Another 4 teams went home today, there was a injury time winner, a nail biting finish and two favourites that will meet in the Last 16, another great day in the World Cup. I managed to watch the full Ghana v Germany game, first half of England v Slovenia and the highlights of the other 2 games.

MY THOUGHTS

Overall a much better performance for England, Capello would hope there is more to come from his men, from what I saw in the first half they played the best football they have so far, there was 10-15 really good minutes around the time of the goal, but then towards the end of the first half they were reverting to the long ball again and this is what causing England problems cause they then sit back, from the highlights in the second half, Slovenia never troubled England properly till the last 2/3 minutes and no clear cut chances.

Disappointing performance from Slovenia, Birsa looked busy as did Kirm, the front two failed to connect, and Suler was caught out for Defoe’s goal, Radosavljevic was decent in the middle the player who does the dirty work in midfield, and Handanovic made some fantastic saves, especially the save from Rooney’s chance.

Losts of good performances from England, Defoe started sharp, Gerrard was better on the left this time, Rooney did ok but still not as sharp as the English would like, 3 players that stood out were the defensive pairing of Upson and Terry they were terrific, some last ditch tackles, hearts on the sleeve kind of stuff, without their passion Slovenia may have had some more chances. and James Milner was quality, playing some lovely teasing balls in the box, one for the goal, nice to see him return to form after his bad 30 minutes against the USA, he bounced back with style and should keep his place.

England through to the last 16 more on who they’ll face later.

MY THOUGHTS

Only seen the highlights of this one so impossible to comment on performances, but what can you say about this USA team, lost a goal against England after 3 minutes and came back, went 2-0 down against Slovenia and came back and now with a place in the last 16 beckoning it took to the 91 ^st minute and a never give up attitude for the US to advance, Donovan following in Altidore’s shot and he placed the rebound past M’Bolhi.

After the shocking decision to disallow the goal against Slovenia, when Dempsey’s goal was chalked off for offside in the first half maybe the Americans had it in their mind that it wasn’t to be their day, if they did think that it didn’t show it, Bradley charging forward from midfield, Dempsey and Donovan combining and I think they deserved the goal and to go through, although at Slovenia’s expense, they will hope to not have to wait to the 91 ^st minute for a goal the next game.

MY THOUGHTS

Really enjoyable game this, very open some really nice football, shocked it finished 1-0 with the amount of counter attacking football and near chances we saw, with Ghana needing at least a draw to go through, they really tried hard Annan who has really impressed me controlled the midfield always got time on the ball and very smart with the ball, Boateng and Asamoah were busy in midfield always trying to find space and nearly breached the German defence at times, Asamoah Gyan was the main man again and should have at least scored, great movement, great strength, great awareness, just lacked that composure upfront that they need as an attacking threat.

Germany continued their impressive attack minded football, always finding space, there was always movement off the ball, maybe lacked the danger of Klose up front, Lahm was a general tonight, clearing off the line, charging his team forward a true captains performance, Khedira and Schweinsteiger were sold and dealt well with Ghana’s threat caught out at times though, the defence still looks shaky to me and will come under sterner tests, however the attacking options will cause any team problems, with the wing play of Podolski and Muller accompanied with Mesut Ozil’s guile/skill and wisdom above his years, teams will be scared to play Germany and so they should.

Germany’s reward for winning the group will be a Last 16 tie with arch-rivals England, and what a game that could be.

MY THOUGHTS

The goals were played during the Germany game, and it looked a half decent game when Cahill opened the scoring, the 2 ^nd goal by Holman a nice bouncing 30 yard strike gave the Aussies hope and a goal in either game and they’d have been through, but the 2-1 defeat of Serbia eliminated both teams from the Group Stage, once Pantelic scored Serbia only need a goal to advance, and they had one ruled off for offside, anda  massive chance for Pantelic at the end where he could have done better, not many clips of Australia troubling the Serbians late on, so it was a good result for Ghana as they then qualify for a game against Greece

Ghana will face the Usa on Saturday for a place in the quarter finals, the winners play the winner of Uruguay v South Korea and one of these four smaller nations will advance to the Semi’s, gotta take one game at a time.

There is no doubt what the media over here will be focusing on in the papers tomorrow however there was 2 other games played today, one was a cracker and the other a shock result, really glad the World Cup has picked up the 2 ^nd stage of games have been really exciting.

MY THOUGHTS:

Lots of expectations on the German team today, after the impressive 4-0 win over Australia and the Serbian team had lots of questions against them after a poor performance against Ghana, so everyone could only foresee one result, and of course as this World Cup proved, things don’t always go according to plan, Germany were in control until Klose picked up his second yellow card, he was sent off and soon after Serbia hit on the break and scored, apart from the Penalty that Podolski scored Germany never really troubled the Serbians and the number of people backing Deutschland will have decreased rapidly.

Milos Krasic had a great game for Serbia, much like the player being tracked by Juventus and Man City, charging down the right-wing putting in dangerous crosses and he was just a constant threat to Babstuber and the German defence, Jovanovic was busy on the left and always showing a desire to get into the box, Zigic was disappointing, apart from the knock-down for the goal he did nothing, and showed no desire to go after the ball. Subotic and Vidic were pretty solid all of the game, apart from Vidic’s crazy moment when he raised his hands and touched the ball.

Serbia showed signs of life but they were more content in stopping Germany play than actually going on to dominate the game themselves, however unless Australia improve Serbia could have 6 points and no display of great football, worrying times for football.

The Germans started pretty well, the passing and moving was there, Ozil the conductor, with Muller and Podolski on the wings, but when Klose got sent off there was no spearhead to finish off the attack, I thought Muller worked really hard today, he never stopped running on the right wing, and tried as much as he can to bring Germany back level, he showed good pace and skill, but lacked support.

Apart from losing the game the one disappointing part for Germany was when Marin and Cacau came on, they added nothing to the German team, for the 20 minutes they were on no chances were created, this will worry Low and the German fans.

MY THOUGHTS:

What a game this was, probably the game of the tournament so far a talented Slovenian team that had a fantastic start but then spirit and commitment of the American team provided a great comeback and possibly deserved the victory which was stolen away by a poor referee decision.

Was impressed with Slovenia’s start much better than the game against Algeria, Ljubijankic caused trouble from the start not just in the air but his pace got in behind the US backline, Robert Koren had a very quiet match and it was up to Valter Birsa to step up to the plate, received the ball in the middle of the pitch turned it onto his left foot and curled a beautiful ball past Howard in net, a lovely goal and a great way to kick off the game, and they finished the half off superbly Novakovic slipped a ball through to Ljubijankic and he coolly placed the ball past Howard, Slovenia were on place to Qualify to the last 16, but the USA weren’t quite beat yet.

Bradley made 2 changes at half time bringing on Edu and Feilhaber and they couldn’t have gotten off to a better start with Donovan pushed upfront he latched onto the ball and raced toward the Slovenian goal and he smashed the ball past Handanovic, Donovan played much better on the frontline giving him more chance to be effective on the ball and caused more damage.

Coach Bradley’s son Michael played fantastically well, he was the driving force behind the US comeback and he got his deserved goal, charging forward from midfield and poking Altidore’s knock down past Handanovic, Altidore was a thorn in the Slovenians side, winning a lot of knockdowns, sometimes not using his power and speed as well as he could, but his aerial presence cause problems all game.

Now the US has to beat Algeria to have any chance of reaching the last 16, we know they can score goals but I have question marks over if they can keep a clean sheet.

MY THOUGHTS:

I’m going to start this the way most newspapers won’t Algeria impressed me tonight, great passing and moving a calm and controlled feeling to their game, if only they had a striker that could produce a great run or clinical finish.

Bougherra, Yahia and Halliche were imperial at the back any time an England player took a bad touch they were on it in a flash and stopped Rooney and co have any loose balls to punish them, Ryad Boudebouz was a surprise starter and the Sochaux midfielder played very well, his skill and ability shone through, first touch was brilliant and looks to have so much potential, Ziani and Belhadj ran themselves to the ground, Ziani was superb and was a shame he had to come off with an injury, apart from all Belhadj’s running it was a shame he couldn’t put a decent cross in.

After this performance Algeria will give USA a great game on Wednesday, and who knows a win and some goals could pull off a miracle and a place in the last 16.

A truly awful performance from England, not one player to pick out for a positive reason, no passion, no desire, no work ethic, one of the worst performances for heart and desire I’ve ever watched for an England team, I am the first person who wants them to fail, but usually they go down with a fight, Rooney one of the so called “best players in the world” was terrible, his first touch was garbage all game, never linking up with any of his teammates, Gerrard was asked to play on the left but he was continually found in the middle even on the right, leaving too much space on the opposite, I can’t believe England can play that bad again, and would expect them to play better on Wednesday.

Fabio Capello will receive lots of stick in the forthcoming days about his player selection, his tactics also his methods, I think Englands performances are to blame for part of the performance, but the players have to be to blame, Rooney’s attitude after the game was awful, those fans paid lots of money to travel to Cape Town etc to watch their team play and to have an attitude against them for voicing their concerns, Rooney should be ashamed of himself and should issue an apology, lots of things will have to change before Wednesday.

There is only one team that can dominate my thoughts today and that is the German team, very impressive and have made everyone sit up and take notice, Algeria and Slovenia sent most people into a afternoon snooze, and Ghana gave Africa the lift it needed. A decent days football overall, 3 games 3 red cards, 7 goals, the tournament is starting to pick up.

ALGERIA 0 SLOVENIA 1

ALGERIA: 16 Chaouchi – 2 Bougherra, 4 Yahia, 5 Halliche, 3 Belhadj – 8 Lacen – 21 Kadir, 19 Yebda, 15 Ziani – 11 Djebbour, 13 Matmour
Subs – 9 Ghezzal on for Djebbour (58mns), 10 Saifi on for Matmour (81mins), 17 Guedioura on for Kadir (82mins)

SLOVENIA: 1 Handanovic – 2 Brecko, 4 Suler, 5 Cesar, 13 Jokic – 17 Kirm, 18 Radosavljevic, 8 Koren, 10 Birsa – 14 Dedic, 11 Novakovic
Subs – 9 Ljubijankic on for Dedic (53mins), 7 Pecnik on for Birsa (84mins), 20 Komac on for Radosavljevic (87mins)

Goals - Koren 79′ (1-0 SLO)

Sent Off – Ghezzal (ALG – two yellow cards

MY THOUGHTS:

Not the best game by a long way, it started brightly but fizzled out, I actually thought Algeria looked the more likely to score and then Chaouchi made a goalkeeping mistake and Robert Koren’s shot sneaked in the far post.

Chaouchi looked a competent keeper before that moment dealing with all Slovenia’s attempts well, all that will be remembered is his mistake, Nadir Belhadj was impressive on the left getting forward enough to look like a midfielder, not a good final ball though, the midfield was quiet, Ziani should have done more didn’t take control enough, leading to a lack of chances for the front two, Djebbour then came off but his replacement Ghezzal got the third fastest booking of world cup history and was then soon after sent off for deliberate handball.

Not many impressive performances from Slovenia either, I expected more from Novakovic, Dedic tried at times to link up with him but to no avail, Birsa didn’t get enough of the ball to show his pace, Koren wasn’t the controlling factor he can be, they were very lucky to sneak the 1-0 win, England and USA won’t be too worried with these performances.

SERBIA 0 GHANA 1

SERBIA: 1 Stojkovic – 6 Ivanovic, 5 Vidic, 13 Lukovic, 3 Kolarov – 17 Krasic, 11 Milijas, 10 Stankovic, 14 Jovanovic – 15 Zigic, 9 Pantelic
Subs – 22 Kuzmanovic on for Milijas (62mins), 8 Lazovic on for Zigic (69mins), 20 Subotic on for Jovanovic (76min)

GHANA: 22 Kingson – 4 Pantsil, 5 Mensah, 15 Vorsah, 2 Sarpei – 12 Tagoe, 23 Boateng, 6 Annan, 13 Ayew - 21 Asamoah, 3 Gyan
Subs - 10 Appiah on for Asamoah (73mins), 19 Addy on or Boateng (91mins), 20 Owusu-Abeyie on for Gyan (93mins)

Goals - Gyan 83′pen (1-0 GHA)

Sent off – Lukovic, two yellow cards

MY THOUGHTS:

A better game in the afternoon, I was backing Serbia as dark horses but it was Ghana that galloped out of the blocks showing great pace and skill, some nice movements down either wing, Serbia never got going, the partnership between Zigic and Pantelic just didn’t work for me, no pace up front to stretch the Ghana back line, Krasic and Jovanovic were kept quiet by Pantsil and Sarpei.

The Serbia back line played pretty well throughout Ivanovic was solid but not expensive, Lukovic was favoured over Subotic and did well until he was sent off, Krasic the big hope for Serbia didn’t turn up and live up to expectations, and the midfield duo of Milijas and Stankovic just didn’t perform and I expect big changes for the next game.

Ghana performed very well, Mensah and Vorsah were so solid at the back, the 6 foot 5 Vorsah challenging the 6 foot 8 Zigic to every ball, Prince Tagoe was very busy down the right started great and nearly burst through after  5 minutes his pace kept Kolarov from attacking most of the game, Annan labeled as the “new Essien”  had a good game, although he is a different player from Essien more a player that controls the play not a heavy ball winner, he was the controlling influence in the midfield Gyan was also impressive he gave Vidic and Lukovic a hard time, pace, power and and great work rate and will trouble other defences.

GERMANY 4 AUSTRALIA 0

GE RMA NY: 1 Neuer – 16 Lahm, 3 Friedrich, 17 Mertesacker, 14 Badstuber – 6 Khedira, 7 Schweinsteiger, 8 Ozil, 13 Muller, 10 Podolski
Subs – 19 Cacau on for Klose (68mins), 23 Gomez on for Ozil (74mins), 21 Marin on for Podolski (81mins)

AUSTRALIA: 1 Schwarzer – 8 Wilkshere, 2 Neill, 3 Moore, 11 Chipperfield – 13 Grella, 16 Valeri, 7 Emerton, 19 Garcia, 5 Culina – 4 Cahill
Subs – 14 Holman on for Grella (46mins), 17 Rukavytsya on for Garcia (64mins), 15 Jedinak on for Emerton (74mins)

Goals - Podolski 8′ (1-0 GER), Klose 26′ (2-0 GER), Mueller 68′ (3-0 GER), Cacau 70′ (4-0 GER)

Sent off – Tim Cahill (AUS) straight Red

MY THOUGHTS:

A statement performance from Germany some people had this as a possible upset but after seeing the Socceroos lineup I knew it wouldn’t happen, you can’t go to the World Cup with 2 strikers, and then not to start any of them, you are waiting for a beating, and Germany delivered.

Philip Lahm played great as captain charging forward on the right, playing a great ball for Klose’s goal and solid in defence, the duo of Khedira and Schweinsteiger were superb in the middle, Bastian deeper than usual adapted very well, Mueller had a effective game on the right, cutting in at the right times and scoring with a great finish, Podolski was great on the left showing he has the pace and the left foot to play out there, a superb finish for the 1st goal 83mph no goalkeeper was stopping it, he had no problem putting the Jabulani ball in the back of the net, Klose could have easily had a hat-trick and with the football they played you could see him scoring the goals needed to break Ronaldo’s goal scoring record.

The man of the match undoubtebly was little Mesut Ozil (pronounced Urshil apparently) he was fantastic, the dribbling the passing, ripping the Australians apart, the movement from the German front four was superb and Ozil was the architect, he could easily be one of the stars of this World Cup, the only blemish was the yellow card he picked up from diving, if he continues on form it would be hard to see Germany not reaching the Quarter-Finals.