Final guesses, with Zing!

Spain vs. Netherlands, 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday

Against the midfield duo of snarling Marc Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong, Spain figure not to have as much of the ball as they've had in previous – if they do, it could be a long night for the Dutch. The Spanish got great work out of Pedro against Germany, in for Fernando Torres, and will almost certainly come back with the young Barcelona forward again. This one shapes up to be pretty even, with the teams' top scorers David Villa and Wesley Sneijder on five goals apiece – at least before Saturday's third-place game, that total put them sharing the lead for the Golden Boot. And in Arjen Robben and Sneijder, Netherlands has a 1-2 of experience, guile and muscling creativity the likes of which Spain has yet to see here. Very close.

Chris Young's pick: Spain 2, Netherlands 1
Cathal Kelly's pick: Spain 1, Netherlands 2

And whoever wins, here's hoping we get a final with some Zing!:

World Cup prediction

URUGUAY vs. GERMANY


At Port Elizabeth, 2:30 p.m.


TV: CBC, TLN


Weather: 12C, rain


The Game: This third-place game is worth watching if only to see if German striker Miroslav Klose, with 14 World Cup goals, can match or surpass Ronaldo's record of 15. Klose's back is sore, but he intends to play. We'll also see young Thomas Mueller (20) back after he sat out the loss to Spain under suspension. Uruguay, likewise, will be fortified with Luis Suarez back after his infamous handball against Ghana and Diego Forlan has been terrific. A German victory would match their third-place showing of 2006.

The Prediction:

Germany 3, Uruguay 2

World Cup on song: Jack Parow

We have a stalker here. His name's Jack Parow, and he's blasting his way into my eardrums and skull.
I just turned on the SA music channels now, and of course the Afrikaans rapper, a sort of SA Eminem, was on. He's always on, it seems. No complaints from here. It wasn't Dans Dans Dans, No. 1 on MK's weekly countdown and still the best thing i've seen/heard here, but the novelty ditty Blaas Jou Vuvuzela.
There's a lot of wicked music here, from the likes of Crosby Syasanga Bolani, Flash Republic, Gazelle, BLK JKS – but there's only one Jack Parow, my stalker, my SA find to bring home and enjoy:

World Cup on song: Germany

Last of our final four, but not least, this one was the anthem of Germany 2006 on the trains and at the Brandenburg Gate. It's Sportfreunde Stiller's 1954 74 90 2006, and it works as well now as it did then, taking you on a wry trip through the Mannschaft's three World Cup titles (keep an eye out around the 2:15 mark for the infamous Rudi Voeller-Frank Rikjaard double expulsion 20 years ago, with its greetings and salivations moment - and don't think that'll not come up if Germany can beat Spain tonight, and set up a final against the Dutch):

Today's World Cup predictions

Germany vs. Spain, 2:30 p.m. ET

Can we call off the Fernando Torres search now? More to the point, does Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque? Trouble is, Cesc Fabregas is doubtful – after he was subbed in against Paraguay on 55 minutes, Spain managed 11 of its 15 shots on the night, and all four that hit the net. There are options still. Another sub, Pedro Rodriguez, provided much-needed width that same game. Jesus Navas and 6-foot-5 Fernando Llorente are also available. Germany has been ruthless against weaker defences and midfields; now comes a difficult lock to pick in Spain, even if Carlos Puyol looks slow in the centre of the Spanish defence – that's going to be a problem against Germany's pace.

Predictions: Chris Young – Germany 2, Spain 1 aet
Cathal Kelly – Germany 2, Spain 3

World Cup on song: Spain

Regardless of your own interest in this one - maybe you've got a Tenner on Spain to Win - there's plenty to choose from with the European La Roja. They checked in four years ago with a pretty good one. Here's this year's entry, Luis Ramiro and Marwan leading the terraces:

Today's World Cup predictions

Uruguay vs. Netherlands
At Cape Town, 2:30 p.m.
TV: CBC, TLN
Weather: 9C, partly cloudy
The Game: The outlook in Cape Town is a slight chance of rain and a 100 per cent chance of heavy, heavy tactics. Between them, these two teams have allowed only five goals in 10 games. With Luis Suarez on the bench serving a one-match ban, Uruguay is expected to pack the midfield and trust to its potent counter-attack. That midfield battleground will be the game’s key. If Holland can unleash Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, it will win. If those two men are negated by Uruguay, expect Diego Forlan to pop up at some point with a winner.
Predictions: Cathal Kelly: Uruguay 0, Netherlands 2
Chris Young: Uruguay 1, Netherlands 2

Canada still alive

FIFA has announced the referees who will remain here until the end of the World Cup, and Hector Vergara of Winnipeg has survived the last cut.

Vergara, who served as assistant referee at the 2006 World Cup semifinal matching Germany and Italy at Dortmund and also ran the line at the third-place game four years before that in South Korea, is recognized as the best deputy in CONCACAF. He's a Winnipegger, the executive director of the Manitoba Soccer Association, and this is his third World Cup finals - he's your Canadian content at this tournament.

Vergara was not included in the semifinal officiating lineup - Ravshan Irmatov, who worked the opening game here between South Africa and Mexico, will handle Tuesday's Netherlands-Uruguay meeting in Cape Town, and Hungarian Viktor Kassai will work Spain-Germany Wednesday in Durban.

Vergara's crew is headed up by referee Benito Archundia of Mexico. Both of them are working their final World Cup matches - Tellez is 44, and Vergara will be the same age in December. FIFA rules mandate referees retire at age 45. With his c.v. - no assistant referee has worked more games in World Cup finals history - it'd be no surprise to see them out there for the final, after a fairly incident-free tournament here.

Related: Canadian referees (worldreferee.com) 

World Cup on song: Holland

Today's team is Netherlands, and there are lots of candidates - Johann Cruyff the master class player, and the singer (okay, not so much the latter) and Ruud Gullit, Madness-lite warbler. But the pick here is the brassy Kleinje Pils who lit up the speed skating in Richmond last winter: 

World Cup on song: Uruguay

So here we go, one a day for each of this final four. Today, Uruguay - Gloriosa Celeste: