PES predicts: Day 16 & 17

2006 World Cup: Day 17

Match one: England vs Ecuador

Delgado and Mendez come close to scoring for Ecuador early on, slicing the English defence into shreds and going one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Robinson does well to block both shots. Meanwhile, Rooney is the only English player with a chance on goal, powering his spinning shot from the box just wide.

Beckham hits the bar in the first minutes of the second half and soon after Crouch powers home a header from a well-worked corner kick. But a lapse in the dying seconds sees Ecuador equalise from Delgado's fierce header. Extra time yields no goals, and it's down to penalties. Joe Cole sees his shot palmed away by the goalkeeper, but Robinson keeps out two Ecuadorian shots to save England's blushes.

PES predicts: England 1, Ecuador 1 (England win 4-3 on penalties)

Above: Crouch comes to England's rescue, yet again, scoring a powerful header

Match two: Portugal vs Holland

Portugal look the more confident team and are ahead in under 10 minutes - Pauleta banging in a superb header from Deco's whipped corner kick. Holland look rattled, especially in defence, but can settle down in the second half after Van Persie - replacing the underperforming Ruud van Nistelrooij - pokes in the equaliser in first half extra time.

There's more momentum still from Portugal, though, and Pauleta scores for his country once more, chasing down a loose ball in the Holland box and easing a delicate header out of reach of the onrushing goalkeeper. Holland have no answer, and can't penetrate Portugal's impressive defence.

PES predicts: Portugal 2, Holland 1


Previous matches

Day one,Day two,Day three,Day four,Day five,Day six,Day seven,Day eight,Day nine,Day 10,Day 11,Day 12,Day 13,Day 14,Day 15

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of 12DOVE. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.