looking very solid so far, hopefully you steer clear of the mighty Benin

toonman8589: Oh god, anyone but Benin, they'd destroy us! D:

After a grueling group stage from which all of the favorites advanced and all of the underdogs were knocked out, the knockout stage has been decided and a number of mouth-watering fixtures lie in wait. Chief among them is Giuseppe Bergomi's tactically superior Italy against Ricardo Sa Pinto's Portugal, led by the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Italy easily navigated their group, thrashing Costa Rica and Nigeria with a combined score of 9-0 before easing to a draw against Uruguay to ensure finishing top of the group. It's been undoubtedly a team effort from the Azzurri, who have yet to have a single player score in more than one match.

It's not been quite as smooth for Portugal, however. Sa Pinto's men started their World Cup campaign with solid 5-0 win over Benin but struggled from there on out, scraping by Scuth Korea 2-1 before being dismantled by Antoine Greizmann's brace in their 2-0 loss to France and thus finished 2nd. 23 year old Porto striker Ruben Castro has been the talisman thus far with 2 goals.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has had a tough time of it so far this World Cup, especially against France in the last match; in order to beat Italy, he will have to be at his unstoppable best.

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If they are to stand any chance of beating the machine that is Italy, though, the Seleccao de Quinas will need their biggest star to step forward; Cristiano Ronaldo. The 33 year old has amassed 161 caps, scoring 80 goals, but has failed to make any sort of an impression thus far in Russia.

He will certainly have a tough time doing so against the likes of Italy's famous defense, though. Andrea Ranocchia and Leonardo Bonucci are hailed as one of the very best back lines in the world, and with captain Daniele De Rossi sitting just in front of them in defensive midfield, it takes quite a lot to even fashion chances against Bergomi's side.

The Italians are certainly the favorites; with Daniele De Rossi captaining the side out of the heart of midfield and set to earn his national record 142nd cap (surpassing Gigi Buffon), we predict that the Azzurri will rise a 2-1 victory over their Iberian rivals. The winner of this match will go on to face the winner of Switzerland vs. Croatia.

This isn't the only big fixture of the round, however; Giuseppe Bergomi's old team, Denmark, will take on the Three Lions of England, and in the tie of the round, Argentina will play powerhouse Spain in a legendary Messi vs. Barcelona style showdown. The full tree is as follows:

Thanks to Niko for the tree!

Cmon Spain !!!

A reasonably tough draw but I am sure you can keep Ronaldo quiet and come out with the win nonetheless!
Nice graphic Niko btw

An interesting duel, I wish you luck! I hope to get to the finals!

Good luck!

toonman8589: Messi will demolish Spain, or at least that's my prediction

pompeyblue: 33 year old Ronaldo isn't going to cause me any problems, believe me

bebero: Thanks bud, I hope so as well!

tallery1164: I don't need luck, I have skill

2014-07-22 19:57#185794 pompeyblue : A reasonably tough draw but I am sure you can keep Ronaldo quiet and come out with the win nonetheless!
Nice graphic Niko btw

Did the font give away that I made it?

Justice: It is your trademark font, I suppose

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At last, the knockout stages of the World Cup had begun, and in this particular fixture, two very different teams were about to do battle. Italy; a bastion of defensive prowess, never overly reliant on one star, always putting the team first, and Portugal; almost entirely reliant on one of the greatest players to have graced this world in Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was set to be man versus machine right from the very start; could the perfectly oiled engine that was Italy use Giuseppe Bergomi's tactical know-how to top their Iberian rivals, or could Cristiano Ronaldo once again surge forth with the weight of a nation on his shoulders?

The starting lineups for both sides were announced an hour before kickoff, and they were as follows:

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Italy Starting XI (4-1-2-1-2)
Salvatore Sirigu; Alessandro Crescenzi, Andrea Ranocchia, Leonardo Bonucci, Guilherme Siqueira; Daniele De Rossi (C); Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Poli; Sebastian Giovinco; Alberto Paloschi, Mattia Destro

Portugal Starting XI (4-2-3-1)
Rui Patricio; Silvio, Nuno Reis, Rolando, Fabio Coentrao; Fernando, Andre Castro; Nani, Manuel Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo (C); Ruben Castro

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Giuseppe Bergomi made an interesting change to his usual side for this encounter, opting to play the very experienced Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio instead of Lorenzo Crisetig. The 93 cap box to box midfielder has always been a big-game player for the Azzurri, and it seemed today Bergomi would be opting toward experience over youth. On top of this, captain Daniele De Rossi would be making his record 142nd cap, surpassing the 141 of previous holder Gianluigi Buffon.

For the majority of the first half, Portugal seemed content to sit back and absorb pressure. Holding midfielders Andre Castro and especially Fernando did excellently to pressure Italy's attacking players and put in strong tackles, especially on top scorer Sebastian Giovinco. The diminutive midfielder hardly got on the ball at all in the first half, and it showed in the lack of chances for the Azzurri.

As the first 45 minutes dwindled down, Portugal turned on the pressure, winning a corner kick in stoppage time. Manuel Fernandes floated the set piece to the back post, and captain fantastic Cristiano Ronaldo towered above the defense and connected solidly, only to see his effort cannon off of the post and bounce straight to Salvatore Sirigu.

The frustration for Portugal didn't end there, though. Sirigu, thinking quickly, immediately sprinted to the edge of his box and launched a massive drop kick down the field. Alberto Paloschi was quickest to react, flicking the ball through to his strike partner Mattia Destro in acres of space. The Inter Milan striker took one touch to control before rifling a clinical finish past Rui Patricio to make the score 1-0 at half time and leave the Seleccao de Quinas reeling.

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Mattia Destro's brilliant counterattacking goal in the dwindling moments of the first half gave Italy an advantage in score but also in morale, crushing Portugal's spirit.

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Shortly into the second half, however, things took a sour turn for Bergomi's men. In an attempt to sprint after a loose ball after bursting forward from the back line, Leonardo Bonucci crumbled in a heap to the ground, clutching his hamstring. The experienced Juventus defender had to be stretchered off and replaced by club teammate Davide Astori. There is no news yet on how long the 31 year old will be out.

After about an hour, Italy looked to drop off a bit and try to ensure the pure quality and pace of Ronaldo couldn't hurt them on the counterattack. Alessandro Florenzi came on for the highly ineffective Sebastian Giovinco, and Italy set up in a 4-1-3-2.

Six minutes later, catastrophe struck for the trailing side.

Cristiano Ronaldo had run straight at Crescenzi inside of Italy's penalty area, and it seemed as though he had the beating of the young Italian. The Valencia CF man, however, put in a delightful challenge and won the ball. Crescenzi then did a double stepover, one of Ronaldo's signature moves, to sprint past the Portugal captain. Visibly frustrated, Ronaldo did the unthinkable; he slid in from behind with two feet, and was shown a straight red card.

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Cristiano Ronaldo, the leader of the Portuguese football team for nearly a decade now, was shown a straight red card for his horror tackle with 22 minutes left in the match.

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Down to 10 men and without their best player and legendary captain, Portugal looked lifeless. Their pressing game from the first half was almost nonexistent, and the team could hardly string together more than three passes. Italy, knowing the match was won if they stayed simple, just kept possession of the ball, at one point completing 37 consecutive passes in Portugal's half of the field.

With four minutes remaining in the match, Alberto Paloschi turned from provider to scorer and put the final nail in Portugal's coffin. It was the new man in the starting lineup, Claudio Marchisio, that provided the killer ball, gracefully clipped it in behind for Paloschi to slam home with his right foot at the top of the box.

The match finished 2-0, with Alberto Paloschi winning Man of the Match for assisting the crucial first goal and scoring the second so late on in the game to kill off the opposition. Italy will now move on to the quarterfinals and take on the winner of Switzerland vs. Croatia.

Fantastic write up and result!

Congatulations! Also, very nice update

Awesome detail and superb result to go with it!

pompeyblue: Thanks bud, quarterfinals here we come!

ARSENAL_ruleZ: Cheers, glad you enjoyed

Walter: Thanks, I'm ecstatic we've beaten Ronaldo