The final contest of the Round of 16 kicks off at 2:30pm ET–an intra-Iberian matchup involving powerhouses Portugal and Spain. The winner will get slotted into the remaining quarterfinal match, taking on surprise quarterfinalist Paraguay on Saturday.
We’ll be watching the game from the awesome PlayBeautifulNYC popup virtual stadium in Soho/Nolita. We’re not sure if they have wifi–if so, we’ll be liveblogging from there; if not, we’ll try to post to the comment thread from our phones, but we’ll count on you to provide most of the color commentary!
We are 45 minutes from kickoff. Starting lineups and the ever-present comment box after the jump!
Today’s matches to determine the last quarterfinal pairings see the surprisingly pithy Japan up against a Paraguayan side who looked bland against New Zealand in their final group tie. Paraguay did set Italy on their way out of the tournament (and won their group, by the way), so they’re no cream-puffs, and though Man City striker
The tournament’s favorites before the start need a win today to ensure their passage to the knockout phases. Spain is sure to come hard and fast, and after that easy victory over the hapless Hondurans they may just have gotten back their swagger. They’ll need it against a Chilean side that has looked confident in their two wins. Will La Roja be able to pierce the usually-solid Spanish defense, or will the star-studded front line of Spain tear apart the South Americans? Chile need at least a point to guarantee advancement – expect all guns a’blazin!
Group H fixtures, results & standings:
Spain just kicked off against Honduras–and so begins the highly anticipated return of Spain to the field of play after their shocking loss to Switzerland last week.