Moving on to tonight's predictions of second round matches.

Match 5: Italy 1-1 Australia, Australia goes through to quarter finals with a goal in extra time.

Match 7: Switzerland 2-0 Ukraine.

Will the curse of Guus Hiddink, whose South Korean team back in 2002 demolished the Italians, return to haunt them again this time round as Hiddink leads Australia, a team not fancied to make it past the group stages against, gasp, Italy once again? Marcello Lippi must be aware of Hiddink's in-built strength in strategising and will thus have second thoughts before naming his first XI. In my opinion, I have a strong feeling the Azzurri might falter in the face of the more physical approach of the Socceroos. They have already experienced that once, against the United States, and nearly lost the plot. Lucky to scrape through with a 1-1 draw. But Australia is no USA. I foresee swift players like Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell giving the Azzurri's defence many problems. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if Italy indeed got dumped out of the tournament.

For the latter match, Ukraine is highly unlikely to produce any sort of upset against a young and consistent Swiss side. This time, I'll take the advice of the Lianhe Wanbao columnists. Cause Ukraine's defence is indeed a major concern. If they can score 4 goals in a game (4-0 Saudi Arabia) yet end up on the opposite side of the scoreline as well (0-4 Spain), even their top prolific striker, Andriy Shevchenko, would not be able to help things much. And their opponents' defence is no joke. 5 goals scored, ZERO against. Not that I underestimate the Ukrainians, but let's face the reality. There is still a wide gulf between the two sides. For World Cup debutants Ukraine, reaching the second round has very much exceeded their countrymen's expectations. But they will still give their 100% in every game. And put on a brave show despite the odds stacked against them. Too bad, tonight's game will probably be their last appearance in Germany.

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