[ssigman]

final 8 is set and we have some doozies happening

sunday: italy vs. spain

today: portugal vs germany

by far the best matchups of the final 8

here are my predictions

portugal vs. germany - winner germany...as much as i like the portugese side and how they dominated there group, they always choke and who better to lose to than germany..a team that hasn't looked up to par but always shows up in big tournaments...i expect klose to have a big game..i'd happily be wrong on this result

croatia v. turkey - the turks had the best comeback by far this tournament against the czech in a winner take all game..croatia dominated the group and i expect them to win this one and a new star will emerge on the big stage...luka modric

netherlands v russia - i didnt figure on russia beating sweden to get here but the ruskies have guus hiddink..my choice for best international coach in the world..unfortunately they are running into the brick wall that is holland...holland should win this one...i say they win 3-0...somehow van persie scores making gunny happy up there in the big sky on the cloud he's sharing with george best(one of the best players in the history of the game)

spain v. italy - wow..spain went undefeated and italy just got in by beating france in the last game and spain beating romania...but the italians are the reigning world cup champs so no game is a gimme against them...unfortunately i think spain is the better, younger side and despite following the trend of the nation they share a land with(portugal for all you non geography people) i think they pull this game out in a shootout...fabregas as a sub scores the winner(again in tribute to gunny)