2010 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals

Netherlands vs Brazil
The Netherlands versus Brazil was the first quarter-final match, held on 2 July 2010 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The Netherlands won 2–1 after recovering from a 1–0 deficit, knocking the five-time world champions Brazil out of the tournament. The Netherlands' team was affected by an injury to Joris Mathijsen before the match. His replacement in defence – Andre Ooijer – and fellow central defender John Heitinga were at fault for Brazil's opening goal in the 10th minute, when Robinho was allowed to latch onto a deep pass from Felipe Melo and score without being challenged by the defence. For the rest of the first half, the Dutch were largely frustrated by the Brazilian defence, and needed to rely on Maarten Stekelenburg's goalkeeping to prevent Brazil from extending its lead. However, eight minutes after half-time, the Dutch equalised through a goal scored by Wesley Sneijder. The goal was initially recorded as an own goal by Felipe Melo, but FIFA overturned the decision to credit the goal to Sneijder. Having equalised, the Netherlands subsequently took the lead from an Arjen Robben corner kick in the 68th minute, Sneijder heading the ball in after a flick-on from Dirk Kuyt. Brazil's chances of restoring parity were damaged when Felipe Melo was sent off for a stamp on Robben. The Netherlands held out for the win, thereby earning passage to the semi-finals. Brazil's coach Dunga confirmed after the match that he would be leaving the position upon the expiry of his contract, admitting responsibility for Brazil's defeat. The Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk attacked the Brazilian team after the match, claiming they had provoked his side, and that Melo's stamp on Robben left him "ashamed for Brazilian football."

Uruguay vs Ghana
Uruguay and Ghana met on 2 July 2010 at Soccer City, Johannesburg for a place in the semi-final against the Netherlands. It was the first time that the teams had ever played each other in a senior competitive football match. After a dramatic 120 minutes of play (including extra time) that finished 1–1, Uruguay won in a penalty shoot-out 4–2. Uruguay dominated the early periods of the match, but suffered an injury to captain Diego Lugano in the first half. Just before half-time, Ghana took the lead when Sulley Muntari was allowed time on the ball by Uruguay, and took advantage by scoring with a shot from 40 yards. After half-time, Diego Forlán pulled Uruguay level with a free kick from the left side of the field that went over the head of Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. While both teams had chances to win, the match proceeded to extra time as the scores remained level. Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free kick into the box; Luis Suárez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goal line. On the rebound, Dominic Adiyiah's header was heading into the goal, but Suárez blatantly blocked the shot with his hands to save what would have been the extra-time winner and he was red carded. Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty kick off the crossbar and Suárez celebrated the miss. In the shootout, Gyan converted his penalty, as did everybody else until the 4th round of penalty kicks when Adiyiah's penalty was saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay's Maxi Pereira then hit his penalty kick over the bar. Muslera saved Captain John Mensah's, and Ghana's fifth, penalty. Sebastián Abreu converted Uruguay's fifth spot kick by lightly chipping it Panenka-style to win the match. After the game, Suárez said, "I made the save of the tournament," and, referring to the infamous handball goal scored by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup, claimed that "The 'Hand of God' now belongs to me." Suárez claimed he had no alternative and was acting out of instinct. Forlán agreed that Suárez saved the game, "Suárez this time, instead of scoring goals, he saved one, I think he saved the game. Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said the play was an "injustice" and Suárez was labeled a "villain" and a "cheat". But Uruguay coach, Óscar Tabárez, said these labels were too harsh, "Well, there was a handball in the penalty area, there was a red card and Suárez was thrown out. Saying that Ghana were cheated out of the game is too harsh. We have to go by the rules. It might have been a mistake by my player but I do not like that word ‘cheating’." Ghana was the last African team left in the tournament and if they had won, they would have been the first team from Africa to ever make the semifinals. Thus, Suárez was said to have "enraged an entire continent [ Africa ] ." But others viewed him as a hero who sacrificed himself in the semifinal for the unlikely chance that his team could win. A distraught Gyan conceded, "I would say Suárez is a hero now in his own country, because the ball was going in and he held it with his hand. He is a hero now."

Argentina vs Germany
On 3 July 2010, Germany thrashed Argentina 4–0 at the Cape Town Stadium, to reach the semi-finals. It was the third time in the tournament that Germany had scored four goals in a match. Germany's first goal was scored by Thomas Müller in the third minute of the match, with a header from a free kick taken by Bastian Schweinsteiger. Early in the second half, Argentina pressed Germany and came close to scoring on a number of occasions, but Germany hit back on a counter-attack in the 67th minute, when Miroslav Klose scored into an empty goal from a pass by Lukas Podolski. Germany's third came from Arne Friedrich after sliding it inside by a pass from Bastian Schweinsteiger seven minutes later, before Klose took the score to 4–0, volleying the ball into the net off a cross from Mesut Özil. The 4–0 defeat was Argentina's biggest loss at a World Cup since 1974. Germany's coach Joachim Löw hailed his side's performance as one of "absolute class," but admitted the suspension of Müller for picking up a yellow card was a blow.

Paraguay vs Spain
On 3 July 2010, Spain defeated Paraguay 1–0, to secure entry to the semi-finals where they would meet Germany. It was the first time that Spain had progressed to the semi-final of a World Cup since 1950; while for the defeated Paraguay, the quarter-final appearance was also the country's best ever performance. The first half of the match finished goalless, although both sides had chances to score and Paraguay's Nelson Valdez had a goal ruled out as offside. The match suddenly became eventful in the second half due to a string of penalty kicks. First, Óscar Cardozo was pulled down by Gerard Piqué in Spain's penalty area and Paraguay was awarded a penalty. Cardozo took the penalty himself but it was saved by Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain soon after launched an attack at the other end of the field, in which David Villa was ruled by the referee to have been brought down by Antolín Alcaraz. Xabi Alonso stepped up to take the penalty kick and seemed to have scored, only for the referee to order it be retaken because of encroachment by a Spanish player into the penalty area before the kick was taken. Xabi Alonso's retake was saved by Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar. As a result, the score remained 0–0 after the three penalty kicks. However, Spain ultimately managed to take the lead in the 82nd minute: David Villa collected a rebounded shot off the post from Pedro, to score himself off the post. The goal turned out to be the winner for Spain. After the match, Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque conceded that his side were not playing at their best and were starved of possession. He also noted his view that Spain's next opponents Germany were the best team at the World Cup. Paraguay's coach Gerardo Martino stated he would be leaving his position at the end of his contract.