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.