CRO 0 - 1 GER: Croatia performed well in the first match. But, the attacking threat they showed would n't be enough to beat the Germans. I guess Germany will win this one with a bit of hard work. Klose to score.

AUT 2 - 1 POL: Again, I don't really care. Random prediction. 

Everyone who did not watch yesterdays Switzerland vs Turkey game missed a lot. The game was action packed, funny and tense. The game as concluded with a goal in the last minute ( deep into the injury time ) to the Turks. But that just does not tell the whole story. The heavens opened up. And the ground was getting worse every minute. By the time the clock showed 30 minutes, there were puddles of water all around the place. The ball just didn't move. The Turks had their hearts in their mouths when a back pass was intercepted by one such puddle. The ball stopped midway between the Turkish  keeper and a Swiss player. Luckily for the Turks their keeper was quick to clear the  ball. At one stage all the players resorted to play the ball in the air and air alone. During the break, groundsmen punctured the pitch for the water to drain quickly. The second half didn't involve any such drama but it was highly competitive. The shot for the last goal took a wicked deflection off a Swiss defender, looped over the Goal Keeper into the goal. Very unlucky for the Swiss indeed. 

I hope today's matches are just as exciting as yesterday. 

CZE vs POR: We already saw, in their previous encounter against the Swiss, how dodgy the Czech defence is. Though Gomes did not seem very prolific, there are other match winners in portugal. Baros might play this game with Pasil being a doubt. The Czechs might switch to a 4-4-2 with Baros and Koller upfront. It all depends on how well Pepe deals with Koller. When Senderos supressed Koller, I don't think it will be a problem for Pepe/Carvalho. I think the Portuguese will win. This is defenitely a match to watch.

I am predicting CZE 1 - 2 POR. The Baros factor might help the Czechs pull one off. But, their sluggish defence will suffer from pacy counter attacks.

SUI vs TUR: The turks lacked adventure in thier game against Portugal. They seemed to stand still when they allowed a centre back run into the box. The swiss at the same time tried everything they could against the Czechs. And the did it well. Comparing these performances, it looks like the home side are going to win it. But, the will badly miss Frei. The fans surely will give them an edge. How will the Swiss deal with the loss of Frei would be the deciding factor. This one is going to be close. I would say SUI 1 - TUR 1

Deco, Ronaldo, Baros, Barnetta, Nihat: Two of them could score.

Goal Keeper: Edwin Van Der Saar, Petr Cech, Lehmann, Pletikosa, Isaksson etc. have all got clean sheets. Coupet had nothing to deal with. So, I am not including him here. Van Der Saar saved wonderfully from Pirlo's free kick and dealt 1v1 against Toni late in the second half very well. His imposing figure did not allow Toni a proper sight at the goal. Lehmann showed good reflexes and positioning was decent. But both of their defenders contributed much. My vote goes to Petr Cech who was confident and well positioned between the posts with a comparatively nervy defence infront of him. They allowed 16 shots out of which 8 were on target. He saved ever one of them with ease. Great goal keepers just make it look simple.

Left Back: This position is inarguably bagged by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst who held the flag of total football proudly high. Clearing off the line and running the length of the field to supply a deep cross. Later running again to score a decent header was amazing. There was no other left back so far who contributed better than he did.

Centre Back: Playing 1-2 with the attackers, running into the box in open play was not a normal thing to be done by a centre back. You know who I am talking about. Yes, it is Pepe. He continues to keep his Real Madrid form. He was good in the air. He headed accurately but he was in an offside position. Undoubtedly he wins one of the two berths in the heart of the defence.

Centre Back: Normally people would expect Italians here. I am sorry, but - Italy - cannavaro/nesta = shaky ( as mentioned in whoateallthepies.tv ). Now the real debete starts. Metzelder, Mertesacker, Carvalho, all did well. Again, I am avoiding the French because they had no real threat to deal with. Mathijsen and Ooijer dealt with Toni well. But they didn't battle in the air with him. They let him against van der saar alone a couple of times. Toni should have finished well but, luckily for the dutch - he did not. I am not sure whom to put here. I will probably go with Carvalho because he dealt with better quality , confidently, than the rest of them.

Right Back: Philipp Lahm and Sergio Ramos were the ones who impressed most going forward as well as defending. Not because I am a German fan that I will choose Lahm but because he was full of passion and confidence. Ramos was a little precarious. Got beaten a few times. But Lahm was solid. So, Philipp Lahm it will be.

Left Midfield: Who do you expect to be here but Wesely Sneijder. One volley that comprehensively finished the conter attack and thus finishing off the Italians. He won't find a better birthday present.

Central Midfield: I would put Luka Modric at one of the midfield positions because of the all-round performance. He attacked well, defened well. He also looked comfortable when he was asked to play in the hole. If he had been allowed to attack in the second half too, I am sure there would have been atleast another goal.

Central Midfield: Michael Ballack, Van der Vaart, Xavi all impressed and would deserve a place here.Ballack and Frings were natural dictators in this area. It was as if they owened the place. They faced very little competition. Van der vaart faced tough opposition. But he was too attack minded. I agree he contributed massively in the attacks. But, the one we need here has to be a complete midfielder. For me, the one who stood out is Xavi with his presicion passing, distribution and attacking. He was just outstanding and was at the heart of almost every Spanish attack. He tackled well late in the match when the Russians really looked like they were going to come back which eventually never happened.

Right Midfield: Again this position raises questions on the selection. There is Freddie Ljungberg. He worked tirelessly all night, has been very clever in his passing. But it just didn't work out well on the receiving end. He burst forward and also urging his players to do so like a proper captain. And there is Dirk Kuyt who also impressed with his work rate and contributed two crucial assists and was so good on the counter. Again, considering the opposition, Dirk Kuyt wins this. But, special praise to Freddie.

Strikers: Every one will probably agree with me on this one. It's going to be Lukas Podolski and David Villa. Excellet double and a hattrick respectively. Villa worked very hard all through the match and scored truely deservered 3 goals. Podolski allowed little smile on his face as he had mixed emotions on scoring against his land of birth. Though he played on the left side of the midfield, he had few defensive duties and played as a massively attacking left midfielder and third striker.

Any arguments ? 

SUI vs CZE

Prediction: SUI 1 - 3 CZE. Barnetta or Baros might score.

Result: SUI 0 - 1 CZE , Barnetta didnt score but went close twice. Baros didn't play.

The Swiss played better than expected and forced 6 saves from Cech. They attacked when ever possible. The Czech defence was a little dodgy. It was very hard to listen to commenary in Hindi. It was irritating and funny.

POR vs TUR

Prediction: POR 2 - 1 TUR, Ronaldo or Nihat might score

Result: POR 2 - 0 TUR, Ronaldo struck the post from a free kick and Nihat sucked.

It was a decent game until the first half with Portugal dominating most of it. The fact that the Turks played for a draw was evident. Inspite of fielding an attacking formation, they never attacked. One cross field ball from Deco during the first half was terrific. But Simao didn't pass the ball early and wasted a wonderful opportunity. Pepe scored with a wonderful one-two from 6 yards out. It wasn't a counterattack, wasn't a set piece. I don't know what a centerback was doing there. The second goal came late into the second half. By then, the game was really boring. Buildup for the second goal was excellent too.

Today's Predictions:

AUS 0 - 1 CRO ( 1800 hrs CET )

GER 2 - 0 POL ( 2045 hrs CET )

Klose, Podolski, Petric, Olic - Atleast two will score. 

The party is about to begin. Can't wait for the kick off. I decided to write my daily predictions here. The predictions have no reason at all. I just pick who I think will win and give it a random score. Not random actually, but I will not arrive at the score line as a true pundit does because I am not one.

SUI vs CZE ( 1800 CET ): Though the Swiss have not played any qualifier, they might be formidable opponents to the Czechs. Especially, after they gave England a scare when they scored a goal at Wembley. But again, it's England. No wonder they scored. Coming to the Czechs, despite missing Nedved and ever injured Rosicky, they do have the fearsome stature of the ageing Jan Koller. Milan Baros apparently seems to be scoring very well for his country than for any club he plays for. What makes him tick ? Only Karel Brueckner knows. I don't think home support will be of much help for the Swiss.

Prediction: SUI 1 - 3 CZE

POR vs TUR ( 2045 CET ): With lots of quality and Scolari the portuguese are expected to do it on day 1. Turkey shouldn't be underestimated though. They do have quality in the form of the Altintop twins, Nihat and others. Remember that it was Scolari who ended Turkey's run in the 2002 world cup semi finals. Though it wouldn't be an easy job, Portugal would probably win.

Prediction: POR 2 - 1 TUR

Atleast 2 of these would score:

Baros, Ronaldo, Nihat, Barnetta.