Jun 19, 2010

Ghana were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Australia at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, but moved to the top of Group D with four points from two matches. The Africans could not take advantage of the first-half dismissal of Harry Kewell to claim maximum points, but managed to lift themselves above Serbia and Germany in the section. Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac was...

Jun 19, 2010

The Oranje carnival rolled noisily into Durban on 19 June, but Bert van Marwijk’s Netherlands team were forced to endure a tricky test against a disciplined Japanese outfit, the only goal of the game coming from Wesley Sneijder shortly after the break. Despite not having things their own way at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Dutch – still without...

Jun 19, 2010

Algeria held England to a goalless draw in the Group C encounter in Cape Town, leaving both sides with a chance of qualification for the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup. Although most of the play was dominated by England, it was the north Africans, 22 places below Fabio Capello’s men in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking who were the happier of the...

Jun 19, 2010

Bradley completes US fightback USA fought back from two goals down to earn a battling 2-2 draw with Slovenia and keep their FIFA World Cup hopes alive in an exciting Group C clash at Ellis Park. Matjaz Kek’s men looked on course for a second straight win in the section when they took a 2-0 lead into the break through Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankic...

Jun 19, 2010

A 38th-minute Milan Jovanovic goal proved enough for Serbia to edge a Germany side that played the entire second half at a numerical disadvantage and missed a penalty. Joachim Low’s charges had the majority of the possession and chances at Port Elizabeth Stadium, but Miroslav Klose’s dismissal and Lukas Podolski’s failure to beat Vladimir...