USA 0, Slovenia 0 a Draw! World Cup Centre

Slovenia were seven minutes away from becoming the first team at World Cup 2010 to make the second round.

Then lung-busting midfielder Bradley completed the Yanks' deserved comeback from 2-0 down with a toe-poked equaliser.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3019667/Slovenia-2-USA2.html#ixzz0rDnSz4IR

Valter Birsa's 30-yarder on 13 minutes and Zlatan Ljubijankic's classy 42nd minute finish on the break rewarded Slovenia's slicker play.

But Landon Donovan punished shocking goalkeeping by lashing a reply on 48 minutes.

And, after Bradley stabbed home Josy Altidore's brilliant nod-down, the Yanks were only denied victoy by what seemed a shocking refereeing decision.


Maurice Edu bundled the ball home from a free-kick - but the goal was ruled out for pushing when it seemed Slovenian defenders were the only players doing the shoving.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3019667/Slovenia-2-USA2.html#ixzz0rDne3saF

Ten-Man Germany Still Look the Goods

SO WHAT do we know now? Germany clearly got lucky against Australia and they're no good after all? Perhaps not. The Germans were good enough to dominate this match with 10 men - they created chances, controlled the midfield and missed a penalty that would have earned them a point, which was the very least they deserved.

They didn't take a step back and the way they attacked in search of an equaliser meant that despite the defeat, no one left the stadium with anything other than admiration for Joachim Loew's side.

Results over the past couple of days will mean Argentina are seen, understandably, as the tournament's top side, but no one should be fooled into underestimating the Germans.

What we now know for certain is what most of us feared when the draw was made back in December - the Socceroos' battle was headed for a steep incline from the start.

Group D is unexpectedly even, with three teams on three points and Australia on none with a goal deficit of minus four. There are two ways to look at the scenario. Those of a glass-half-full persuasion will see this as an opportunity to get back on level terms through a convincing victory against Ghana tonight. Those of the glass-half-empty mindset might be inclined to fear the worst - if Serbia can beat Germany and Ghana can beat Serbia, then what can Ghana do to Australia?

The extent of the German win over Australia means victory tonight would probably still leave the Socceroos having to beat the Serbs. No mean feat.

They have conceded one goal - from a penalty after a stupid handball. They say a sure sign of madness is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result, so either Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic has gone a bit soft in the head or he should have learnt from his teammate's mistake and known what would happen if he handled the ball in his own penalty area. They were fortunate Germany, unlike Ghana, failed to convert from the spot.

The Serbs made changes to the line-up and system that was unfortunate to lose to Ghana, sacrificing Ajax striker Marko Pantelic for an extra midfielder. Behind the central pair of Milos Ninkovic and Zdravko Kuzmanovic, sat Inter Milan's Dejan Stankovic who was there to suffocate the attacking threat of Germany's advanced midfielder Mesut Ozil. It left the 202cm-framed Nikola Zigic as a lone striker and a target for the wide attacking threats from either flank with Milan Jovanovic on the left and Milos Krasic on the right. It was these three who combined for the opening goal and, while it came in the immediate aftermath of Klose's red card, it would be harsh to claim the striker's absence was responsible for the Serbs' success. Krasic got past his marker and flighted in a dangerous cross that Zigic got his head to, cleverly setting up Jovanovic who finished well. Klose would have had no influence on the outcome.

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Full speed ahead as Maradona's Rolls-Royce powering through group stage

ARGENTINA is getting tastier by the game.
Messi is the man driving Argentina's World Cup dream

Diego Maradona's men were simply delicious on Thursday night and you get the impression there is better to come.

This is largely down to the mesmerising genius of Lionel Messi, who was again the star turn. Maradona has said that his team is a Rolls-Royce with Messi as its driver; the young man seems now to be going at full speed.

The only surprise in all this is that the 22-year-old has not yet scored. He played a crucial role in all of Argentina's goals on Thursday but could not bag one for himself.

The point about Argentina's attack is that it seems to be getting stronger. Messi plus Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain equals trouble, but in the 75th minute on Thursday, Maradona was able to swap Tevez for Sergio Aguero and within five minutes Argentina had scored two beauties.


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You watch that and ask how Aguero can possibly be left out; but then again, Maradona still has Diego Milito, who scored twice in last month's Champions League final, sitting, doing his nails, on the bench.

Higuain sometimes appears the least accomplished of the lot - there are lofty standards here - although his hat-trick on Thursday is testament to his timing and positional intelligence. But when you consider that Argentina put four past the team who put two past Greece, you feel for the Greeks in four days' time.

Greece will not have to face Jonas Gutierrez because he was given a second yellow card on Thursday, although this may yet work further in Argentina's favour. Their (comparative) weakness is in defence and, although Martin Demichelis gave South Korea its single goal with a dreadful lapse of concentration, its weakest defender is the man it has to find a replacement for.

This may require a little magic from Maradona, although an assessment of Thursday suggests that his wand is working well. Further to the timely substitution, his team scored twice from set pieces, which suggests that it is operating well in training.

But perhaps most telling was his behaviour at the end when he went straight over to Demichelis and wrapped him in a huge hug. "This could happen to anyone," he said of Demichelis's mistake.

He was also asked if his "love" and affection for his players could help to win the World Cup, at which point his eyes widened in astonishment and he quickly spluttered: "I'm not limp-wristed. I prefer women. I am dating Veronica, she is 31, blonde and beautiful.

But the feeling now is that Maradona is doing a serious job. Certainly the football his team has delivered in South Africa inspires respect. Argentina was pressing here from the start, but it was an own goal, from a corner, that got them going. South Korea was always struggling to hold them and thus the fouls, free kicks and chances continued.

The second goal was nodded in by Higuain, unmarked, from a set-piece, but the real quality came after Aguero's introduction. First he fed Messi, and Messi shot twice: one rebounded off the goalkeeper, the second off a post to Higuain for the tap-in. Next, he was on the end of Messi's flick and crossed to Higuain, whose header was sharply directed to complete the Real Madrid man's hat-trick.

South Korea can still qualify and, against a deflated Nigeria, it probably will. But it was not impressive on Thursday, albeit that it is hard to put out flames when they are being ignited everywhere. Argentina is a relentless pyromaniac.

All very nice, then, and happy in Maradona-land.

Veiw Article Source

Mexico Puts France In Tough Spot

Seventeenth-ranked Mexico has a share of the top spot in the Group A standings after surprising France 2-nil in World Cup play from South Africa.
With the win, the Mexicans moved on the threshold of the knockout stages, while putting the ninth-ranked French side in a do-or-die situation.
Mexico now needs only a draw Tuesday against Uruguay to advance, while a tie in that game would eliminate France and host nation South Africa and put Mexico and Uruguay into the Round of 16.
Thursday's other action was in Group B, where Argentina crushed South Korea 4-1 and Greece got by Nigeria 2-1.
It was the first-ever World Cup win for Greece.
Argentina leads the group with six points, while South Korea and Greece are each second with three points.
Nigeria has lost both its game, but still has a slim chance to gain a berth in the elimination rounds.
The U.S. returns to action Friday for its second match in Group C.
Team USA will take on Slovenia, which currently leads the pod after a 1-nil victory over Algeria last Saturday.
That same day, the U.S. battled England to a 1-all draw.
American goalie Tim Howard is expected to play, despite suffering a rib injury in the England contest.
Algeria and England will also face each other on Friday.
The day's other contest will feature Germany against Serbia in Group D play.

New Zealand Score late equaliser to get a 1-1 draw

Winston Reid scored in second-half injury time Tuesday, lifting New Zealand to a 1-1 draw with Slovakia.

Robert Vittek scored early in the second half, giving Slovakia the lead in World Cup Group F. But Reid sneaked behind the defense to take a long cross from Shane Smeltz and tie it.

The Kiwis are ranked 78th in the world, 44 spots above Slovakia, which is in its first World Cup as an independent nation.

Slovakia's goal came in the 50th minute when Stanislav Sestak crossed from the right side. Reid missed his defensive header, allowing Vittek to scored from close range at the far post.

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Italy held to 1-1 draw, Netherlands, Japan win

JOHANNESBURG — Defending champion Italy looked more like pretender than credible contender for a second straight World Cup title, and the flying form of the Netherlands never really got off the ground.

The Italians, who came into the World Cup with questions about an aging squad, were held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay in Group F in Cape Town. In fact, the Azzurri had to rally on Daniele De Rossi's second-half goal to get the one point.

The Dutch, who went unbeaten in qualifying with a potent offense, struggled to get going at Soccer City but still managed a 2-0 win over Denmark in Group E. In the other Group E match, Keisuke Honda scored to lead Japan over Cameroon 1-0 in Bloemfontein.

Antolin Alcaraz gave Paraguay the lead at the Green Point Stadium with a header in the 39th minute of the rainy Group F match, and De Rossi equalized for Italy from close range in the 63rd.

"The biggest regret is the result," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "They only approached the goal once and they scored. We reacted well, but you've got to win games likes these."

Italy played the second half without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who left the game with a sciatic nerve injury.

"He had a back problem," Lippi said. "I hope he's back for the next game, but that will be up to the doctors."

Buffon said he will be ready for the next match.

"It was a good result, though we can't say we played really well," Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said. "We have to take into account who is who. It's not easy to play first against the last world champion."

In Johannesburg, Dirk Kuyt scored one goal for the Dutch, who came into the tournament in South Africa expecting to show the world some beautiful, free-flowing soccer. But the other goal came when Denmark defender Simon Poulsen headed a ball off the back of teammate Daniel Agger and into his own net.

"We wanted to play beautiful football but we lost the ball," Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk said. "From time to time you could see how good we can be."

The Netherlands took the lead in the 46th minute when Poulsen tried to clear a cross from Robin van Persie. Instead, it went off Agger's back and into the net.

"I was just thinking, this can't be happening," Poulsen said of the freak goal.

Kuyt added the second goal in the 85th minute when he tapped in a rebound off the post from close range.

In Bloemfontein, Japan won its first match at a World Cup on foreign soil when Honda scored in the 39th from a curling cross by Daisuke Matsu.

"I found a good position and the ball was very good," Honda said. "I just told myself to be calm to make it, because recently we have missed good chances, so I wanted to make it absolute today."

Cameroon didn't get its offense on track until the second half, but never found the net despite the presence of star striker Samuel Eto'o.

"We were too nervous in the first half. We lost many, many balls because we were nervous and that is why I am disappointed tonight," Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen said. "They were not playing to their best of their ability and we were not able to release our potential this evening, and that is really disappointing."

Through 11 games, there have been eight shutouts, with the only matches where both teams scored coming in 1-1 draws between the United States and England, South Africa and Mexico, and Italy vs. Paraguay. Through Monday, no winning team had allowed a goal.

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Germany beats 10-man Australia 4-0 at World Cup

DURBAN, South Africa — For one night, the Beautiful Game belonged to Germany.

Known more as a methodical team than a brilliantly creative one such as Brazil, the Germans scored several lovely goals Sunday night in a 4-0 rout of Australia.

Germany scored two goals in each half and Tim Cahill was sent off as the three-time champion surged to the top of Group D at the World Cup.

"I think the way we set up our attacks is something we've been working on intensively," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "But we've also worked on how we play off the ball — to move into unused space. We were very good on the ball tonight, and we created beautiful goals."

Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose scored in the first 30 minutes as Australia coach Pim Verbeek's defensive tactics backfired.

Thomas Mueller and Cacau also scored against an overwhelmed Australian defense in the second half after Cahill was red-carded in the 56th minute for a late tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The Germans' dominant win, played in front of 62,660 fans at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, came without injured captain Michael Ballack.

"We earned respect for ourselves," Klose said. "It was hugely important to win the first game, but nothing is won yet. We're a young team and we have fun playing."

Earlier Sunday, Asamoah Gyan scored on a penalty kick to give Ghana a 1-0 win over Serbia in the opening Group D match.

Germany had not lost an opening game in the World Cup since a 2-1 defeat to Algeria in 1982. It never looked like that string would be snapped on a warm evening in Durban.

Podolski started the rout by ending a slick passing move in the eighth minute and Klose headed in his 11th career World Cup goal in the 26th.

A stunned Verbeek sat on the bench shaking his head while Joachim Loew, in his 50th game as Germany coach, punched the air in celebration.

Hoping to hold out for a draw, Verbeek used Cahill as a forward and packed his midfield. But with Cahill isolated up front instead of controlling the midfield, Australia had no answer to Germany's swift passing and running game.

"It was not an easy game for us," Verbeek said. "We tried to make it very difficult for them and use our speed, but we didn't have the ball in the first 20 minutes."

Any slim hope Australia had of coming back evaporated with Cahill's 56th-minute ejection.

Klose missed two more good chances before Mueller made it 3-0 in the 68th minute, dragging the ball back to avoid Scott Chipperfield's lunge and firing a low shot in off the post.

Cacau rounded off the scoring in the 70th, just two minutes after coming on for Klose.

While Germany is in excellent shape for advancement already, the Socceroos are desperate.

"The next game is a final," Verbeek said of the match with Ghana. "We have to win that game."