Belgium are not a bad team. They have decent players up front, and star man Eden Hazard can change a game in an instant. They are also the most defensively disciplined team at the World Cup, being the only team not to concede a goal from open play. And they have won all three of their games while playing at a level nowhere near to their best. So do not be quick to underestimate them. If the USA win, it would have to be considered one of the greatest wins in their history.
Since predictions seem to be the order of the day, here's mine for the other games. I fancy Brazil to be given a tough test by Chile, but they should win by one goal. With Van Persie back, the Netherlands should destroy Mexico, though it would be interesting to see how they would react to Mexico taking the lead.
For reasons other than football, I think that most of the world wants Columbia to beat the living crap out of Uruguay, but out of the teams considered 'dark horses', the Columbians have impressed me the most, particularly with their counter-attacking play. The Uruguayans clearly are not the same team without Suarez, and even though they will be defiant, I expect Columbia to win handsomely.
Greece-Costa Rica. Be honest, who had that one before the tournament started? Anyone? No, didn't think so. Tough one to call, of all of the 2nd-round matchups, this one has 'penalties' written all over it. But based upon what I have seen, I believe that Costa Rica will be favourites here, as long as they don't get too nervous. Greece's best strength appears to be their defence, if they get ahead, the Costa Ricans will find them tough to break down. But I'm still going to predict Costa Rica for the win.
Didier Deschamps is in that great position of having a 'good problem to have'. The French coach could pretty much cut and paste any given eleven players into his starting lineup, and they would still do a top job. Karim Benzema appears to have taken it upon himself to be France's talisman in the unfortunate absence of Franck Ribéry, and they will go as he goes. I ultimately think that France will be found out later in the tournament when they play a stronger team, but for now, I believe them to have plenty to beat Nigeria comfortably.
Switzerland could pull off a shock win if Argentina are overconfident, or if they rely a little too much on Messi. For all of the brilliance of the little genius, the likes of Di Maria and Aguero have hardly set the tournament alight, and number 10 can't do everything on his own. For the Swiss, they got over their mauling to France pretty quickly, and Shaqiri has shown that he is one of those 'one chance' players. With all that said, clearly Argentina have more than enough quality to win here. It's about time that they gave the complete performance the world is waiting for.
I already gave my thoughts on USA-Belgium above, so the final one here is Germany-Algeria. While it would be fantastic for Algeria to pull off the shock win, and finally put to bed any ill-feelings of unfair play from Germany back in the 1982 tournament (look it up if you can be bothered), it clearly isn't going to happen here. Germany to win at a canter.
The group stages, by and large, were a great spectacle. Let's hope that the knockout phases more than live up to the standards that have been set.