World Cup Centre: England comes alive just in time, advances past group stage

Jermain Defoe knocked in a goal for the revived Three Lions as they beat Slovenia 1-0on Wednesday in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, advancing to the tournament's second round.

It was a narrow but welcome escape for England, a pretournament favorite that was fighting off talk of internal strife after disappointing ties against the United States and Algeria.

The English needed a victory to move on, and they got it, dictating the pace for much of the game. Now they'll play Germany in the second round.

"This team, this spirit, played together and tried together," said England coach Fabio Capello. "I am really happy because I found the team I know. We now go forward. We can play against all the teams because the mind is now free."

The victory gave England second place in Group C behind the United States, which beat Algeria 1-0. Slovenia entered the day the surprise leader in the group but finished with four points to five for the U.S. and England. The U.S. earned first place based on tiebreakers.

Playing more aggressively than they did in draws with the Americans and Algerians, the English went ahead when Defoe put in James Milner's cross from 5 yards out with a right-footed shot.

"I'm lost for words to be honest," Defoe said. "What a moment. Everyone was focused before the game. We are through, that's the most important thing."

England continued to dominate after the goal, and Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovic had to make two saves within a few seconds of each other to stop shots from Defoe and Steven Gerrard.

Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Glen Johnson also had shots on goal.

At the end of the game, relieved England players — who had met with Caello to discuss what went wrong against Algeria — embraced in a group hug.

Germany 1, Ghana 0: Germany won. Ghana lost, then won.

Mesut Oezil scored on a left-footed blast from outside the area to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Ghana in Johannesburg and first place in Group D at the World Cup.

Still, Ghana had reason to party. Moments after the game was over, Ghana learned that Australia had defeated Serbia 2-1, a result that meant Ghana took second place in the group and also will move on to the round of 16.

"It was a very difficult match, but we fought, and it was enough to get us through," said Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew. "We had opportunities, but the important thing is that we went through."

Once the scoreboard flashed the Aussie final, Ghana players hugged each other, waved their country's flag and ran to the corner where their supporters were cheering and dancing.

The Germans, too, were saluting their fans and enjoying the moment.

"It was a tense game. We could have made more out of our opportunities," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We were not very precise up front. But I can't blame my young players, there was a lot of pressure, we had to win."

The heavily favored Germans had an upset loss to Serbia that left them needing a victory to be assured of advancing. Ghana is the first of the six African teams in the tournament to make it to the knockout phase. It could also be the last. Only Ivory Coast still has a chance to gain the final 16.

Australia 2, Serbia 1: Tim Cahill and Brett Holman scored second-half goals in Nelspruit, South Africa, to help Australia beat Serbia in Group D of the World Cup. But both teams did not advance. Marko Pantelic scored for Serbia, which finished last The Aussies got four points, the same as Ghana, which got second place on goal differential (even to minus-3).

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Australia vs. Serbia World Cup 2010 Scores and Results World Cup Centre

Australia vs. Serbia World Cup 2010 Scores and Results – The World Cup 2010 match between Australia vs. Serbia was already finished. Held at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Australia won over Serbia with a final score of 2-1.

Before we can give you a recap of the match, let’s first have a look on their previous performances in the World Cup 2010. Australia faced its first match against Germany last June 13 at Durban Stadium in Durban. In this football match, Germany won with an outstanding final score of 4-0. During its second match, Australia faced Ghana last June 19 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg. In this match, Australia tied with Ghana ending the game with a final score of 1-1.

Moving over to Serbia, they faced their first World Cup 2010 football match against Ghana last June 13 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. In this football match, Serbia lost to Ghana with a final score of 0-1. During its second football match, Serbia battled against Germany at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last June 18. In this match, Serbia won over Germany with a final score of 1-0.

Now, let’s have the recap of the match between Australia vs. Serbia. As with some of the previous World Cup 2010 football matches, there were no goals committed during the first half of the game. Instead, there were several missed opportunities for both teams. In the 23rd minute, Serbia missed an excellent chance to score. Ivanovic saw his close range volleyed brilliantly blocked by the left arm of Shwarzer. In contrast, in the 32nd minute, it was Australia’s best moment in attack. After a quick move downfield, Bresciano saw his cross from the left headed well wide by Cahill under heavy pressure from two defenders.

Moving over to the second half of the game, the first goal was scored by Australia through Cahill. The Socceroo talisman powered a great header into the corner of the net after a perfect cross from the right. Not long after that successful goal, Australia once again scored in the 73rd minute through Holman moving the score to 2-0 against Serbia. Substitute Holman scored a stunning strike with a long-range effort. Collecting the ball nearer the half-way, Holman turned and advanced before unleashing a great low shot into the right corner of Stojkovic from Serbia.

Just before the match ended, in the 84th minute, it was Serbia’s time to score a goal through Pantelic. Tosic fired in a shot that was spilled by Schwarzer and Pantelic easily stabbed in the rebound. With that goal, the score now moved to 2-1. However, the game finished in the 94th minute with no additional goals from Serbia.

Congratulations to Australia for winning this World Cup 2010 football match against Serbia. The result sees Australia finished Group D third behind Ghana on goal difference while Serbia finished fourth. Stay tuned to us for more World Cup 2010 updates.

USA Algeria World Cup Results: 1:0 World Cup Centre FIFA 2010

The USA and Algeria faced off in South Africa today, with the U.S. needing a victory to secure their spot in the round of sixteen.

They got that spot, thanks to a stunning goal by Landon Donavan in extra time today. The US striker managed to take a great toss in, push hard on goal, and win it all.

The goal, a seven-yard strike, set the stadium aflame, as well as U.S. fans around the country.

The finish means that the U.S. team, with only a record of 1-0-2, will advance into the next round, atop its group overall. They will face Ghana on Saturday, in what will surely be yet another nail biter.

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Ghana vs. Germany World Cup 2010 Scores and Results Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Ghana vs. Germany World Cup 2010 Scores and Results – The battle between Ghana vs. Germany in the FIFA World Cup 2010 was already finished. Held at the Soccer City in Johannesburg, Germany won over Ghana in a final score of 1-0.

As always, before we can give you a recap of the match between Ghana vs. Germany, let’s first have a look in their previous World Cup 2010 football matches. In its first football match, Ghana faced Serbia at the Lotus Versfeld Stadium last June 13. In this match, Ghana won over Serbia with a final score of 1-0. During its second match, Ghana met with Australia last June 19 which was held at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg. In this football match, Ghana tied with Australia ending the game with a final score of 1-1.

Moving over to Germany, they faced their first football match against Australia last June 13 which was held at Durban Stadium in Durban. In this football match, Germany did an outstanding job of finishing the game defeating Australia with a final score of 4-0. In its second match, Germany faced Serbia last June 18 which was held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. In this second match, Germany was surprisingly lost to Serbia with a final score of 0-1.

Now going back to the recap of the game itself, there were no goals scored by both teams during the first half of the game. However, there were two players, one for each team, who were given a yellow card before the first half ended – Ayew from Ghana and Muller in Germany.

The second half kicked off with the first five minutes have been exclusively spent in Ghana’s half. There was a missed opportunity for Ozil in the 52nd minute when the ball broke to Asamoah (Ghana), who with just the goal keeper to beat, fired into Neuer’s (Germany) legs. Perseverance of Ozil paid off during the 60th minute when he successfully made a goal for Germany advancing the score to 1-0. The Germans’ patience paid off when Ozil smashed a left footed shot into the top corner of the net from the edge of the box. It was a fine strike which changed the complexion of Group D.

In the 68th minute, Ghana’s chance for a goal was blocked by Lahm’s legs. Ayew from Ghana burst into the box and took a shot into the goal. However, Lahm’s legs denied it as it got deflected over the bar. The final whistle was heard in the 93rd minute of the game marking the end of the match without any goal for Ghana.

Congratulations to Germany for winning this World Cup 2010 football match against Ghana. Even though Ghana was lost, Africa celebrated with having a team in the last 16 in the World Cup 2010 finals. Visit us again and stay tuned to us as we will be giving you more updates on the succeeding matches in the FIFA World Cup 2010.



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New Zealand claim famous result 1-1 verus Italy Fifa 2010 South Africa

New Zealand claimed the most famous result in their history after holding reigning world champions Italy to a 1-1 draw in Nelspruit on Sunday.

The All Whites got off to a dream start when Shane Smeltz capitalised on a Fabio Cannavaro error to prod home the opening goal in the seventh minute.

Italy then threw everything they had at New Zealand, but, despite Vincenzo Iaquinta converting a penalty just before the half-hour, couldn't find a way through an inspired New Zealand backline for a winner.

Ryan Nelsen and Winston Reid were both superb at the heart of the Kiwi defence, while keeper Mark Paston was also in inspired form.

The stunning result leaves both Italy and New Zealand level on two points going into the final round of Group F fixtures

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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