Uruguay vs. Netherlands preview

Who: Uruguay vs. Netherlands
What: 2010 World Cup semifinals
Where: Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa
When: Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN

The first of the two semifinals in the 2010 World Cup is an intriguing one with La Celeste (aka Uruguay) taking on Clockwork Orange (aka Netherlands).

How they got here:

The Dutch got here by winning Group E and at this point, they've won all five of their matches. Most impressive, they've won the last four by a goal apiece, proof that this isn't the usual talented but fragile Netherlands team that usually craps out in the quarterfinals or so. Their group wasn't particularly hard but the fact that they knocked out Brazil 2-1 in the quarterfinals is one of the most impressive results so far in the tournament, especially since Brazil led 1-0 10 minutes into the match.

The only non-European team left, Uruguay stands out for many reasons at this point. For starters, they're a country of just over 3.4 million people which is tiny compared to football and geographical giants like Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Also, be honest, did you or anyone you know (that wasn't Uruguayan) have them making it this far? Nope. With that said, they've been the recipients of a very favorable draw but at the same time, they've gotten the results against some pretty decent opponents. They won Group A, they're also undefeated (4-0-1) and they come into tomorrow riding the incredible momentum from their heart-stopping win over Ghana in the quarterfinals.

Why you should root for them:

Perpetual underachievers, the Dutch always play an attractive style of soccer dubbed "Total football" for a reason. They aren't afraid to attack, put pressure on you and send people forward, they also play at a fast pace. Believe it or not given their solid reputation and impressive stable of players, Netherlands has never won the World Cup before. The best they've done is coming in second in both 1974 and 1978.

Uruguay won it all in 1930 and 1950 but that's ancient history as far as we're concerned. La Celeste's most appealing aspect is their underdog status, everyone loves a good Cinderella story and if Uruguay can beat the Dutch it would be an amazing feat. This hasn't been a fluke either, this edition of Uruguay is extremely talented.

Players to watch:
Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Maaarten Stekelenburg-Netherlands
Diego Forlan, Diego Perez, Fernando Muslera-Uruguay

Robben and Sneijder are the two biggest stars on a Dutch squad full of big names. If Netherlands scores, odds are one or both of these guys will be heavily involved in it. They are capable of great moments every time they get the ball in the attacking third; Robben specializes in breaking defenders down with his one move (cutting from right to left and hitting it with his left foot) and Sneijder might be the best all-around midfielder in soccer at the moment. He drops passes on a dime and as he showed against Brazil, he steps up when his team needs him most. Stekelenburg probably will be watching a majority of the game so he has to stay focused and can't allow any soft goals.

Perhaps nobody (besides David Villa) has had as impressive a 2010 World Cup as Forlan. Between him and Luis Suarez, Uruguay has the deadliest scoring combination in the tournament. Unfortunately Suarez will miss the semifinals after his red card against Ghana in the final minute of extra time (for the handball). As the center midfielder, Perez has been very underrated. He's been getting the ball to Forlan and Suarez in space and letting them do their thing. He'll have his toughest task yet going up against Sneijder, who is in the best form of his life. Finally, Muslera will need to come up big for Uruguay to score the upset. Odds are the Dutch will be playing target practice with him so he has to play like Eduardo against Brazil or Tim Howard against England.

Who is suspended and who will replace them?:
midfielder Nigel De Jong and right back Gregory Van Der Wiel are out for Netherlands with Demy De Zeeuw and likely Khalid Boulahrouz filling in respectively.

Suarez and left back Jorge Fucile are out for Uruguay with Sebastian Abreu and Diego Godin taking over.

Who is going to win?:

I picked them in our bracket so I gotta stick with the Dutch. I just think they have too much depth for Uruguay and they'll eventually crack a very good defense. Netherlands wins 2-1 to get to the 2010 World Cup final on Sunday.

Check back during the game tomorrow for my live blog.