I’d like to start off by extending an apology to all the ladies out there: Cristiano Ronaldo’s involvement in this World Cup has come to an end.

Now with that out of the way, let’s get down to business. A lot has gone on since last week’s column, but first I feel I need to admit I made a major mistake. If you’ve been following my coverage of the World Cup, you know in my preview I picked England to win and Wayne Rooney to be the leading goal scorer.

Well, England was sent home humiliated after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Germany, which means Rooney is out of the World Cup without a single goal to his name. I could not have been more wrong in those predictions.

Joining England and Cristiano Ronaldo... err, I mean Portugal on flights home are Chile, Japan, South Korea, Slovakia, Mexico and our very own United States. And while I was wrong when I picked England to win the Cup, the other three teams I earmarked as favorites managed to advance to the quarterfinals. Spain, Brazil and Argentina were all included as my teams to watch in my preview. Joining them is Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Uruguay and Ghana.

Another interesting connection to my World Cup preview is that I mentioned Nike’s Write the Future campaign. All the stars included in that commercial have now gone home. Ronaldinho didn’t even make Brazil’s World Cup squad. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) and Franck Ribery (France) were all eliminated in the group stage. Wayne Rooney (England) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) were both eliminated in the Round of 16. A few members of Spain’s squad made a brief cameo, so I guess the it wasn’t completely cursed.

Meanwhile, Adidas’ two stars — Lionel Messi (Argentina) and David Villa (Spain) — are still competing for the World Cup. Curses and predictions aside, we’ve reached the quarterfinals and we have some exhilarating matches coming up. One of those matches takes place today as the Netherlands take on Brazil for a berth in the semifinals. The other must-see-match is Saturday morning when Argentina takes on Germany.

I usually don’t buy into all the hype that comes with some statistics, but I just can’t overlook the fact that no European nation has ever won a World Cup that wasn’t on European soil. That being said, I’m picking Brazil and Argentina to advance. I may also be a little biased, as I think a Brazil versus Argentina final would be the most intriguing match-up given the remaining possibilities.

The other two quarterfinal matchups are Uruguay versus Ghana and Paraguay versus Spain. In those two I’m going with Uruguay and Spain. Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez have provided us with some of the highlights of the tournament, and I’m backing them to keep it up against Ghana. And while Spain has failed to live up to expectations so far this World Cup, I still think they should easily advance past Paraguay.

I have only one comment for Spain: we get it already — you can pass the ball really well! Now show us some of that attacking ability that you have and give us some goals. I appreciate you putting on a show with your passing, but that isn’t necessarily going to win you the World Cup. Play to win, not to entertain.

We’re down to eight teams from 32 and quickly approaching the final. The top teams are finally starting to rise up. It’s hard to argue against Brazil winning its sixth World Cup or Messi cementing himself into the history books by lifting soccer’s most important trophy.

Of course, at this stage anything is possible. All it takes is one goal to change your country’s fate. Just one goal stands between the underdog sending one of the favorites home.

Sometimes, you just need it to be your lucky day. One team can dominate possession and still lose by giving up a lucky goal. At this point, only a thin margin separates winning and going home. If you think you know pressure, imagine being on one of the remaining eight teams.

Kyle is a junior in Media.