Only four teams still have a chance to claim the biggest prize in all of sports. Here's a look at the semifinal matchups, complete with some fearless predictions:
Netherlands vs. Uruguay
(Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.)
If the Netherlands can knock off the best team from South America, how can they lose to the fifth best?
They won't.
The Dutch feel like world-beaters now. Wesley Sneidjer is seeing the field like Joe Montana, orchestrating an all out assault with world class strikers Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Robin Van Persie eagerly accepting his spot on deliveries.
Uruguay shouldn't even be here. Luis Suarez deliberate handball that stopped a certain game winning goal off the head of Ghana's Dominic Adiyah in extra time on Saturday, begs for the rules to be changed. Anything that blatant should be treated like goaltending in basketball.
Count the goal. But instead, Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty kick. Suarez, who was sent off, was seen pumping his fists in triumph and later joked that he had made "the save of the match" which Uruguay went on to win on penalty kicks. Suarez absence in the next game will be critical.
Even without him, the South American side has considerable skill up front with the ability to finish. But a championship game featuring Uruguay? Are you kidding me?
Prediction: Netherlands 3, Uruguay 1.
Germany vs. Spain
(Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.)
I will predict the winner of the 2014 World Cup right now: Germany. But Spain wins it this year.
The Germans have scored a gaudy 13 goals in five games and feature some of the most exciting young players on the planet, boasting the second youngest squad in the field.
But their run ends here. Deutschland will greatly miss Thomas Mueller who has scored four times but was disqualified for the semifinals after getting a yellow card last weekend. And the Spanish defense is far sounder than Maradona's madcap bunch that was the Argentina backline which Germany repeatedly riddled.
It is simply Spain's time. Their core group has been building up an international body of work for years with some of the world's finest club players. Their triumph in the 2008 European championships was a prelude of greatness to come. Their star-studded roster is similar to the 1992 USA Olympic basketball dream team.
The Spaniards felt the onerous pressure of failure after their stunning first game loss to Switzerland. But they have regained their footing and with Brazil out of the picture, have their eyes on the prize.
Prediction: Spain 2, Germany 1.
Before arriving in Wisconsin, Mark was a TV sports director at stations in Greensboro, the Quad Cities and Fort Smith, Arkansas. He got his first job at the ABC affiliate in Syracuse during his junior year at Syracuse University where he majored in TV and Radio at the Newhouse School.
Mark is an avid fan of all sports. He covered the Packers at Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans and has also reported on the Final Four, the Daytona 500, the Rose Bowl, the NLCS and the PGA and U.S. Open golf championships. He covered the GMO for 20 years. Mark played soccer in high school and is a passionate supporter of "The Beautiful Game." One of his greatest experiences was attending a UEFA Champions League game hosted by Real Madrid at Bernabeu Stadium.
Mark was born in Philadelphia but has happily made the transition from cheese steaks to cheese heads and is thrilled to now call Wisconsin home. He is currently president of Concannon Communications LLC and working on projects involving, writing, producing, voice-overs and public relations.
