Charlie Rhodes

There will be a distinctly Latin flavour to the fourth and final of the World Cup quarter-final match-ups, as reigning European champions Spain will battle it out with Paraguay in a clash loaded with some fairly irrelevant historic significance, although now is not the time or place to go into it.

One of the five South American representatives currently left in the World Cup will meet the lone remaining African standard-bearers in the second of the 2010 quarter-final ties, staged in the luxuriant surroundings of the Soccer City stadium in Joburg this coming Friday evening.

After respectively seeing off the threats of Slovakia and Chile in the second round, it will be Bert Van Marwijk‘s Netherlands and Dunga‘s Brazil that will contest the first of the World Cup quarter-final ties – and what a tie it promises to be.

Who has the best league in the world? Many will say the Premier League. Sky Sports will ram slo-mo 3D HD clips down our throat until the cows come home but we should be looking to our victors last night for the business model that works for all parties. Fans gets to see their teams in stadiums designed with them in mind and prices that would make some Blue Square Conference teams blush, they get to see attacking football played by players who have been given the opportunity to develop through their youth systems. TV games are rigidly structured in advance so that every one knows who is playing when and the media knows when to start and stop building the hype and intruding.

Good morning my dears, and welcome to the daily World Cup column on Soccerlens. No action to report. STOP. Please send biscuits. STOP Here’s your round-up of all the World…

Manchester United’s veteran captain Gary Neville has leapt to the defence of England coach Fabio Capello and instead insisted that the majority of the blame for his side’s gutless display…

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal side were eliminated by Spain after only conceding one goal in four matches. It is said that misery loves company but apparently this was not…

Let me just me one thing clear before I discuss what many people may consider a ludicrous thought. Cesc Fabregas is a brilliant footballer and I am in no way…

Update: The contest is now over, the winner will be announced on the Friday 9 July podcast. The World Cup, like Christmas, is a time for giving. With that in…

David Silva is busy helping Spain attempt to win the World Cup for the first time, but whether he returns from South Africa after this weekend or the following one,…

Morning all, and welcome to the daily World Cup column on Soccerlens. There’s a bit of a strange hush falling across the planet today, as we face the first football-less…

You are probably thinking John Terry or Ashley Cole or maybe even Ronaldinho, Robinho and Adriano… Then Cristiano Ronaldo might also come to mind and of the less talked about…

Diego Maradona has been the headline maker at this World Cup. From his elegant suits, to his animated gestures in the technical area, to his controversial quotes and his genuine…

It is pretty evident for all to see that Diego Maradona’s presence at this FIFA World Cup has been a real breath of fresh air. The 49 year old had…

The past few days has seen players, managers, coaches, journalists, reporters and almost anybody with a television set give their views on why England produced such a disappointing World Cup…