THRASHIN': Slovak-approved.
According to Vegas, this is the biggest mismatch of the bracket: Slovakia, despite their win over Italy, are 7-1 underdogs to win tomorrow. (Against Brazil, Chile are only 6-1 dogs). According to Nate Silver's SPI rankings, the Dutch are #4 in the world, while the Slovaks are #49 (the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament).
Musical Tidbit: Hillel Slovak was the original guitarist and founding member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, before his death in 1988 (but after appearing with the Peppers in the totally rad 1986 young-Josh Brolin skate-film Thrashin'.) Meanwhile, Dexter Holland is the lead singer and guitarist for The Offspring. YOU GOTTA KEEP 'EM SEPERATED.
Player to Watch: Well, really, for the Netherlands, it should be Wesley Sneijder, whose passing vision and quick touch in the midfield spurs their attack. But given that the Dutch have not quite performed up to par in this tournament -- aesthetically, anyway -- I'm going to nominate Arjen Robben, the best player on any remaining team not yet to have started a World Cup match. He's supposed to be fit for tomorrow's match, and if he plays, Robben's blazing runs down the wing -- which helped Bayern Munich to the Champions League final, and got him named Bundesliga player of the year in 2010 -- may yet ignite the Dutch offense into achieving their potential.
Who To Root For: The Oranje, of course. The Slovaks have my eternal respect for their demolition of Italy, but the Dutch are everybody's second-favorite team. Even a short glimpse of old-school Total Football today would be divine.
What to Expect: The Dutch are 3-0, but they blazed through the group stages in Germany in '06 and Euro '08, and then were bounced immediately in the knockout stages. But they lost those matches to WC semifinalist Portugal and resurgent Russia. Really, as heroically as Slovakia played in stretches against Italy, the Slovaks are not in the same league. I say: Netherlands 3, Slovakia 0.
Musical Tidbit: Hillel Slovak was the original guitarist and founding member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, before his death in 1988 (but after appearing with the Peppers in the totally rad 1986 young-Josh Brolin skate-film Thrashin'.) Meanwhile, Dexter Holland is the lead singer and guitarist for The Offspring. YOU GOTTA KEEP 'EM SEPERATED.
Player to Watch: Well, really, for the Netherlands, it should be Wesley Sneijder, whose passing vision and quick touch in the midfield spurs their attack. But given that the Dutch have not quite performed up to par in this tournament -- aesthetically, anyway -- I'm going to nominate Arjen Robben, the best player on any remaining team not yet to have started a World Cup match. He's supposed to be fit for tomorrow's match, and if he plays, Robben's blazing runs down the wing -- which helped Bayern Munich to the Champions League final, and got him named Bundesliga player of the year in 2010 -- may yet ignite the Dutch offense into achieving their potential.
Who To Root For: The Oranje, of course. The Slovaks have my eternal respect for their demolition of Italy, but the Dutch are everybody's second-favorite team. Even a short glimpse of old-school Total Football today would be divine.
What to Expect: The Dutch are 3-0, but they blazed through the group stages in Germany in '06 and Euro '08, and then were bounced immediately in the knockout stages. But they lost those matches to WC semifinalist Portugal and resurgent Russia. Really, as heroically as Slovakia played in stretches against Italy, the Slovaks are not in the same league. I say: Netherlands 3, Slovakia 0.