Uruguay vs. Ghana World Cup 2010: Semifinal Spot On The Line at Soccer City

Going into the World Cup quarterfinals, we have experienced some great play from all eight of the remaining sides in the 2010 World Cup.

From the great offense of the Dutch, to some great play from Spain, and great defensive work from the Brazilians, to the great young players on both Argentina and Germany, there has been some serious talent on display.

However, there is one quarterfinal match that stands out among the rest as being a match that no one thought would happen.

And that match is taking place at Soccer City in Johannesburg, the site of the 2010 World Cup final on July 11, as Uruguay face Ghana; The winner moving on to the semifinal.

In the round of 16 both sides won 2-1, as Uruguay beat South Korea by that score at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth while Ghana beat the United States in extra time at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

And with this humongous match looming, here is my official match preview of Uruguay v Ghana.

Team News:

Uruguay:

For Uruguay, Diego Godin is unlikely to feature in any capacity due to injury, and Alvaro Fernandez is expected to replace Alvaro Pereira in midfield.

Ghana:

Ghana will be without Jonathan Mensah and Andre Ayew after they picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament against the United States.

Along with that, John Mensah and Kevin-Prince Boateng both could miss this match due to injury.

Key Players:

Uruguay:

For Uruguay, their key player will be the man who scored both goals for Uruguay in the round of 16, Luis Suarez .

Suarez is a proven goalscorer (with 49 at Ajax this season), and after a slow start he has scored three goals in this World Cup and is poised to make a major transfer after the tournament is over.

Ghana:

Meanwhile, for Ghana, their key player will be the man who has scored three of Ghana's four goals in South Africa, Asamoah Gyan .

Gyan scored the winning goal against the United States in extra time.  He can be a great goalscorer when he is not injured, something that fortunately has not happened thus far in the World Cup.

What each side must do to win:

Uruguay:

Uruguay will need to be sure to take advantage of all of their chances and keep up their great defensive effort against Ghana.

Ghana:

Ghana will need to put together a great defensive effort, similar to the one they had against the United States, and be sure to score on the counterattack.

Biggest key to victory:

Uruguay:

Ghana's defense is beatable, and you need to make sure to keep the ball as deep as possible in their own end.

Ghana:

Ghana will need to have a strong counterattack here, which will be the Black Stars best chance of scoring on a tough Uruguayan defense.

Projected Lineups:

Uruguay (4-3-1-2)

                                                           Muslera

               M. Pereira              Lugano                   Victorino               Fucile

                              Perez                   Arevalo                  Fernandez

                                                           Forlan

                                            Suarez                     Cavani

Ghana (4-4-2)

                                         Asamoah                     Adiyiah

                 Inkoom               Annan                   D. Boateng              Muntari

                 Pantsil              Mensah                      Vorsah                  Sarpei

                                                          Kingson

X-Factor:

Ghana is the final African team in the tournament, and the only one to make it out of the group stage.  With the entire continent rooting for them (not to mention the stadium), can they pull through against the Uruguayans?

Prediction:

This should be a great match, following the Netherlands v Brazil match earlier in the day.

But, sadly for South America, they will see their first nation eliminated by a nation outside of South America, as Ghana will be able to win 2-1 to become the first African side to reach the World Cup semifinals.