World Cup Predictions - Groups H & A

Yesterday's games:

Germany vs Portugal
Predicted score: 3-1
Actual score: 4-0

Iran vs Nigeria
Predicted score: 1-1
Actual score: 0-0

Ghana vs USA
Predicted score: 3-2
Actual score: 1-2



I only managed to watch one half of these games as I was in work, the second half of USA vs Ghana - which looked as though Ghana were pretty dominant, but had no patience in the final third, thus wasting chance after chance. They equalised with 10 minutes to go and I thought they might go on to grab a winner, but USA hit back immediately and held on until the end. Germany thrashed Portugal in a game where Portugal were reduced to 10 men, and I'm led to believe the Iran vs Nigeria game was a pretty dull affair. My predictions weren't bad at all, and the first draw of the tournament did indeed come about in the worst game of the day.

So - today we see the last few teams play their first matches of the tournament, as well as Brazil vs Mexico going into the next phase where qualification is achievable.

Belgium vs Algeria
I'd be surprised if Algeria really do anything much in this game, but I said the same for Costa Rica when they played Uruguay. That said, Belgium are one of the teams in with a good chance of reaching the latter stages, and have a strong, youthful squad with bags of potential. Algeria have a former Crewe player in their squad, a Tottenham youth player and a bunch of extras to make up the numbers. I can't imagine this one will be much of a competition.
Prediction: Belgium 4-0 Algeria

Brazil vs Mexico
Our second game of the day sees two teams with one victory to their names already. Brazil saw off Croatia in a not-so-convincing display, and Mexico were unfortunate to only beat Cameroon 1-0 when it could've been 3. Having played relatively defensively against Cameroon, Mexico are expected to essentially park the bus here and may frustrate the home team - though it could also lead to a whipping.
Prediction: Brazil 4-1 Mexico

Russia vs Korea Republic
With Fabio Capello at the helm, Russia are a well organised outfit who qualified top of a group that included Portugal, amongst others. They will be tricky to beat, having only conceded 5 goals during the qualification process and should see of the Koreans without too much trouble. Korea on the other hand finished second behind Iran in a group that included Uzbekistan, Lebanon and Qatar. They lost in their two friendlies vs Ghana and Tunisia and just aren't looking like much of a force. I imagine this will be a pretty efficient display from Russia.
Prediction: Russia 2-0 Korea Republic