Michael*

Esther Jenna Hanna Patricia

I know Switzerland qualified, but I didn't expect to see Grasshoppers on the pitch.

Fear not, it was handled via PM.

Tonight's referee had what can only be described as an absolute bloody shocker. If he'd booked Fernandinho and Zuniga in the early going, it would have cut out all the kicking and hacking and allowed the game to flow. Instead his leniency was bordering on criminal. When he failed to provide Rodriguez with protection, Colombia were always going to start handing out their own reprisals, and if the result is the loss of Neymar from the tournament then ultimately Brazil will pay as much of a price as the Colombians did on the night. The charged down free kick in the first half was a travesty too. All of which was a bit of a shame really, because it looked like it had the potential to become one of the great World Cup games. Had Colombia been allowed to play, we would probably have seen more goals, with Brazil veering wildly between panic and brilliance as they responded. As it turned out, it was tense and enjoyable, but rather disjointed. Despite their obvious shortcomings, Brazil just keep on keeping on, although whether they'll be doing it for much longer remains to be seen. Hulk, Fred and Jo vs Germany? Oh dear...

Starting with a nice 4-3 (preferably in Colombia's favour) tonight, I hope.

Seventeen goals needed from the last seven games to eclipse France '98 as the highest scoring World Cup ever.

A massive letdown after all the pre-match hype. Germany, though brilliantly dominant in midfield and resolute at the back, were a lot more comfortable than I would have expected, even in the latter stages when a sustained onslaught looked to be on the cards. Hard to figure out what the French game plan was supposed to be, they were awful and at no point did they look like getting back into the game. Deschamps can expect to receive a shellacking for leaving any thoughts of positivity until the last ten minutes.

Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Star Wars, The Avengers. That's quite the resume.

Yeah, that's not something we particularly care for. I'll look into it. Edit: Katchi already took care of it.

That first Deborah Anderson one is absolutely sensational.

Another incredible game in an incredible World Cup. Only negative is that there are just eight left. The USA should be thanked for making such a great contribution to the tournament, they fought so well that I was having visions of a 'Mighty Ducks' style comeback towards the end. It won't quite make a blockbuster movie this time, but Klinsmann and his team can be immensely proud and prepare for 2018, when they'll undoubtedly be even more dangerous. For Belgium, yet another substitution by Marc Wilmots proves decisive. Lukaku did more in the thirty minutes of extra time than in his previous two starts, and given that Tintin De Bruyne also had an excellent game, there may be some second thoughts over at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian bench must be one of the most enviable around, they have a full second eleven of players who are almost like for like. Quarter-finals France vs Germany Brazil vs Colombia Argentina vs Belgium Holland vs Costa Rica

Extraordinarily dull for 117 minutes, but luckily for the neutral, the final five had more than enough incident for a whole game. Argentina join the list of high-profile teams at this tournament who have looked distinctly underwhelming in the knockout stages, only to still sneak through. Di Maria was woefully off-kilter until his goal, and Higuain has been as poor as Fred over the four games, if not worse. They'll need to play a hell of a lot better to win it, although it feels like we've said that about everyone except Colombia. Better luck next time to a battling Switzerland side. If Belgium win tonight, it'll make eight group winners out of eight through to the quarters.

As disheartening as it was seeing Robben flop about like a freshly caught salmon, the referee would have made the same call at least nine times out of ten, even with the advantage of video evidence. I was sad for Marquez because he had a superb tournament, but his reaction afterwards said it all. Despite the pointlessness of remonstrating with officials, you don't see players meekly accepting decisions like that unless they know they've done something wrong.

Ouch! Chile's Mauricio Pinilla gets a tattoo of his last-minute shot against Brazil hitting the bar.

Compelling stuff again. Algeria deserve every plaudit going for pushing Germany to the limit. They wasted good chances by executing their final passes poorly and shooting from oblique angles, but they looked superb on the counter at times. As for the Germans, it's hard not to admire their resilience in the face of adversity. I can't recall seeing a sweeper/keeper performance as good as the one turned in by Manuel Neuer tonight. Not only is he better in goal than Joe Hart, he’s a better defender than Gary Cahill. Probably even a better striker than Wayne Rooney. Muller's pre-planned stumble/dummy (stummy?) for the free kick was something else, absolutely hilarious. If it was Robben he'd have been rolling around in mock agony afterwards.

^ Enjoyed France and Nigeria. Plenty of action, especially in the first half. If it wasn't for bad luck, you suspect the Nigerians would have no luck at all. A marginal offside decision goes against them for the disallowed goal, Matuidi commits what was arguably the worst challenge of the tournament on Onazi in full view of the referee, then Enyeama, who almost single-handedly kept them in the game towards the end, drops a rudimentary clanger that effectively dumps them out of the tournament. Such is the life of a goalie. Very strong finish by France, although they looked decidedly average before Deschamps introduced Griezmann.

'Divina' for Vogue Italia August 2012 Photography by Vincent Peters

I'm hoping for a cracker from this one, wouldn't mind seeing Nigeria sneak it. Having racked up eight goals in their first two games, expectations will be higher now for France, but you wonder whether they could be caught napping a bit after going through the motions against Ecuador. The 30c heat might prove to be something of a leveller too.

Of all the central midfielders Brazil have used over the four games, I would say Luiz Gustavo has been the only adequate performer so far. Behind Gustavo and Fernandinho in the pecking order they essentially have two lesser versions of the same player. Scolari clearly sets his team up to bypass the middle three, and I can only assume this is because he believes (mistakenly I think) that his front four are good enough to see them right. I suppose to be fair he probably envisaged Diego Costa wearing the number nine shirt when he took the job, but there's still such a lack of flexibility throughout the squad and their ‘Plan A’ simply isn't good enough for it not to be an issue.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man who had done precisely sod all for the rest of the tournament. You have to hand it to Van Gaal, what looked like a massive gamble to leave Sneijder on and replace Van Persie with Huntelaar didn't half pay off. Whether that was down to incredibly good judgement or pure luck, it takes the Dutch into the quarter-finals. Rough justice for Mexico, though. Minimal contact for the penalty, maximal histrionics from Robben Hood. Very well done to Costa Rica. The penalty taking from the five players who stepped up was pure perfection, and they defended like their lives depended on winning the game.

I can't help feeling that Brazil's lack of quality attacking options will be what derails them. Very little interplay going on between the front four. Neymar has offered flashes of individual brilliance and the somewhat-less-than-incredible Hulk at least grew into the game yesterday, the rest look anything but assured. Fred is a shadow of the player who bagged five goals in the Confederations Cup last summer and Jo, when called upon, hasn't improved things. Oscar in particular, I expected so much more from. Obviously, someone's got to beat them and nobody has yet, but this is a far cry from the classic Brazilian sides of old.

Chile will be missed. Uruguay, not so much. Watching Colombia-Uruguay was like watching a star being born, except it only took an hour and a half. James Rodriguez's chest and volley for the opening goal was probably the best strike at a World Cup since his namesake Maxi in 2006. I wonder if the Colombians will have the confidence to attack Brazil with the same vibrancy. I hope so, they play some lovely stuff, score great goals and seem to have a real, genuine team spirit about them.

Dramatic just doesn't seem to cut it, what a game that was. If that was a measure of what to expect from the knockout stages of this World Cup, then we're going to be in for one hell of a treat over the next two weeks. Instinctively I rooted for Chile throughout, but I found it hard to begrudge Brazil the victory, especially considering the state the players were in before the shootout. Half of them looked like they were on the verge of a complete breakdown. Still, the finish was so tough on the Chileans. They produced a wonderfully vibrant performance, and Aranguiz's exocet missile penalty was one of the best I've ever seen. As sad as it is to see them go home, they can do so with heads held high.

I think it's the disproportionate punishment to act he did. Of Course his conduct was against with fairplay rules. It was may be stupid, aggressive. I have no words to call it. But there were other players who act unfair on the pitch. Who were brutal. Zidane hit Materazzi with a head and he was only given a fine. The FIFA should punish Luis Suarez. He should be banned on tournament. Also the fine is understandable. Still I don't understand why he can't train. Why he can't play in Liverpool. Exaggeration I'm not FIFA's biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like they deserve some recognition for the way this matter has been dealt with. They moved swiftly and decisively and, given that Suarez is a repeat offender (he's now bitten three different opponents in four years), a heavy punishment was the only realistic outcome. It may have helped his case if the Uruguayan FA had shown some contrition for his actions, but they were seemingly too busy pointing to a Brazilian, Italian and British conspiracy. Deluded is not the word. As for Liverpool, I do have a bit of sympathy for them. Since they weren't represented at the hearing, I would expect them to make some sort of appeal. Strange thing is, that same uncontrollable red mist is almost certainly what makes Suarez such a talented player, all his greatest attributes, his speed of thought, anticipation and determination appear to be fuelled by the same demons. If the strengths and weaknesses in his character are so interlinked, I'm not sure any amount of reformation could curb his temperament without sacrificing his performance.