Looking back, I got three winners from the World Cup quarterfinals. None of the scores were right, but at least I got the teams. I did get the score right in the Sweden-Senegal match, just mixed up the teams. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I should stick to the NFL playoffs. Nah. Set your alarm clocks, kids.

Brazil v. England There's a very winner take all feel to this match, especially after England throttled the Danes. Brazil's not playing their best football, but even at 80 percent they're still a top 5 team. Belgium gave them more of a workout than I expected. Then again, Belgium was probably playing for the tie and hoping for a break in PKs.

I really have no idea how this one is going to go. So I'll go with the side that seems to be playing better football with each game: England. 2-1, golden goal from somebody. Michael Owen seems most likely, but he's a little beat up and Brazil won't leave him alone. Perhaps Sol Campbell or Teddy Sheringham.

Germany v. US After their opening 8-0 throttling of Saudi Arabia, Germany's been good but not great. They gave a tie away to Ireland, gave Cameroon the business, and then struggled to get past Paraguay. The Germans have only missed the quarterfinals once- in 1938. So perhaps they were destined to wind up here regardless.

The Germans are big, and can use that size to their advantage, especially on corners. Which means we may see a lot more deep clears and less concession on set-pieces. The hope would be that on the clears some of the speedier US players, such as Donovan or Beasley, can get to them and counter-strike quickly. Unfortunately, it may mean that we spend 90 minutes watching a larger-scale version of ping pong.

The US could also use its speed to wear down Germany's best players in the first half, and then stick the knife in that much more by subbing in Cobi Jones in the second half. If the US can play tight D and turn the offensive part of the game into a track meet, they've got a shot.

Being a homer worked with the Pats, so let's see how it works here. US continues its improbable streak with a 2-1 win; an early John O'Brien goal, with Sanneh crossing into Brian McBride for the winner.

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

South Korea v. Spain As much as the US run has been the stuff of dreams, the Korean express through the World Cup is like some sort of crystal meth dipped in LSD freak show. People screaming and banging drums for two hours. A stadium full of red shirts. 80 some odd minutes of hypnotic and hallucinatory sights and sounds before a guy probably named Kim, Lee, or Choi puts one in the back of the net.

You'd be hard pressed to find a team that's done more with the home field advantage than South Korea. The US did well in 1994, and France rode the home crowd to victory in 1998, but for a team that never won a World Cup game before to get to the quarters, and then topple Italy? It's like something out of science fiction.

Spain, on the other hand, is enjoying a good tournament so far, certainly better than their first round and out four years ago. Nine points in group play set them up for a grueling match with Ireland, which they won but may have resulted in Raul, their best player, being unavailable for this match-up. A problem, given that he's scored one third of Spain's goals.

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's manager, said this about Spain when looking at their first round group: "They always seem to go out unluckily." Ask this guy to pick lottery numbers quick, because a home crowd plus a star's injury tend to add up to an unlucky result.

Koreans win 1-0 on a Spanish own goal. How's that for unlucky?

Turkey v. Senegal Two teams that no one thought would get past the first round play for a berth into the semis. Whoever loses the England-Brazil match is going to look at this pairing and cry.

Turkey's looked good at times, and not so swift at others. I still haven't seen Senegal play, but this Diop guy seems to be the real deal.

Hmm, so how do I pick this? I go into my boss's office and ask her Magic 8 Ball.

Will Turkey beat Senegal? "As I see it, yes."

Will Senegal beat Turkey? "Very doubtful."

I should have started using the Magic 8 Ball a long time ago.

3-1 Turkey, for the lack of anything better.