bench is undoubtedly rather well endowed. However the fact that Spain have just four strikers in their squad, and that two of these are Pedro and Fernando Llorente, who boast just four international goals between them, suggests that if Fernando Torres really is as unfit as I believe him to be, Spain will have trouble locating an adequate replacement. It is unlikely that Paraguay will reach this stage of a World Cup for a long time to come, no disrespect intended, but unfortunately it is even more unlikely that they will be able to progress tomorrow evening at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Therefore I predict that Spain will triumph by two goals to nil, and carry a significant amount of hope that both will be scored by David Villa, my pre-tournament prediction for top scorer, who could earn me a handsome £6 if am proved right.