Ghana Fly Flag For AFRICA!

Ghana became only the third African team to reach the quarterfinal stage of the world cup after a 2-1 extra-time win over the USA in Rustenburg last night. Having beaten S. Korea, earlier on in the day, Uruguay would be facing the winner of this encounter. Ghana are the only African team to have progressed to this stage of the competition, in what has been a largely disappointing campaign on African soil, therefore their victory did not just come as a victory for them but for the whole of Africa too.

Kevin Prince-Boateng got the match up and running, nice and early as he took advantage of some poor American defending to score in the 5th minute. He shot from 18 yards out with Tim Howard left berating his defenders as Ghana looked the stronger side early on. They were able to keep the ball, get their passing going, move freely and work their way in between the lines. The US were not having their best opening half, as they left far too many gaps and failed to close the Ghana players down properly. Their uncertain and hesitant defending left them far too reliant on keeper, Howard as Asamoah had a good shot, well-saved. The Americans had a chance of their own however, when Findlay got his shot away after some good work by Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey, but Kingson was equal to it. Ghana looked as though they were going to run away with it, but could not capitalise on their early lead. The US coach, Bob Bradley was, unlike his defenders, not the least bit hesitant about making big decisions including taking off Clark in the 30th minute of the game.

At the start of the second half, he replaced Findley with the impressive and very lively Benny Feilhaber, who immediately rewarded his coach with a goal. Ghana had become somewhat stale after scoring so early, and had seemed to have lost some of their gusto in getting forward. They invited pressure on themselves, and eventually the pressure told as the Americans, as they have done on so many occasions, came from 1-0 down to level the scores. Jonathon Mensah, who had not looked too great defensively, felled Dempsey in the box. It was a stonewaller of a penalty and a piledriver of a shot by Landon Donovan who saw the ball come in of the post with the keeper beaten. It was just the boost that the Americans needed and they ventured forward with greater purpose and endeavour as they tried to score another. If it wasn't for Kingson, the game could have been won by the Americans, as first Altidore, and later Bradley tried their luck at goal.

Altidore probably had his side's best chance to score, after latching onto a long ball and running in behind the Ghanaian defence, only to be brought to ground by some last-ditch defending, and seeing his shot go wide. As the game looked to be heading into extra-time, the Ghanaians were once again back in the match and looked physically stronger than their American counterparts.

Extra time did indeed beckon, and it wasn't too long before we saw another goal. This time it was by the Rennes forward Gyan, who has also looked very influential this year. He was able to control a long ball exquisitely on his chest, before taking his time to shoot and score the winning goal. It was then all about keeping the ball for Ghana, not doing anything too reckless or too stupid, and making sure they didn't become complacent or lazy at the back. The USA were tired and could not find a reply, even though they have come from behind to win so many times before. Gyan's goal was enough to send Ghana through to the quarters; but for the USA it was time to return home.

Credit must be given to the USA for the way they fought right until the end and for their never-say-die attitude. That's the attitude and spirit that got them to the top of Group C, and to the last 16, and they should be proud at least for how much they achieved, coming from a country where football or "soccer" is such a particularist sport. Perhaps the national team will increase the interest of the sport there, and they will come back much stronger next time. As for Ghana, well they will be thrilled to have made it, not only for them, but for their continent. It gives the Africans something to keep cheering about, and you can be sure they will have the most support come the quarterfinal tie against Uruguay. Ghana, will be missing Mensah and Ayew who were booked in yesterday's game. Ayew will be a big loss for them, and they need to sort out their centre-back pairing, because the two young centre-backs looked quite unsteady at times last night. Still, with all the support they will be getting, Ghana will be hoping to do Africa proud by becoming the first ever African nation to get to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Have A Little Faith & Ye Shall Reap...

So: England have done it. They're through to the next round of 16. Did you ever doubt it?

England needed a performance yesterday. And a big one at that. Group C was wide open, with any of the 4 teams still able to qualify. There was pressure, and plenty of it, and England had to respond after their dire 0-0 draw against Algeria in the second game. England have been in this situation plenty of times before, with 1 do-or-die game and history has been on their side.

But, before the game got under way it looked like the pressure was getting to be far too much as JT let loose in a press conference. Terry decided to speak candidly and openly about what was going on inside the England camp, inferring that it was difficult for the players to speak their mind to Capello and that there were a few players unhappy with the tactics, and the players being selected. In fact Terry himself, suggested Capello pick Joe Cole, his Chelsea teammate, over the others. In the past, Terry has often been accused of not being honest enough, however this time he was perhaps taking the honesty thing too far, as it provoked a public reaction from the boss. What Terry forgot was that the press are like vultures, and they are ready to pounce on anything either openly stated or inferred, to grab the headlines. Our neighbours, the French, are testimony to that. It was down to Capello, Lampard and Gerrard for some damage limitation. After stating that Terry had made a "big mistake" by revealing the private happenings of the camp to the world's media, he reaffirmed that there weren't any cracks in the team, and that the boys were only focussed on the big match ahead. Luckily, Terry's honesty didn't quite reach the gastronomical proportions of the French fiasco and the team were able to put it behind them, and do their talking on the pitch.

And, they certainly did just that. From the off, England started with a high tempo, good pace, and bursting with energy to get going. You could tell that the players knew that they had to win this game and they responded. Straightaway, they were getting at the Slovenians, connecting well and eager to get forward. Jermain Defoe had been called up Capello in place of Heskey for this match, while James remained in goal. Upson took the suspended Carragher's place and Milner started in place of Carrick. Overall, these were positive changes by the manager, who retained England's standard 4-4-2 formation, with Gerrard playing on the right. For the best part of the first half, it was England that was superior in possession, chances, shots on target and playing attacking football. The ball was largely in the Slovenian half, and it didn't take long for their defence to crack to give Defoe his first goal of the tournament.

It was man-of-the-match James Milner's fabulous cross that was met by Defoe who slammed it in from close range. Milner was great all game long, especially out on the right with great balls in. The England forwards could not complain about the service they were getting this time around. What was also good about Milner's presence was that he was willing to stay back, which allowed Gerrard far more space to move forward, as we know he likes to do. The team was looking far more balanced and the players seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite the pressure. As England went closer for another goal, their chances increased with Lampard, Defoe and Gerrard all going close. Slovenia's highly rated goalkeeper, Handanovic was right in the heart of proceedings, but to his credit, made some superb saves to keep Slovenia in the game.

Slovenia didn't threaten James too much in the first half and England were able to get through to half-time with their heads held high. With the USA-Algeria game still stuck at 0-0, not only were England going through, as it stood, but they were going to top the group as well. Defoe almost had a chance to get himself a brace, straight after the restart but could only fire wide as England again pushed on to get another goal to make life more comfortable. Gerrard and Rooney worked well to create some good play between them, but it was a pass too much as yet another game went by without Rooney getting a goal. Terry also had a good chance, with a header from a corner, but unlike on so many previous occasions, he was unable to direct it into the back of the net.

There was always a danger that while the game stayed at 1-0, Slovenia could easily break and score. England's defenders had to be sharp and alert to the danger. I felt that Matt Upson started off a bit shakily, conceding possession in some dangerous areas and having to be helped out by his fellow teammates, but I suppose that is quite understandable. Luckily for England, he improved as the game went on and did enough to keep Slovenia out. Johnson and Terry were both great at blocking Novakovic who looked to shoot - the controversy of the week seemingly wiped from Terry's mind.

Rooney, who didn't look 100% fit, was substituted for Joe Cole, after limping quite heavily and being unable to continue. England managed to see out the game, having scored just the one goal, by being organised and defending well. It was certainly anxious times right up to the very end...but then England never do make it quite as easy as we want it to be, do they?! The closing stages of the game, saw some late Slovenian pressure but the England players did well in helping each other out, staying back and then keeping possession of the ball in the Slovenian half.

At the final whistle, we saw great emotion from the manager and from the players. They knew that it would have been inexplicable to have exited at this stage, as before this match they hadn't really turned up. Slovenia, on the other hand, were left in despair. At first, they thought that they had also gone through, but news slowly began filtering in that the USA had scored and beaten Algeria, courtesy of an injury time goal by Landon Donovan. It was really heart-wrenching to watch as Slovenia, despite being the smallest nation (in terms of population) represented at the World Cup finals, had done themselves really proud uptil now. The late US goal also meant that England finished second in the group, so would have to play whoever won in Group D. It was a great result for the Americans too, provoking joyous scenes of elation as they will now face the runner-up in Group D.

It was a great, positive performance from England: something that we've all been waiting for. There are still areas of improvement that they need to work on - for example, Rooney needs to get himself a goal or two to give him that confidence, England need to work on killing off the game - they could have made life far more comfortable for themselves had they been more clinical, and finally it's important not to get too carried away, as there are teams that are better than Slovenia in this competition. Still, what a difference a win makes. It will just give England and the fans that bit of much-needed confidence as they go into their tie against the Group D winners on Sunday. They will now have a base to build on and improve upon as we enter the knock-out stages. The players were smiling, the manager was smiling and the fans were smiling. England have always left it til late on plenty of previous occasions and this time was no exception. Still, the best teams or the ones that go on to win the competition, don't always have the best of starts do they?

"It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to"...

USA's Comeback Kids...

Playing before the England-Algeria game, Slovenia knew that if they beat the USA they would be straight through to the last 16, and England would only need 4 points from their remaining 2 games to be assured of a place in the next stage. At first, it seemed all too easy for Slovenia and it looked as though they had secured their place with ease as they led the USA 2-0 after goals from Birsa and Ljubilankic.

It looked comfortable for Slovenia in the early stages of the match as they played a good, organised game of football, not allowing the USA much sight of the ball. The Americans were on the backfoot for much of the first half as Slovenia created the chances. It was Birsa who scored the first goal, and prior to that goal, he had probably been the one who had provided the greatest attack to the American defence. He was able to latch on to the ball from 25 yards out and took a punt which sailed past keeper Tim Howard and landed beautifully into the net. One of the best goals we have seen so far in the competition and the Slovenians were 1-0 up. The American response was good but they were prevented from getting an equaliser, after some great defending and fantastic saves from Handanovic.

However, just at the Americans advanced forward, the Slovenians doubled their lead with a fine counter-attacking move, resulting in a goal by Ljubijankic. It looked as though the Slovenians had won it before the second half had even begun. But you can never know with the Americans. The coach, Bob Bradley made two attacking substitutions at half time, knowing his side had it in them to pull a goal or even two back. And, they were of immediate impact, as within minutes of the restart, the impressive Landon Donovan was able to get himself into the box and smash the ball into the top corner of the Slovenian net. The Slovenians certainly weren't expecting that, and it was all to play. Suddenly the game became became really intense as the USA sensed a way back. They were kept out on several occasions by Handanovic and it was real end-to-end stuff as the Slovenians tried to put the game past the Americans.

Bob Bradley changed to a 3-4-3 formation, by taking off Onyewu for a striker, Gomez. The move played dividends, as it was Bradley's son, Michael who got the equaliser. The USA could have won the game too, had it not been for a poor decision by the Malian referee to rule it out. The US had a free kick which was curled in and volleyed in by Edu but the referee adjudged a foul to have taken place and had blown his whistle before the ball had nestled in the back of the net. Replays showed this not to have been the case - infact it was the Slovenians who were fouling the Americans - if anything, the Americans could have had a shout out for a penalty. The controversial decision brought a furious reaction from the USA, and rightly so. They had done well after going 2-0 down to bring it back, and had had the better chances to get the win. The Slovenians got extremely lucky as they managed to see the game out 2-2.

The result now means that Group C has been thrown wide open with the Slovenians leading the way with 5 points.

Green's Gaffe Results In A Draw...

Well. Not the winning start we would have all liked or indeed envisaged. Still, we didn't lose and that was only our first game. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic then right? Well, cautiously so, yes.

England finally kicked off their world cup campaign on Saturday night, in the hotly anticipated Group C opener against the USA. Long before the tournament even got underway, people were saying that the US would be England's toughest opponents. This didn't appear to be the case as within 5 minutes, England had already taken the lead. Steven Gerrard finished off a nice move to slam the ball in the back of the net after a good pass from Heskey. It's the earliest goal to have been scored at the tournament as of yet and shocked not only the Americans, but England supporters too. It seemed the perfect start - after Gerrard's goal, it looked as though the game would be easy for England and there for the taking. All the nerves and tension that had been building up pre-match were gone and all England had to do was carry on the way they had started. Except with England, it's never quite that simple is it?

Infact, now I come to think of it, perhaps it wasn't a great start after all. I mean, England supporters can tell you that it's not very often England get a great early lead as they did. Perhaps this was their downfall. Sometimes, it can be a disadvantage to score early. It means you are never quite sure what to do next, particularly if you are not used to scoring so early on - do you sit back and protect your lead? Or do you continue to attack and kill the game off? It seems that this early goal perhaps made England complacent. Sub-consciously, it may have seemed that the game was now already won, that the USA wouldn't be able to overcome the shock of conceding so early and that there was no real need to push forward and capitalise on the chances that may come England's way. Of course the players would want to kill the game off, but that early lead did look to have adverse psychological effects by my reckoning.

For most of the first half then England enjoyed relative possession of the ball and the better chances of the two but were unable to press any further. It therefore came as a shock when, with only 5 minutes to go until half time, the USA managed to equalise from a nothing shot by Fulham's Clint Dempsey. He took a shot from 25 yards out, not really expecting much. It looked like an easy catch for West Ham's Robert Green, chosen ahead of David James and Joe Hart, but it didn't quite pan out that way. He caught the ball alright, but he also let it slip from his grasp and could do nothing but watch it roll agonisingly pass the goal line, gifting the Americans, a largely undeserved, equaliser. It was actually painful to watch on TV, and everytime they kept showing the replays, it looked more and more worse. You just wanted to jump into the screen and claw the ball back before it rolled away. It is well known, and laughed about, that England do not have the world's best keepers - we have seen plenty of blunders and bloopers before. Still, it did not make this one any less excruciating to watch. But we had 45 minutes left and we hadn't seen the best of England yet. There were definitely reasons to be hopeful despite Green's gaffe.

Capello had already made one substitution during the first half, taking off James Milner and replacing him with Wright-Phillips. Having only just recovered from a virus, Milner was far from his best and it was a wise decision in the end to make the substitution so early on. Ledley King was then substituted off at the beginning of the second half, in place of Carragher, from what appeared to be a groin injury. England managed to create a few chances but could not seem to find a way to rattle the Americans into conceding again. Emile Heskey, again disappointed in the scoring department, after failing to put away Aaron Lennon's through ball early on. Rooney was quiet for most of the game but he did have a shot on goal from distance which forced Tim Howard into a save. Other than that, there were few real chances for England and they just could not seem to find anything different. Crouch came on in place of Heskey with 10 minutes to go but even he, who has saved England late on, on so many occasions, could do nothing to haul England out of their slumber. In my opinion, he came on far too late to affect things. Green, made up for his gaffe (a little anyway) by saving well from Jozy Altidore who had managed to ease past the English defence and take a shot on goal.

All in all a disappointing first performance from England, after having started so well. Still, it's not all doom and gloom. There are 2 more matches left, England have plenty more in the locker and they will not succumb that easily, especially when they know that they have got their best chance to win the tournament, in a long time. Questions were once again raised about England's endurance in this competition, can they really go all the way? Only time will tell. For now, they must forget all about this game and concentrate on the next two vital clashes.

Some injury news: Wayne Rooney missed today's training session due to a slight ankle problem. He got a small knock in the USA game, but should be fine to play against Algeria on Friday.

Not so great news for Ledley King whose tournament looks to be over, after that groin injury that caused him to leave the field early on Saturday night. There are reports that he will have to be out for 3 weeks. If that's the case, then it will leave Capello desperately short at the back, with Rio Ferdinand having already been forced out of the tournament. He still has Carragher, but it will be a massive shame for King whose injury problems have been a source of great discomfort throughout his career.