It has been 15 days and 48 matches since the start of the Football World Cup 2010.
The Group stage is completed and the Round of 16 is starting today.
As with every World Cup, there were several surprises in the group stage matches. The ones that caught the headlines was the first round exits of the winners and the runner-ups from the last edition - Italy and France respectively.
The hosts - South Africa - had to exit in the first round itself. But the popularity of the World Cup is so huge that the exit of the hosts in the first round will not have any impact on the rest of the matches.
The other big guns lived up to their billing. Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands have entered the second round in style - without a loss under their belt.
Other favorites - England, Germany, Spain and Portugal too have managed to make it to the second round - but with a lot of hard work.
Then you have the surprise packages of this World Cup - Slovakia who knocked out the Azzurris, the USA who entered the second round with a stoppage time goal in their last match, and the Asian giants - Japan and South Korea.
All in all we have a well balanced Round of 16 with the top guns and the novices.
Two matches in the Round of 16 that promise to be the best sellers are England Vs Germany on 27th June 2010 and Spain Vs Portugal on 29th June 2010.
If everything goes as per the form book, you could have Dutch fighting it out with Brazil in the quarter finals. Add to that an Argentina Vs England/Germany match and the World Cup would be on fire.
If Spain manage to beat the Portuguese in the Round of 16 and then get through the Quarter Finals with a win against Paraguay/Japan, they would be on the door steps of their first ever spot in the World Cup final.
At the current moment, the odds are favoring Brazil to win the World Cup. Spain and Argentina are their close runners.
But on the big stage of the World Cup, what will matter is how the teams play.
The team with the best skills, big match temperament, uber cool composure and lot of luck will make it to the Winner's Podium on 11th July 2010.
Until then, let's keep our fingers crossed. And enjoy the World Cup!!
