World Cup Round of 16

I forgot to actually publish this orignial post so I added the updates of results.

The World Cup Round of 16 is here. Some surprises...South Korea is not in. Some non-surprises...the United States came nowhere close.

The matchups for the Round of 16 are as follows:
vs ...Germany is one of the favorites to win the whole thing and so I am picking them over Sweden.

vs ...Sorry, Mexico may not be as strong as Argentina but my roots are from Mexico and so I am pulling for them. Argentina is among the favorites to win the whole tournament, though.

Update: Germany won 2:0 (2:0) and will play Argentina who won 2:1 a.e.t. 1:1 (1:1).

vs ...Italy is a perrenial powerhouse and so I will pick them to win. No matter who comes out of this round they will have a tough road from here on out.

vs ...Tough call. I would not bet on either of these teams getting past the winner of Italy-Australia, much less beyond that. I'm picking Ukraine...for no particular reason.

vs ...Is there any question? England will win.

vs ...Tough choice again but I'm going with the Netherlands. Doesn't matter because they will have to get past England which is not a result that smart money is on.

Update: England won 1:0 (0:0) and will play the Netherlands who won 1:0 (1:0).

vs ...Brazil will win, unless they are stricken with the bird flu before the game. They are my pick to win the World Cup, btw.

vs ...First, of all of the teams in this round France is the least deserving. They were listed as one of the worst teams after their first two Group matches. An unlikely tie with South Korea was the key that got them in. That said, I think this is a gimmie (as much as a gimmie in a 1-0 or 2-1 game can be) for Spain.