When Ghana lost on penalties today to Uruguay, my eyes welled up with tears. Over the course of the 120 minutes, my heart went out to Ghana. This was an African side which personified everything that is beautiful about the World Cup. Underdogs, pure athleticism, incredible skill and, last but not least, devastatingly wonderful goals.

Ghana played their best game of the tournament Friday night but it still wasn't enough. When they were awarded a free kick outside the box at the very end of the 30 minutes of extra time, it seemed that the African nation had one last chance to score. But as the ball ricocheted in the box, Ghana was dealt a cruel blow when Luis Suarez handled the ball on the line to prevent Ghana from scoring.

Sadly the punishment didn't fit the crime. It was a certain goal. Suarez was red carded, which seemed unjust for the goal that he stole away from Ghana. And then up stepped Asamoah Gyan to take the penalty. With the last kick of the game, Gyan thundered the shot at the goal but the ball hit the crossbar and away to safety. Gyan and Ghana came so close to winning it all for their country, for Africa and for the world. Suarez, meanwhile, celebrated on his way down the tunnel. Cheating won, while Ghana was prevented from being given a sure goal and dealt the cruel fate of missing a penalty.

If that wasn't bad enough, Ghana then had to rile up the courage to compete against Uruguay in the penalty kick shoot-out to decide the winner. Gyan, full credit to him, put his penalty away with ease and showed how much of a true professional he is by accomplishing the difficult task of breaking through the psychological barrier of missing a penalty just minutes earlier.

Ultimately, Ghana went on to lose the penalty kick shoot-out and many of their players fell to their knees as the emotions swept through them after Uruguay scored the winning penalty to send the South American team to the semi-final.

Not to take anything away from Uruguay, who produced an exceptional performance over the 120 minutes and definitely deserve a place in the final four, but it was the valiant display by Ghana that I'll never forget. Just as we look back fondly at 1990 and remember how inspirational Cameroon's performance was, we'll look back at 2010 and reminisce about Ghana's brilliant tournament in 2010 and how close the African nation (and continent) got to having a team so nearly qualify for the semi-final, but cruelly have it taken away from them in such controversial circumstances.

Luis Suarez's deliberate handball on the line for Uruguay was criminal. A red card as a punishment for that offense is not fair to Ghana. In circumstances like that when a player commits a deliberate hand ball on the line to prevent a goal, a red card should be given to the cheater and a goal should be awarded to the team to the opposing team.

Over the entire tournament, I'll remember Ghana for their unconventional attacks that seemingly came out of nowhere at times. I'll cherish their wonderful strips they wore. And the pure excitement they brought to this tournament. Ghana and Africa may not be in the final four, but they've given me and countless other people a reason to believe in the World Cup again. And that's a huge achievement during a day and age which is so predictable and so commercialized.

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Today's game between Uruguay and Ghana is an important one for many reasons. For one, it's an unlikely quarter-final. Most pundits before the tournament wouldn't have predicted either team to make it this far. But they have done so and they've thoroughly deserved it. But now's the time for them to shine on the world's stage and to show us what they're made of.

Before, during and after this quarter-final game, feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and reaction to the World Cup 2010 game in the comments section below.

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Without being  philosophical, it must be said that every individual is entitled to an opinion and to simply ridicule it  without substantial support would be unfair. Having listened to the Group C Podcast, there are a  few comments about the main topics being discussed.

- The Top Teams: Every team does have a flaw or will have one during the World Cup. One must  consider the pressure of competing in the world's biggest stage with reputations made and destroyed in a single match or round. Injuries, inconsistent form, suspensions, officiating and coaching decisions will all affect the results. One does not have to be a supporter of Brazil to acknowledge the Selecao would probably have 8 titles by now if the winner is crowned purely based on talent while Spain would at least have one. Winning the World Cup  is not just about talent but the combination of variables which are quite intricate and can easily tip the balance to one side or the other.

As for Group C which is stirring up debates and discussions, below are some general comments based on watching and tracking certain teams and their players:

ALGERIA: They will not be advancing from this Group and it might be difficult for them to even get a point. Unlike other African teams, this North African country does not have the physical presence of a Cameroon or Ghana or Ivory Coast. By physical presence one is implying they are not as fast or strong physically. They can play tough and be rough but they are not a superior physical team. They are missing a crucial player in Mourad Meghni who is out injured and will lose to England, USA and Slovenia. At best, they might snatch a draw against either USA or Slovenia. If anyone watched the team's campaign in the African Cup of Nations, then it would be fair to state the Algerians are not on the same talent level as the Egyptians. However, Algeria deserved to get to this stage because they managed to beat Egypt in the play-off match in Sudan but they remain inferior talent wise to Egypt. This is a clear case of how talent does not necessarily prevail as Egypt did dismantle Algeria 4-0 in the African Cup of Nations. Without going into detail, the Egyptians have had a psychological barrier and intense pressure which have prevent the side from performing up to their talent level causing them to miss on the World Cup in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

SLOVENIA: Many pundits and football fans underestimate this team. Slovenia is not as good as Croatia was in France 1998 but they are a solid team. What they lack in sheer talent, they make up by effort, team work and some individual skills. As a team they are not very talented but on an individual basis they have a couple of decent players. They simply work well together as a unit and they will most likely beat Algeria while troubling USA to the extent of getting a draw or even beating USA. Against England, Slovenia might get a result depending on how many points the Three Lions have prior to the match. However, if logic prevails then Slovenia will fight with the USA for the second spot leaving Algeria to occupy the bottom place in Group C.

ENGLAND: If you check  the piece on who will win the World Cup, it originally excluded England as an option because  the team is not deep enough to make a run beyond the quarter-finals (check www.worldcupbuzz.com/which-team-will-win-the-2010-world-cup/) but in an updated article England was added (please check www.worldcupbuzz.com/world-cup-2010-update-on-tournament-favourites/) and there is a reason for this.

Fabio Capello is a capable manager and he is one of the best in the world. If he wins the World Cup with England then he certainly will be amongst the best three coaches. Capello was in charge of Milan when they shredded the great Barcelona side in the Champions League final of 1994 with a score of 4-0. He won league titles with Roma, Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid. This shows he has the winner's mentality and it does not matter if you are coaching in England or elsewhere because you can still take with you the winning mentality.

The problem here is Capello can sometimes go too far when considering certain aspects such as the overall good of the team and achieving results because in doing so he sometimes restricts talented players and their ability to perform. Luckily for England he does acknowledge the need to free Wayne Rooney to excel and strike fear into opponents but  Capello on the bench and Rooney on the pitch alone cannot win it for England. The Three Lions do have other quality players but none are on Rooney's level regardless of their position. England's journey will likely end  in the quarter-final or perhaps the semi-final at best when facing Brazil (or another quality team).

USA: The United States is by far one of the most improved sides in the last few years as shown by their performances in the Confederations Cup last year. To beat Spain, who were on a historic  streak, is a great achievement and the United States went on to test Brazil's resolve and talent to the end. There are several variables at play in this situation such as the American desire to always excel and be better in sports when compared to others, but one must keep in mind soccer is behind NFL, MLB, NBA and even NHL. This does have a negative effect on the progress of the national team. The United States was one of the toughest games for the Azzurri in Germany 2006 and they severely tested the Italians with their grit and determination.

The American can still compete and have a considerable chance of going through this group. The US will likely beat Algeria and will either settle for a hard fought draw with Slovenia or perhaps even win the match considering the Slovenia clash will be the decider. As for the much anticipated England vs USA match, Capello and Rooney will make sure England will do the utmost to win. Capello will demand the England players do not underestimate the US and Rooney still has something to prove after World Cup 2006. When healthy and nearing top form, Rooney is close to unstoppable with his sheer desire to win and his talent.

One Note: The English media will sometimes fall into the trap of giving teams a certain tag but it is often done to sell stories or provide motivation for England's players. In other cases it has the adverse effect of  piling unnecessary pressure on England's players or providing excuses for an unlikely defeat. In general the press, even in the US, concentrates on selling a story or creating a storm in order to have increased audience. One man who exploited the English media till the end is the self-proclaimed "Special One" Jose Mourinho who often manipulated the English press to satisfy his craving for attention and to serve his purposes.

He did leave Inter so he can challenge for La Liga with Real Madrid but there are other main factors behind his decision: his long-time hatred for Barcelona who never gave him the chance to take over after Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal, and his failure to win over the Italian press. The media in Italy often slammed Mourinho and did not fall for his tricks (but did rightfully salute him at the end for winning a historic treble with Inter). Mourinho became aware he could not manipulate the Italian press as easily as the English one so that is another reason why he opted to leave. Of course Mourinho knew it would be hard to replicate this season's success and with Real knocking on his door, he knew he had the perfect opportunity to join an extremely promising situation.

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Since 1990, when Cameroon became the first African nation to reach the Quarter Finals of the World Cup, only one other African country has made it to the same point, Senegal in 2002. Despite the consistent leaps in quality, ability and tactical attitude, Africa has consistently failed to make the next breakthrough on the world stage. Critics can point to perhaps the continents best team, Egypt, not being in the finals, but Egypt traditionally struggle to qualify for the World Cup.

With continental advantage at hand, could Africa begin to consistently trouble the latter stages of the World Cup at last? It just seems unfortunate that only one of the six qualifiers this year looks capable of getting in to the last eight in South Africa. For me, the Ivory Coast stand head and shoulders above all the other African representatives even before they enticed Sven-Goran Eriksson to take the helm this summer.

As a squad, the depth and experience of the Elephants squad is clearly the strongest of the African nations in all parts of the field with talismanic striker Didier Drogba leading the team on and off the pitch. Add to that the options that players of the calibre of the Toure brothers, Guy Demel, Bakary Kone, Didier Zokora, Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane give you and you have a strong line up to match most sides in the tournament. The fact that they've found themselves in the same group as Brazil and Portugal and expected whipping boys North Korea shouldn't fill them with fear.They can qualify from this group.

Under no circumstances is this the free flowing samba styled Brazil we've been brought up on over the last few years. Head coach Dunga has installed a pragmatic formation and tactical set that keeps the midfield anchored but allowing the wingers and fullbacks to bomb forward. It's an interesting variation on the standard Brazilian style, more reminiscent of the 1994 winning side than the 2002 winning side.After they way they slumped out of the competition in 2006, they'll be keen to be more clinical.

Portugal on the other hand can thank a favourable seeding in the European play-offs for getting to the World Cup. A side that seems to be on the way down, huffing and puffing its way through qualification. Despite the hype, Ronaldo, similarly to Messi, doesn't seem to play as we know him at the international level. North Korea have the surprise element, but I doubt we'll have a repeat of their amazing shock of the 1966 finals.

We've a situation where one of the 3 big teams in this group will be going home and with Brazil and Portugal clashing as their last fixture, the Ivory Coast will be aware that they could be in a situation that they could send home one of the Portuguese speaking nations. Would it be a big shock? Not really, if anything, Portugal are the ones who have it all to do to get through. The tournament needs the best African side to go through as the only other contenders, Cameroon and Ghana often flatter to deceive.

World Cups have no time for sentiment, but the Ivory Coast have a chance to write a little bit of history and each of the three teams will be desperate to finish top as I can't see Spain not winning Group H. Eriksson will be at his 3rd World Cup and despite his faults, is still one of the most experienced managers in the world. Adding his pragmatic tactics to the Ivory Coast's boundless exuberance could be a match made in heaven. Brazil and Portugal will be hoping the cocktail doesn't taste as sweet in action.

Leave me your comments below and you can follow me on http://twitter.com/paulbestall

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Who do you think will advance from Group D in the 2010 World Cup? It's definitely a difficult group featuring one of the best teams in Africa, Ghana, as well as the gritty determinism of Serbia, the machine-like Germany and the underdogs Australia. Cast your vote who you think will advance from the group, and click the comments link below to share your feedback.

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The Top 5 Things Learned From The Previous Round of WC Qualifying:

Ghana on the brink

The Black Stars could be out of qualifying. In Group 5 of Round 2 WC African Qualifying, Ghana sits in 3^rd place behind 1^st place Libya and 2^nd place Gabon only trailing Gabon on goal differential. Their talisman Michael Essien is out for that last crucial match vs. Lesotho and they will have to produce at least a 3 goal victory margin in that game to have a shot of advancing to the next stage. Let’s hope they go through cause they are arguably the most talented team in Africa and fun to watch.

Domenech as to go

Why does this man still have employment? What has he done to earn his continued place as national team coach of France? Let’s see. France looked horrible in Euro 2008, they have been erratic at best in matches following the Zidane embarrassment of the ’06 WC Final. He’s consistently left off the team arguably the best French striker right now in David Trezeguet deciding on Nicolas Anelka instead and they just got whipped 3-1 by AUSTRIA. With all the talent France has they should not be losing to AUSTRIA Les Bleus need to bring back Aime Jacquet.

Paraguay is the best team in South America, right now

La Albirroja has been the most consistent team in FIFA’s toughest qualifying region. Paraguay has 5 players that have scored at least 2 goals meaning that there isn’t one person to key on. That makes them more dangerous offensively than supposedly more dangerous offensive sides like Brazil and Argentina. By the way, results vs. South America’s 2 Giants: 1-1 draw vs. Argentina in Buenos Aires and a 2-0 win vs. Brazil in Asuncion. Impressive, if Paraguay’s key players can avoid injury over the next months, Paraguay will not only make it to The Great Tournament but will be a serious contender for the title.

No Caribbean Riddims in South Africa

This one hurts the most because of my roots in the Caribbean and my desire to see a Caribbean nation progress deep into the World Cup. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good for the Caribbean nations in CONCACAF. The Caribbean Champions, Haiti have 1 point after 3 matches and a –7 goal differential and tragically a lot more on their minds than football. Jamaica just fired its coach after only 1 point and a –6 goal differential. Cuba has 0 points. Trinidad & Tobago are the last hope. The Soca Warriors have 4 points and are tied with Guatemala for 2^nd in Group 1. I think us Caribbean folk will have to wait till Brazil 2014. At least we got Usain Bolt.

Sepp Blatter is the SHIZZLE!!!!

FIFA President, Sepp Blatter announced that all workers would get two free tickets to a WC match at the stadium they are working on.  That is FREAKING SWEEET!!! (To quote Peter Griffin).  If I didn't have a job, I would find my way to South Africa and get me a job at Ellis Park or any of those stadiums.  I can install the toilets for all I care.  I will deal with sewage pipes for some free WC tickets.

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