| It's not the first few rounds of the cup, it's the quarter-final and the teams have been whittled down to the last eight. |
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| Ballack also scored the winning goal in the quarter-final against the United States. |
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| Germany will next play the US in the quarter-final of the World Cup finals on Friday. |
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| Normally, you would never go into a quarter-final of any competition without a warm-up game. |
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| For Eriksson there is some hope of sporting revenge over the man whose Brazil side won the 2002 World Cup quarter-final meeting. |
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| Given what is at stake the winners can anticipate a probable quarter-final against Wales. |
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| The quarter-final stages began with the Scottish Thistles pulling off a last-gasp victory over Watsonians. |
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| He also needed a five game comeback in his quarter-final to reach the semis. |
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| Meanwhile, the defending champion trained her focus on the grass court season after bowing out of the French Open at the quarter-final stage. |
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| We were a bit fatigued before the quarter-final after all the hard training we have done. |
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| The pint-sized player will be hoping for better fortunes in New York, where she has made three quarter-final appearances. |
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| That will mean he will miss the West Riding County Cup quarter-final against his old club on Wednesday. |
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| Portuguese newspapers are looking forward to their team's quarter-final clash with England. |
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| The tennis star lost her U.S. Open quarter-final match against after the umpire appeared to make three erroneous calls that went against her. |
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| The craziness of ski cross was evident in all its glory in the men's quarter-final when three of the four riders crashed on the final jump. |
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| In the last of the two games before the quarter-final stage, Grange's emphatic win sees them go through to meet premier side Parkville United. |
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| The racers agreed to race on the wet surface and the quarter-final heats began. |
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| The Tractor boys had arrived at the final via a 6-1 quarter-final whomping of Millwall, and faced Arsenal. |
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| Not until this tournament gets to the knockout quarter-final stages will the real competition get under way. |
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| Remember, the Wallabies played their worst game all season last year and still swept past Scotland at a canter in the World Cup quarter-final. |
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| The Danes often overachieve in tournaments and another quarter-final beckons. |
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| The undoubted shock of the tournament however was the defeat of reigning champions Cullane who were humbled by Cloontigh in the quarter-final. |
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| Actually it was the quarter-final, the semi-final and the final all in one night. |
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| Despite being unable to breathe properly or see clearly, Arthur then absolutely leathered his Polish quarter-final opponent. |
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| On the fourth day of the competition the eight finals will take place in the morning and the quarter-final in the afternoon. |
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| Equatorial Guinea will play the winner of Sunday's quarter-final between Ghana and Guinea. |
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| The whole team's work rate and tackling were exceptional and made what was potentially a tricky divisional quarter-final tie into a showcase of junior colts rugby at its best. |
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| The latter's capital, Baku, will host a quarter-final and three group stage matches, along with Munich, Rome and St Petersburg. |
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| Gloucester were a distant second-best as 12,500 Munster fans roared their side on to a comprehensive victory which gives them an away quarter-final in April. |
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| Nadal and Blake are up first with a rematch of their quarter-final at the Pacific Life Open. |
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| What a tournament he has had: sent off for being flobbed on in the second round, suspended for the quarter-final, now injured in the semi. |
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| A third successive quarter-final now awaits. |
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| England now face a quarter-final showdown with host nation Portugal. |
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| Halifax are the senior side in the competition and if their quarter-final win over Bradford Park Avenue is anything to go by they should reach the final. |
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| So said a disbelieving Isobel Christiansen, looking back on her remarkable strike in England's quarter-final with Japan. |
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| The Cork senior player did make an appearance in the quarter-final against Doonbeg and showed no ill-effects of his 14 week lay-off with a back injury. |
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| The caprice of the draw created an intriguing dynamic, as the top-half quarter-final pairings constituted a pair of rematches from the Hyder semis. |
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| Despite the reverse, Kiwi Searancke's players earned a consolation bonus point to cling on to their lead in Pool B and remain on course to secure a home quarter-final. |
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| Some Englishmen, too, may never forgive him for the artful deception that turned a World Cup quarter-final Argentina's way 20 years ago next summer. |
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| The Irish line-out was majestic, only showing cracks in the quarter-final defeat to France, while the captain was also a raging inferno in the loose. |
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| In their quarter-final clash against Australia at Athens 2004, Mohammed scored a spectacular goal from a bicycle kick to earn Iraq a famous win. |
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| The spectators in Brasilia knew they were in for a quarter-final in all but name and they did not go home disappointed. |
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| He could hardly be in better shape to take on Djokovic, who bossed Nadal at the start and finish of a tense quarter-final on the main court. |
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| As for England's quarter-final exit, he bears the pain stoically. |
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| If they manage to reproduce the form that enabled them to eliminate FC Seoul in the quarter-final match, the Qataris can raise eyebrows once more. |
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| That somewhat surprising result leaves O Tricolor Paulista perfectly placed to exact revenge for last year's quarter-final exit at the hands of A Raposa. |
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| The superlative form of the CSKA Moscow keeper was the main reason why the Netherlands were unable to exact revenge for their quarter-final exit at the hands of Russia in June. |
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| Dunga's Brazil team nudged them off the top again in April and May this year, though Spain's triumph in South Africa and A Seleção's quarter-final exit has seen the two swap places again. |
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| The qualifier McGill exuded calm assurance as he saw off the defending champion 13-9 to book a quarter-final place, never appearing overawed by the match or the gradual position of control he developed. |
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| The dust has finally settled on the quarter-final duel between France and Italy at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Marseille 2008, and the Stade du Prado now seems despairingly empty. |
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| Brennan's male equivalent, single sculler Rhys Grant finished second in his quarter-final behind Cuban Angel Rodriguez Fournier to also move through to Thursday's semi-finals. |
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| They did, however, tumble down the chart just one month later, dropping a dramatic 40 places when the points from their quarter-final place at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2006 fell away. |
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| Warrington's Chris Bridge set his coach a selection poser for next Saturday's Challenge Cup quarter-final against Wigan, with a four-try display in the unfamiliar role of loose forward. |
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| Having reached the knockout stage for the first time, Sepahan then endured a goalless 210 minutes of football in the quarter-final against Kawasaki Frontale, before edging out the J-Leaguers 5-4 in a penalty shootout. |
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| Argentina were leading Germany 1-0 after 72 minutes in the 2006 FIFA World Cup? quarter-final when coach Jose Pekerman decided to shut up shop and withdrew Juan Roman Riquelme. |
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| The Nigerians now have their quarter-final spot sewn up, while France will face Argentina in their final group match where it will be a case of winner takes all. |
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| Group A winners Portugal will take on Germany, who managed to sneak into the last eight after finishing second behind Croatia in Group B, in EURO 2008's first quarter-final. |
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| The Rocket has not lost to the Liverpudlian since 1995, and should extend that run in tonight's other quarter-final. |
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| Rather than just an Olympic quarter-final, both see this game as a heaven-sent opportunity to raise the profile of women's football in their countries, where the discipline is still in its relative infancy. |
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| It was a goal that secured Auckland City a 2-0 victory over local team Al Ahli in the curtain-raiser to the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009, and earned the Kiwi underdogs a quarter-final date with Mexico's Atlante. |
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| The top two riders of the quarter-final qualify to the semifinal heats. |
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| Wozniacki broke onto the professional tennis scene in 2007, winning two ITF Pro Circuit singles titles, reaching her maiden Tour singles semifinal to go along with four quarter-final berths at the highest level of the sport. |
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| On the back of another barnstorming display against quarter-final opponents Canada, and while draped in a German flag, the modest starlet ensured the focus stayed on the team rather than her own performance. |
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| The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells gets underway March 10 where Nadal will make his long-awaited return to action after retiring during his quarter-final match at the Australian Open with a knee injury. |
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| That will all change on 9 November, when Gallegos pulls on the famous baby blue of his beloved Uruguay and locks horns with Borja and Koke, both of whom play for Spain, in the quarter-final in Kaduna. |
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| The quarter-final stage is always a tricky trapdoor at a FIFA finals. |
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| Thailand's 5-3 quarter-final defeat of Australia sealed their progression to this year's FIFA Futsal World Cup, and they then undid China PR to reach the continental decider, where they fell 4-0 to Iran. |
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| That statistic augurs well for the sides' forthcoming encounter on Saturday, which fittingly offers a rematch of their Berlin quarter-final in 2006, won by Germany on penalties after a goalless draw. |
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| You couldn't look for a better example of this than the quarter-final. While the Portuguese began the match cagily, the Germans sprang out of the blocks and simply demolished their opponents. |
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| The second quarter-final reached even dizzier heights than the first. |
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| Entering the tournament at the knockout stage, the Mexicans have done well to progress this far, with five first-teamers missing their last-16 and quarter-final engagements due to international commitments. |
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| The 22-year-old Barcelona star was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after being kneed in the back late in Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final victoverover Colombia. |
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| Especially as it was his uncle Miguel Angel who goofed on another famous patch of London turf, missing in a penalty shoot-out at Euro '96 to hand the quarter-final to England. |
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| Ultimately sent packing 4-2 on penalties by Uruguay after their quarter-final ended 1-1, they came tantalisingly close to becoming the only African side to ever reach the last four at a world finals. |
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| Nobody will be hungrier to do that than the Cameroonian sharpshooter himself, of course, and he will look to raise the bar even higher against Tunisia in Monday's quarter-final. |
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| Argentina may have capitulated to Brazil in the semi-final, but before then they had won all their group matches and shown nerves of steel at the last sixteen and quarter-final stages. |
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| The 23-year-old Simon heads into his first career Masters Series quarter-final riding a eight-match winning streak, coming off his fourth career professional title at Indianapolis. |
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| And taking a cue from their older brothers, who had set the world alight with a quarter-final finish at the first-ever Asian finals last summer, the young Americans oozed cool confidence the whole way. |
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| He registered four goals and might have inflicted more damage but for the fractured metatarsal he sustained with England leading Portugal in a quarter-final they eventually lost on penalties. |
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| Sam was one of the villains of the mid-week LDV Vans Trophy defeat at Braunton Park where Wrexham crashed 2-0 in the northern area quarter-final. |
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| The 26-year-old former shot-putter is in line to make his debut in the EDF Energy National Trophy quarter-final at Newbury next Saturday. |
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| Easter, who sent Charlton crashing in Tuesday's quarter-final, has been targeted by First Division club Universitatea Craiova. |
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| Penalty deciders will only kick in from the quarter-final stage of the tournament. |
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| McDermott has a one-game unbeaten record against O'Neill and hopes to finish top of the pappadums in their FA Cup quarter-final. |
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| During a quarter-final showdown with Portugal the Czech Republic midfielder brilliantly, or flukily, lobbed the ball over Vitor Baia. |
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| Joachim Loew refused to talk finance but did admit his Germany side won't be underestimating Greece when the pair play in what's sure to be a fiery quarter-final on Friday. |
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| They won at West Ham in a quarter-final replay then survived a comeback from a resurgent Everton to win the semi-final with Antony Martial's late winner. |
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| England can look forward to a quarter-final next weekend against a similarly struggling France, a reward they scarcely deserve on the evidence of this disjointed display. |
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| Next up are Zico's Fenerbahce at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea will try to peg back a 2-1 deficit on Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-final. |
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| England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage. |
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| Elsewhere, the Peter Cronintrained English Derby runnerup Tynwald Bish resumed his winning ways in the second quarter-final of the Bar One Racing Irish Sprint Cup at Dundalk. |
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| Same can't be said when Decibel Sharapova is on court, as she was yesterday in a quarter-final match with a teensy Slovakian called Dominica Cibulkova. |
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| In the other semi-final, Lisicki, who endured a three-set quarter-final nailbiter on Thursday, took the first set 6-3 before Jankovic stormed back. |
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| Esperance de Tunis had also qualified for the semi-finals of the African Handball Clubs Championship after beating Congo's JSK 27-22 at the quarter-final on Tuesday. |
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| Ahern followed up with a 14-8 victory over Salomo N'Tune of Sweden to set up tomorrow's quarter-final clash with Bato-munko Vankeyeu from Belarus. |
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