(from The Province and Getty Images)

Here’s how the top two flights in Spanish football stack up for next season.

Down to Segunda A: Valladolid, Tenerife, Xerez
Up to Primera: Real Sociedad, Hercules, Levante
Down to Segunda B: Castellon, Real Union de Irun, Murcia, Cadiz
Up to Segunda A: Granada, Ponferradina, Barcelona B, Alcorcon

The Primera loses teams from the north, south, and Canary Islands, while adding two from the Comunitat Valenciana and rekindling the Basque derby.

The Segunda loses our local rivals and our namesake, and we are no longer the only filial in the division. What a year for Alcorcon: humble Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, then ascend to professional football. A wonderful story.

Now some Villarreal news:

• Europa League decision on Thursday. Fingers crossed (for monetary reasons).
• Will 3 competitions fund another signing? We had a bloated squad last year, and it was a failure, so I’m up for something different.
• Speaking of transfers, is Carlos Marchena worth more than 2 million Euros? Yes: if Godin leaves and to weaken Valencia. No: he’ll be 31 and has only 1 year left on his contract. The verdict: I’d take him at this price.
• More on the B team’s new signings.
• And most importantly, Shakira wants a photo with Capdevila. Who doesn’t?

Today is the big day. A quick recap of the medal round to date:

Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands: A five-goal thriller; who knew there would be another? The Dutch class shone through, along with the absences of Lodeiro, Lugano, and Suarez. Another all-European final, despite the South American quarterfinal quartet. Wonderful for tiny Uruguay (3.5 million people) to return to its place in world football.

Germany 0-1 Spain: Another dominating performance by La Furia Roja, despite only 51% possession. More credit is due to Paraguay and Switzerland based on the Spaniards’ other performances. Germany never got going and had but one good chance in this match, the tame volley by Toni Kroos saved by Casillas.

Uruguay 2-3 Germany: Another third-place finish for Die Mannschaft. Can you comprehend their disappointment? Just wait for the evolution of this team in Brazil 2014. Unbelievable that Uruguay scored 4 goals in the medal round and finished 4th. Forlan hitting the bar was a tough end to a great tournament for the celeste.

Villarreal watch: Diego Godin played all 90 minutes in both of Uruguay’s 3-2 defeats. He was at fault for a goal or two, not surprisingly based on his form. Joan Capdevila played all 90 minutes in Spain’s semifinal victory and should start in La Gran Final. First time that a Villarreal player has been on the biggest stage in world sport. Buena suerte, Joan.

A positional breakdown of Netherlands – Spain:

Goalkeeper: Edge, Spain. Saint Iker is an experienced keeper and seems back on form per his performance against Paraguay. Stekelenburg is solid but lacks big-match experience, along with exhibiting a little uncertainty against Forlan due to the Jabulani.

Defense: Slight edge, Netherlands. I still have questions about the Spanish central defense pairing. Familiarity is nice, but they are short and give up a lot of corners. The Dutch are a solid unit, but the edge is minimal. And Capdevila is the man.

Midfield: Slight edge, Netherlands. Incredibly, the Dutch have more depth and quality at this position. Xavi and Iniesta are countered by Sneijder and Van der Vaart, while Van Bommel is a better hard man than Busquets and Robben out wide is unmatched. Fabregas on the bench is nice, but del Bosque wishes that he had Cazorla.

Strikers: Edge, Spain. As a nominal Liverpool supporter, I have a lot of admiration for Dirk Kuijt. Not so much for Robin van Persie, but they are adequate. Problem is that David Villa and a half-strength Fernando Torres are much better. El Guaje is on a roll, and I am convinced that he will score. And Llorente is a nice option to milk the clock.

Prediction: 2-1 to Spain. Either way, one side wins its first World Cup. Enjoy the match!

Friday’s matches were fantastic. Saturday’s were good, but in a more understated way. A recap of the 1/4 finals:

Netherlands 2-1 Brazil: The shock heard round the world. I thought Brazil played the most sublime opening 45 minutes in this year’s World Cup. If not for a wonderful save by Villarreal target Martin Stekelenburg on Kaka, the Orange Machine’s comeback would not have been possible. But Julio Cesar made a grievous mistake early in the 2nd half, and the match unbelievably was level. Holland then was in the ascendancy and deservedly took the lead on two headers in the box. A Felipe Melo red card and no super-sub later (anyone else think of Ronaldinho?), and the favorites were out. The best team never to win a World Cup moves on– to the drumbeat of destiny?

Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (4-2 PK): If Holland is the best team never to win it all, Uruguay is the worst to have won (no offense). But Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez have led the Charruas back to the 1/2 finals for the first time in a half-century. Sulley Muntari, given a chance to start, fired a rocket that tricked Muslera to give the Africans a lead on the stroke of halftime. Unsurprisingly, a sublime Forlan free kick tied the score and led to the final drama. They are calling it a controversy here in America, but as otf noted, Ghana should have to earn it rather than being awarded a goal. Gyan hit the bar, then courageously buried his chance in penalties, but two Muslera saves and an Abreu penalty a la Panenka later, and the Charruas are in the last 4.

Argentina 0-4 Germany: Cue the Maradona vitriol. I thought the Maradona experiment would fail, and finally Argentina met its match. Nigeria, South Korea, Greece, and Mexico was a comfortable road to the 1/4 finals, but Die Mannschaft exposed Argentina’s 4 center backs as slow, out of position, and lacking width. Wingers Maxi Rodriguez and Angel di Maria refused to track back, turning the scoreline into a bloodbath. Wait another 4 years to see the best of Lionel Messi on the international stage.

Paraguay 0-1 Spain: Jose Luis Chilavert was right about Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres, but the two missed penalties canceled each other out. The better team won, barely. David Villa is a menace; Fernando Torres, not so much. La Furia Roja better settle on its best XI before Germany comes calling on Wednesday. This game cried out for Santi Cazorla and Salvador Cabanas; alas for Paraguay, its loss was more acute. Unfortunate result for the Guaranies, who should have tied it late but for Saint Iker.

Villarreal watch: 2 winners and 1 loser this round. Diego Godin advanced without featuring in his side’s thrilling win in penalties; he may be available against the Netherlands on Tuesday. Joan Capdevila played 90 minutes in his side’s workmanlike victory and sent in a few dangerous crosses, though the Spanish attack goes through the opposite flank. Nilmar entered as a late sub with Brazil trailing and down to 10 men; he barely touched the ball. No goals in 4 appearances did little to help his transfer stock.

With the World Cup swirling, club football gets lost in the background. Now that the US has been knocked out, my feet are returning to the ground, and while keeping one eye on South Africa, it is almost time to start looking towards next season.

So far, Villarreal’s players in South Africa have been hit-or-miss. Diego Godin has been a force in the back whenever he has been in. Capdevila has been solid, but not especially involved to this point. Nilmar, unfortunately, is facing the likes of Bastos, Robinho, and Kaka among others, and it has been tough for him to find playing time.

Although there has been a lull in Villarreal off-the-pitch news, it has picked up a bit over the last couple of days.

Most importantly, Villarreal were supposed to learn tomorrow if they are to play in the Europa League next season. Unfortunately, RFEF have apparently avoided the question as to whether Mallorca should be stripped of its license, and has passed the question off to UEFA. It will now be up to the European officials to decide if Mallorca keeps its license. If Mallorca loses it, then Villarreal should be in.

On July 29, Villarreal can look forward to a nice preseason matchup against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in London. I believe some other friendlies have been scheduled, and I will get those up here shortly.

Villarreal have placed a 3m euro price tag on veteran midfielder Marcos Senna, as he looks to be less and less in their plans for the future. There is reported interest from clubs in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Turkey. Any deal, apparently, would have to at least be for 2.5m euros. I can see him ending up in Turkey or Brazil, but I am not too sure about the other locales. As of right now, there are no offers, and he plans on reporting to Vila-real on July 12th.

Villarreal are reportedly tracking Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who is currently starting for the Netherlands at the World Cup. This is due to the very possible transfer of Diego Lopez in the coming month. It will be interesting to see, if Lopez does go, if Villarreal will be content with Juan Carlos and Xavi Oliva, or if they will go after someone new.

Diego Godin’s strong tournament, on top of his regular good play for Villarreal, is attracting some strong interest, particularly from the city of Milan. Apparently both Internazionale and AC Milan are considering an offer for him. Villarreal have said that they will hold fast to their 20m euro price tag they have for him. I would be shocked if he didn’t end up going, although I would love to see him stay at the club for another year or two.

All the action seems to be in Italy this summer. In one of the crazier rumors I have seen, Jozy Altidore (along with fellow US forward/midfielder Clint Dempsey) has been linked to Napoli. No way that happens. A scenario much more likely would be that he actually stays at Villarreal as a 4th striker (not including Montero).

So far, Villarreal have either sold, loaned or released six players – Llorente (Real Sociedad), Escudero (Boca Juniors), and Marcano (Getafe) to other teams, and Pires, Ibagaza, and Javi Venta set free. A few more could leave over the next month, meaning that we still do not have a great picture of what the club will look like come August.

2 matchdays to recap. I thought Sunday might be the day of the tournament, but Saturday topped it for drama.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea: In case anyone did not know, Ajax’s Luis Suarez is a fantastic player. His game-winner was perhaps the goal of the tournament. South Korea deserved better, but the knockout rounds are life-or-death. Lee Dong Gook wasted a great chance late on a 1v1 that almost trickled through Muslera’s legs.

USA 1-2 Ghana (a.e.t.): The right result was a tie after 90 minutes, and so it finished. Ghana dominated the first half; the USA the second. From an American perspective, we should have finished off the match in regulation. Once Ghana was able to take a deep breath, Gyan took its first chance, and the voice of Africa helped it ride out the storm. I’m proud to be a USA fan, and I think Brazil 2014 will be our chance to shine.

Germany 4-1 England: A pulsating match for a time. Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller made England look like old and tired Australia in the back, but Gerrard and Lampard controlled the midfield. Does football need video replay of goals or what? England fans will complain about the result, and rightfully so, but Germany showed its superiority over the 90 minutes.

Argentina 3-1 Mexico: I thought it was Mexico’s chance for revenge for Maxi Rodriguez’s wonder strike in the same round in Germany 2006. But after a twice-offside goal and a horrible error by Ricardo Osorio, the mountain was too steep. I thought Mexico was impressive, but they should have pushed harder to beat Uruguay and top Group A. Sad for CONCACAF: all 3 sides eliminated on consecutive days.

Villarreal news: Jozy Altidore played 90 minutes (I wish it had been 120) in the USA’s extra time loss to Ghana. His effectiveness was limited, but he had a 1v1 late in the second half that flashed just wide of the far post. As always, we see his talent but no consistency. I think the club should keep him around next year.

And Diego Godin played the first half in Uruguay’s 2-1 win over South Korea. Unsuprisingly, the Charruas gave up their first goal of the tournament in the second half. I think he will be available for the full 90 minutes against Ghana on Friday. His asking price keeps going up…

Two matchdays to catch up on quickly. Teams advancing to the last 16 in bold.

Slovakia 3-2 Italy; Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand: The holders are out (Giuseppe Rossi is secretly pleased), and sadly so are the Kiwis. Fantastic return to the World Cup by the All Whites. Paraguay was the class of this group and proved it, barely.

Denmark 1-3 Japan; Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands: Holland continues its recent dominant form, albeit in a very weak group. Keisuke Honda is the only reason Japan is in the last 16, while Cameroon is the early choice for most disappointing team. Only North Korea joined them on 0 points.

Portugal 0-0 Brazil; North Korea 0-3 Cote d’Ivoire: Not much football in either match, though Nilmar did hit the post and played all 90 minutes. This group’s finish sets up a pair of mouth-watering last 16 ties.

Chile 1-2 Spain; Switzerland 0-0 Honduras: After being knocked out of Germany 2006 without conceding a goal, the Swiss do the same in South Africa when playing with 11 men. Better than scoring against Honduras and missing out with 6 points, I guess. The ending of Chile-Spain was anti-football at its finest.

Now the real tournament begins. 2 matches on this Saturday:

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea: All 5 South American teams have qualified for the knockout rounds, a first. Uruguay must like its draw to the “medal round,” though Diego Godin insists his side has achieved nothing yet. Godin again may miss out due to a knock, but look for Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez to fire the Charruas through.

USA 1-2 Ghana (a.e.t.): Full disclosure– I live in the USA and have been a national team supporter for years. I wasn’t sure how far this side could make it without Charlie Davies and with an injured Oguchi Onyewu, but look at the draw. Brazil or Holland in the semifinals, sure, but Ghana and then Uruguay or South Korea isn’t so imposing. Of course, every side in this quadrant is telling itself the same thing.

Ghana now is a solid defensive side, a facet it lacked when it beat the USA in Germany 2006. But without Appiah and Essien, goals have been much harder to come by– only 1 from the run of play in the group stage. Africa will be behind its last hope, but if the USA plays up to its potential, I think this country will be soccer-crazed for another week.

Villarreal news: The teams of Altidore, Capdevila, Godin, and Nilmar all have advanced to the last 16. Still looking for the club’s first World Cup goal. And the club has arranged a friendly in London against Tottenham in late July.

Beyond the opening round of matches, some groups are not that interesting. But the show must go on– today it’s Groups A and B:

Argentina 4-1 South Korea: I’m writing at halftime, and it’s what you’d have expected. Argentina is dominating but committed one horrific defensive blunder, so it’s still a match. The albiceleste are the class of Group B, but I like the Koreans for second place.

Greece 2-1 Nigeria: A must-win for two opening match losers. The home continent effect should come into play between relatively equal sides.

France 0-2 Mexico: My morbo match, as the Spaniards call it. I dislike France for their cheating and general unattractiveness in a footballing sense; one can only hate a successful side for playing like that. And the Mexicans throw bags of urine at opposing players. By the way, Mexico, your hegemony in CONCACAF is over. I am thrilled that at least one team will drop points.

Villarreal watch: Joan Capdevila was quiet in Spain’s shock 1-0 defeat to Switzerland. All of the attacks went down the right flank (through substitute Jesus Navas), so Capdevila was not very involved. I have not seen the Uruguay match, but Diego Godin played all 90 minutes and helped to keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over South Africa, so I imagine he did well. Such a consistent performer.

Two Villarreal players in action on the same day? Impossible. Today’s matches involve Groups H (my favorite, as I like all four teams) and A (the most balanced):

The day begins early in the morning with the high-scoring men from Chile going against the Central American side Honduras. It will be great to see former Villarreal semi-star and crowd favorite Matias Fernandez at the heart of the Chilean side, a team that loves to score. It could be one of the few high-scoring matches of the first round of the Group Stage.

Honduras 0-1 Chile: Should be a spectacle. Both sides are accustomed to altitude, so expect 90 minutes of lung-busting running. I think Chile has too much firepower, but Los Catrachos should earn some fans in their first World Cup match in 28 years.

We then get to see Joan Capdevila sport the Spanish colors as he supports the European champions. Spain should be able to handle Switzerland pretty easily, if they are the team we think they are. It will be a shame not to see the likes of Cazorla, Senna, and Diego Lopez, even were they to sit on the bench for the match, but that is how things go sometimes. If Spain is going to have a chance at winning the tournament, it needs to start off on the right foot tomorrow.

Spain 0-1 Switzerland: Joan Capdevila and company will take their bow in the last debut match. I hope they didn’t watch the other games too closely and forget how to play football. Fun fact from Germany 2006: the Swiss were the first team ever to be eliminated without conceding a goal, losing on penalties to Ukraine in the last 16.

Then we get back into Group A. South Africa take the field again in front of their home fans. The big point of interest in the match for me will be to see if Uruguay changes their approach. In the first match against France, it was the Diego Godin show as he led a lockjawed defense that had clamped down on France’s main weapons. Uruguay has some real goalscorers up front, though, and this could be the match to use them. If they want to advance, it won’t get easier when they have to go up against Mexico next week.

South Africa 0-3 Uruguay: The second set of games begins with Diego Godin and company against the host nation. A huge match for both sides, and I expect a great atmosphere of tens of thousands of vuvuzelas. May the best team win.

For a great comeback, maybe you have to defend poorly first. Cazorla took over the match after the opening half-hour (hope Vicente del Bosque was watching), while Godin was the most culpable for the deficit. And what a pass by Ibagaza on the first goal! Villarreal goal of the year, in my book.

As Garrido said, the match was a microcosm of the season. If Sevilla do us a favor on Wednesday, I will be content with the year.

News and notes:

• As noted, a Sevilla win in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final gets us into Europe.
• The players’ final day of training is Thursday, but our 9 internationals are gone.
• A team recaps from the club website, Marca, and AS.
• And the B team pulled another point out of the fire, drawing 2-2 in Murcia. A Marco Ruben PK and late Joan Tomas header earned them a share of the points.

Now all that’s left is to watch the battle for relegation and the La Liga title. Can Xerez somehow beat the drop? I say yes.

1-4 is a bit misleading: Nilmar squandered two golden opportunities before Messi opened the scoring, and these highlights did not show another Valdes error that we failed to convert on. Bad luck on Barca’s first goal, as Godin made a great block but the ball ricocheted past Diego Lopez. Some questions about Diego Lopez’s positioning on Xavi’s free kick, though, along with horrific defending by Gonzalo on Bojan’s tally.

Wonder if Llorente had a knock, as Garrido spoke of playing the same formation in both halves (before Joseba entered as a substitute). But no harm done in the standings: Getafe drew and Athletic lost. So we remain in 6th place with 3 rounds to go.

Wonderful win for the B team against a promotion candidate. Elche fought back after going two goals and a man down, but Jefferson Montero immediately scored his brace to seal the result. For that, he got a slap in the face from an Elche player. Stay classy.

Some news and notes:

• Llorente predicted Athletic would beat Mallorca. Good thing he was wrong.
• And now we find out that Llorente, not Busquets, received a yellow card late in Saturday’s match. Initially it seemed that Busquets received a second yellow and then was substituted off. Maletines, anyone? But we would have lost anyhow.
• Capdevila will miss Tuesday’s game in Almeria due to his 5th yellow card of the season. 6 other players (Cani, Gonzalo, Ibagaza, Javi Venta, Marcano, and Pires) are one yellow away from suspension.
• From the club website: recaps of the Barcelona and Elche matches.