Brazil remains the favorite to win an unprecedented sixth World Cup, with odds of 9-4 according to BetUS.
European champion Spain is next at 11-4, followed by Argentina at 7-2. Germany and the Netherlands are 7-1.
Uruguay is 14-1, with Paraguay and Ghana at the bottom of the oddsmakers' charts at 35-1.
Brazil plays the Netherlands, Argentina takes on Germany, Spain plays Paraguay and Uruguay faces Ghana in the quarterfinals.
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TICKET QUEUE: Fans lined up for three hours at a suburban shopping mall in Port Elizabeth to buy the most sought ticket in town: entry to Friday's World Cup quarterfinal between favorites Brazil and the Netherlands.
Officials are expecting the first sellout at the 42,286-seat Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after empty seats at all six previous matches in the new stadium.
Tickets went on sale Tuesday in four categories from $70 to $275.
Deenish Nadill of Port Elizabeth was the first in line, waiting outside the mall doors since 6 a.m. He's become a fan of the Dutch "because I like their style of football."
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RECOVERING PRINCE: Ghana expects Kevin-Prince Boateng to be fit for its World Cup quarterfinal against Uruguay after recovering from a right thigh injury.
Boateng missed training Monday but team spokesman Randy Abbey said Tuesday he should be available for Friday's game.
Abbey said Boateng had been "rested" but "will be fine." Abbey also said Isaac Vorsah was back practicing after a week out with a right leg injury, while doubts over fellow defenders John Mensah and Samuel Inkoom had also cleared.
Ghana, the last African representative at the World Cup, will be without suspended players Jonathan Mensah and Andre Ayew.
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WELCOME HOME: North Korea's football team returned home from South Africa, where it played in its first World Cup since 1966 and lost all three matches.
International TV news agency APTN showed footage of the players arriving Tuesday at the airport in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
North Korea lost group matches to Brazil 2-1, to Portugal 7-0, and to Ivory Coast 3-0.
Striker Jong Tae Se said, "It was good to be at the World Cup, since this is the first time that our team has taken part for 44 years."
North Korea advanced to the quarterfinals in England in 1966.
"We as players, and the people think that we should keep at football enthusiastically and develop our football," Jong said.
Unlike their departure for the World Cup, there were no crowds at the airport waiting to greet them on their return.
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SPENDING SPREES: As it hoped for, South Africa has seen a boost to its economy by foreign visitor spending before the World Cup and during the group stage of the tournament.
According to Visa's new cardholder spending data, spending by international visitors in South Africa on Visa-branded payment cards exceeded $176 million, up 65 percent from the same 25-day period in 2009. The number of transactions from June 1-25 June was 1.3 million (51,000 per day on average), up 74 percent.
The data indicate the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil and France have been the strongest contributors to tourism spending, accounting for 47 percent. More than 90 percent of spending was in typical leisure and business travel categories: accommodations, restaurants, retail, auto rentals and air travel.
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CHANCELLOR ON CALL: Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to fly to South Africa to see Germany take on Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals this weekend.
Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said Merkel will attend the match in Cape Town on Saturday. Wilhelm did not release further details on her schedule, saying Tuesday they were not finalized yet.
Merkel watched Germany's 4-1 win over England on Sunday along with British Prime Minister David Cameron while attending the Group of 20 summit in Canada.
Merkel closely followed Germany's progress to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, which the country hosted.
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