photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
It has only been three days, but Germany already looks like it will be one of the better teams in this World Cup.
Germany put forth a masterful performance on Sunday, cruising to a 4-0 mauling against Australia to take first place in Group D. Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose each netted in the first half, while Thomas Mueller and substitute Cacau scored in the second.
Silky-smooth passing and well-timed runs were the main undoing for Australia, whose back line always appeared a step too slow. Offensively, Australia struggled to create clear opportunities, although it did almost open the scoring off a corner early in the game.
To make matters worse for Australians, Tim Cahill was lost to a questionable red card in the 56th minute. Cahill attempted a tackle from behind on Bastian Schweinsteiger, but he tried to pull out of the challenge once he realized the ball had been played. His momentum still carried him through, and he was given a straight red, meaning his World Cup is over unless Australia wins an appeal or reaches the knockout stages.
Here are the match's highlights, as well as from the rest of Sunday's games:
Late penalty sees Ghana win, 1-0
Ghana didn't dominate like Germany, but it did become the first African nation to win a game in this World Cup with its 1-0 triumph over Serbia in the Group D opener.
Forward Asamoah Gyan, who scored the opener for Ghana in the 2006 World Cup, took advantage of a puzzling handball by substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic and netted the ensuing penalty kick in the 84th minute.
Both teams had their share of opportunities, but neither was very accurate. Ghana took 15 shots but only got one on goal while Serbia had 14 and two.
Former U.S. youth national team player Neven Subotic made his World Cup debut in the match, coming off the bench to play 14 minutes in Serbia's defeat.
Here are the match highlights:
Slovenia wins off goalkeeper gaffe
It seems like goalkeeping errors might become a theme in Group C.
Less than 24 hours after England's Robert Green handed the United States a 1-1 draw, Slovenia defeated Algeria, 1-0, when goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi misjudged a Robert Koren shot in the 79th minute.
Algeria had its opportunities to get a result, especially when Abdelkader Ghezzal was subbed in during the second half. Ghezzal provided a much-needed spark, but he received two yellow cards in the span of 15 minutes and left Algeria with 10 men in the 73rd.
Slovenia, who like Algeria displayed an organized defense but a lackluster attack, sits atop Group C with three points.
Here are the match highlights:
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What do you think of Sunday's matches? Impressed by Germany, or is Australia just a bad, old team? Celebrating Subotic and Serbia's loss? Think Ghana gets out of the group? Worried by Slovenia or Algeria?
Share your thoughts below.
Then we are going to need two nice wins….because I don’t see England losing to either of those teams… because they don’t have Tim Howard in goal… it should come down to goal differential..
Yes…that should have been a yellow for Cahill…. poor refereeing… very bummed for him….he’s a good player and doesn’t deserve the two game ban…
i wouldnt say either are faster or stronger than england, or the US. I think Slovenia has a couple guys who we need to watch out, but looking at that game this morning the US is clearly a better team than either on the field.
Patrice Evra complained about them not only during the game, but apparently they can hear them at their hotel as well?
i really hope we win our group because germany will be a really tough team to beat if we don’t
Anyone have a good link to a full recap and decent analysis of slovenia-algeria?? would appreciate it greatly..
Very true.
its 1050 in NY, but honestly, i’ve never listened so I dont know if you hace to tune in online or what. It also could be just the US games?
Cahill is most likely out for the tournament since a straight red means a 2 game suspension. Unless the Aussies pull out something crazy, his international career is probably over.
Nothing wrong with wanting to get pumped and excited, more power to ya!
Personally, I’m more inclined to get annoyed by the announcers that are constantly yelling into the microphones ala Max Bretos along with a large majority of the FSC play-by-play announcers.
The persistent high escalation in voices give me a headache.
Unless, the man’s name is Ray Hudson, of course! (who is legendary in his own right)
Hudson, along with Martin Tyler are my favorite to listen to – in two VERY distinct VERY contrasting styles.
Both of the later games today were very entertaining. Germany looked very good going forward, but they also looked susceptible in the back. Australia should have scored in the first couple minutes and were able to weave their way through Germany’s defense multiple times. I’m not scared to meet them in the second round. Australia’s defense was horrible. Kudos to Germany though, they came out firing.
I only saw the first half of Algeria/Slovenia. In that half, it looked like Algeria and Slovenia were both fast and strong — much more so than England or the US. They took some powerful shots from distance, as well. I was wondering if it looked this way to anyone else and, if so, did this continue throughout the rest of the match?
Yeah Friday is going to be a nail-biter, but so will the final game against Algeria even if we beat Slovenia.
Say we beat Slovenia 2-1 and England beats Algeria 3-0:
1. England 4 points / +3
2. USA 4 points / +1
3. Slovenia 3 points / 0
4. Algeria 0 points / -4
If we tie Slovenia then:
1. England 4 points / +3
2. Slovenia 4 points / +1
3. USA 2 points / 0
4. Algeria 0 points / -4
If we lose to Slovenia 2-1:
1. Slovenia 6 points / +2
2. England 4 points / +3
3. USA 1 point / -1
4. Algeria 0 points / -4
We CANNOT lose.
This is nerve-wracking to think about. But we should beat Slovenia. They’ll be bunkered down trying to get a draw and playing the counter attack. It will be a VERY tricky game for us.
Possibly. I like Tyler because he offers a deeper analysis of the game than Dellacamera. It may be boring, but anybody who understands the game will be nodding their head throughout the match because of the intelligent comments he makes. JP, on the other hand, is straight up energy. When somebody scores, Tyler yells in a slightly higher than his normal monotone voice,” Oh, and heres _______ in on goal, _____ left flat footed! And there is a goal! from ______! It’s a fabulous finish from the ________ and _______ are in the lead” But for JP it’s,” LOOK AT THAT MOVE FROM _______!!!!! ______ WALKS IN!!!!! SCORE!!!!! ______ LEADS!!!”
That gets me pumped. It’s so basic, so surface level, so obvious, but maybe that just appeals to the idiot in my excited by anything.
I’m afraid Pete may be right on this. Australia were poor against the US in the lead up match and the US could have had four or five in that one. To follow that up with this performance does not bode well for the Socceroos.
While I’m not a fan of JP Dellacamera, I’m noticing a lot of people on this board are wanting him instead of Martin Tyler.
Perhaps you’re in the majority after all and we’re in the minority =)
To be fair, Slovenia looked a bit toothless throughout the match and I would actually rate Algeria ahead of them.
Problem is: Alergia’s Goalkeeper is easily the worst GK in our group and possibly the entire tournament (hence the errant/cheap goal).
Algeria is actually my biggest concern, if we’re not able to create more shots on target, since they have good ball possession and showed signs of being able to attack.
To be honest, the first few matches I watched last year during the Confed Cup, I was in the same boat.
However, going into this World Cup, I don’t even notice them anymore. Suffice it to say, I’ve become quite used to them and knew what to expect.
During the Ghana/Serbia match: Anyone else notice the HUGE banner in the stadium (around the 22nd min and beyond) that said…”Sex Machines”…, on it?
I couldn’t stop laughing at the random nature of that sign, not to mention how often it was inadvertently shown during throw ins and goal kicks.
Anyone else notice it and get a good laugh out of it?
When Etcheverry received a red… that was a case of some really bad officiating and yes – he was gone for good. The infamous Arturo Brizio Carter changed the complexion of that entire game back in ’94. It wasn’t just that red card, he was leaning for Germany throughout the match as they pulled down and repeatedly fouled the Bolivians while Deutschland received only a couple of yellow cards.
Referees can change the outcome of these games. It’s not good. And… somehow Germany seems to benefit historically. (FIFA’S Sepp Blatter is German Swiss – hmm.)
Still – Germany was the stronger team today and deserved to win. But their flop fest and overacting against Australia was a complete disgrace. Never seen so many dives. Hopefully tournament officials will curb this in the future.
If it’s up to FIFA, do you really think they will extend the suspension? DURING the World Cup and suspend a teams star player, especially since he pulled back and a two game suspension is dependent on an extension. That foul was not malicious so I don’t see them extending the suspension.
Man, I don’t think that would have even been a yellow in the EPL. It seemed to be kind of a soft red card from the replay.
at first I was completely in favor of getting them out of the stadiums. I am starting to come around, though. for one, they arent that annoying at all, and they have been toned down considerably (somehow) from the confederations cup match a while back.
Got a link to any players complaining about them?
I can only guess that he meant that he expected his suspension to be extended…
You answer your own question. By the time FIFA is done investigating this matter we should be ready for the 2014 WC
I am confused. The announcers before the game was even over said he was out for 2 more games, so unless his suspension was extended before the game was even over, then it must have been an automatic 2 games.
So, what I’m wondering is, is that a new rule? Is it World Cup specific? When the American players got reds in the Confed Cup they only missed one game.
Alright, it’s time to talk about the horns, the vuvuzelas. I know they are a cultural thing in South Africa; and I’m all for cultural diversity, but come on, don’t they realize how annoying they are? I find myself turning down the sound and missing Martin Tyler’s golden British voice. If they are annoying to the vast majority of the viewing audience (and the players), why are they still allowed!
What channel is ESPN Radio? 99.9 FM?
After watching the Germans today the USA really needs to not only win the next two games. But score a lot of goals. England will probably beat Algeria and Slovenia, and our best bet now is to win the group on goal differential. Second place may get us to the next round, but the Germans look like they’d be be a lot to handle. I’d like our chances a whole lot more facing one of the other teams in group D.
Straight red is automatic suspension for the next game, but the suspension can be extended (which it apparently was for Cahill). Here is what I found in the FIFA Disciplinary Code http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/50/02/75/disco_2009_en.pdf
“An expulsion automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent
match, even if imposed in a match that is later abandoned and/or
annulled. The Disciplinary Committee may extend the duration of the
suspension.”
Yeah, Martin Tyler hardly has a pulse. I have made a compromise. When a goal is scored and Martin says in a monotone voice “Well there it is a goal… Would you like some tea” on something like that… I just change the channel to the Spanish station for the “GOL GOL GOL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL GOLAZO” moment.
Thank You George Washington for beating that boring boring oil polluting country.
You are one of the first people that i’ve seen in many forums be honest about AUS difficulty with speed, everyone else seems to think that AUS just had a bad game and will rebound against GHA and SER. They are done.
I agree, i always thought that 1 point against England would be great, but USA need to beat the other two teams, to go clear, and at this point, you’d want to go through 1st to avoid germany.
nervous for the Slovenia game, would feel a lot better if they had tied
I prefer Martin Tyler but to each his own…
he’s doing the radio for ESPN i believe….
they dont have one. They were dissected today and it wont be much better against serbia or ghana. With ghana’s speed, australias best bet for points is serbia.
For starters, great game from Germany. Individually they were better, but what was impressive was their teamwork. Simple things like almost always being one or two immediate passing options when someone received the ball allowed them some great play through the midfield.
Second off, is JP Dellacamera available for commentary in the World Cup? I really like his commentary. I know people are looking at me weird, but his commentary gets me pumped.
Ozil would be a good fit for Man U. A true #10, someone who can dictate a game and break down defenses. They’re set on the wings at the moment w/ Nani and Valencia. Ozil would benefit w/ Scholes and Giggs around for another year or two, and he shouldn’t cost more than 20 mil. euro, much better price than someone like Fabregas (not that he would come), or a similar big name
Thanks, guys — I have no idea how that escaped me until now.
That really sucks for Cahill. And Australia, as I can’t think of another player on that team that has a chance in hell of putting the ball in ther back of the net.
Not quite correct. A double yellow re card means you get kicked out of that game, and you’re suspended for the next game. In this case, with a straight red, you’re kicked out and you’re suspended for the next TWO games. He was kicked out today and will miss the remaining 2 group games.
No, its two complete games. He’s done. Remember Etcheverry in 94, came in as a sub got a straight red, he was done.
The refereeing wasnt as bad as you make it out to be. The PK you want called was questionable at best. Germany thorougly dominated the game from the start, so I’m not sure it would have made a difference. Germany should have put up 6 or 7, Aus should consider themselves lucky.
The cahill foul wasn’t clear cut, but he came in from behind and any time you do that, you’re giving the ref a chance to card you. There have been a lot of cards so far, 6 in the US Eng game alone which is too many for my taste. I’m not questioning the US yellow cards, i think they were all deserved but in general we’re going to see a lot of players missing the 3rd game
It could have been 4 before half time, Australia should pack its bags now, they are clearly the weakest team in the group. They haven’t got a clue of how to attack at this level, i guess they forgot that they aren’t playing Qatar and Uzbekistan anymore.
“straight red is 2 games”
Right, I was thought a two-match ban for a straight red meant the game you’re currently playing and the next game. Meaning he would back for the Serbia match — am I wrong?
Correct. I don’t think Cahill’s challenge warranted a straight red but, barring an appeal, it’s a 2 game ban.
Also disagree with “I Said.” Germany looked amazing and the officiating wasn’t that bad besides the Cahill red. If anything, Germany should have scored more than 4
straight red is 2 games.
“given a straight red, meaning his World Cup is over unless Australia wins an appeal or reaches the knockout stages.” Since when did a red card mean missing 2 matches? He’ll be back for the 3rd and last game of the group stages…
” His (Calhill) momentum still carried him through, and he was given a straight red, meaning his World Cup is over unless Australia wins an appeal or reaches the knockout stages.” How is his World Cup over? A red card means a one game suspension, meaning that he would be back for the final game against Serbia. That game had the wors refereeing of all of the games so far. A hand ball that should have been a penalty but a no call, and a red card that should have been a yellow. Not to say that Germany would have lost because of the calls, but it would have been a 2-1 game possibly if the penatly was awarded. That would have changed the pace of the game.
As for the Serbia-Ghana game… Ghana deserved to win even though Serbia beat themselves in the end. Serbia had more ball possession but had no desire to attack. It was as if they played for a tie from the beginning. Only after the second yellow did they wake up and start to pour it on. Yet every time Ghana touched the ball, they tried to attack…
Lahm was something else. I’m amazed Bayern have been able to keep him so far.