Germany crush Argentina 4-0

I have to apologize for not having either of yesterday's quarter-final match reports posted, I was traveling, and after a 9 hour flight, I was stuck in Frankfurt airport for just under 11 hours with no wi-fi. I watched both games in the airport with many Germans a mob of very excited Japanese tourists, I'm pretty sure everyone knows the results, but just in case I'll post them.

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Sneijder and Forlan will face off in the semi-finals Tuesday

Here are yesterday's results:


The Netherlands defeated Brazil with an amazing comeback to go to the semi-finals, first Robinho early on, but then early in the second half Sneijder equalized with a strange cross/shot which Julio Cesar completely missed. Then Sneijder scored again with a header completing the comeback at 2-1, then Brazil lost Felipe Melo to a red card who stupidly stepped on Robben, and this sent Brazil home as they were unable to come back.

Uruguay were able to stop Ghana from moving onto the semi-finals, a very tight match which saw its first goal before halftime with a long-range effort from Muntari. Uruguay equalized 10 minutes into the second half with Diego Forlan sinking a curled free kick in the back of Kingson's net. It went to 30 minutes of extra time, and in the final minutes the unthinkable happened; Suarez first blocked a Ghana shot off the line with his foot, then he used his hand to block the second effort which seemed like a sure goal. Suarez was sent off and Ghana were given a penalty in the final minute of extra time, Gyan steps up and sees his effort skid off of the top of the crossbar, sending his team to penalties. In penalties, Uruguay missed one and Muslera saved two of them, Abreu took the winning one and scooped it ridiculously to send his team into the semi-finals to play the Netherlands.

Muller opening goal with a head flick 

Argentina - Germany


A massive match, Maradona's inspired Argentina against the efficient but creative young Germany which in the end demolished a tactically disorganized team. Germany scored right away in the 3rd minute with Muller slightly touching a free kick with his head just enough to mess up Romero into comceding the opener. For the rest of the first half Argentina were stumped, Germany were extremely organized with a 4-4-2 in defense and when it came to them to attack, Podolski and Muller rose up from the wings to cause problems for Argentina with width.

In the second half the match opened itself up with flurries of counter-attacks as both teams played an extremely attacking game. Germany won the attacking duel with Klose scoring the second in the 68th minute, making Argentina's hopes even dimmer. In the 74th Friedrich scored his first ever goal for Germany by stumbling Schweinsteiger's cut back (Schweinsteiger just waltzed right through Argentina's box) into the net to make it 3-0. By now Argentina were broken, Messi tried but was unable to find his first goal in this World Cup, and when Klose scored his 14th goal in World Cup finals from a swift counter-attack, the match was over.

Muller will miss the semi-final because he got two yellows in two games, so it will be interesting to see how Germany will do against the winner of Spain - Paraguay.

Ghana kicks USA out of World Cup 2-1 in extra time

And the USA's journey is over, while it's wonderful to see an African nation to go through to the quarter-finals, you can't help but feel sad for the Americans.

Boateng scoring the first goal for Ghana

USA - Ghana


Ghana started well right away, a goal after just five minutes from Kevin Prince Boateng made the stadium erupt in cheers from the African support. Ricardo Clark gave the ball away in the American half, and Boateng snaked his way around DeMerit to then bury the ball into the bottom left corner. The USA were unable to fight against Ghana's neat and tidy possession game, and they had to have a team talk at halftime from Bob Bradley before they turned it on in the second half.

USA began to push, and eventually Dempsey was brought down in the area earning the USA a penalty. Donovan stepped up to take it and pinged it in off of the right post to equalize the score at 1-1. The Americans pushed but they couldn't break down the Ghanaian defense and score before the end of the 90 minutes.

The two scorers Gyan and Boateng celebrating

Ghana came out to win in extra time, and just three minutes in Gyan scored a wonderful goal to make it 2-1. A long ball which he chested down as he sprinted past the last two USA defenders to then lash a dipping volley over Howard and into the back of the net. While the USA pushed, they just couldn't complete yet another epic comeback, Howard went up for the corners, and the entire team wanted it, but in the end, the black stars go through to play Uruguay in the quarter finals.

Germany and Ghana go through past Serbia and Australia

Finally an African nation goes through! Very glad about Ghana getting out of the group stages considering the Bafana Bafana couldn't. I'll certainly be looking forward to USA - Ghana and England - Germany...

Holman celebrating his goal for Australia

Australia - Serbia

Australia and Serbia were both eliminated from the World Cup despite the Socceroos going out with a 2-1 victory over Serbia, but Serbia started well with an early drive by Milos Krasic which signaled their intentions to get out of the group. Krasic had another chance in the 12th minute as he was 1 on 1 with Australia goal-keeper Mark Schwarzer, but the shot flew wide as Schwarzer came off of his line. The Serbians were the best side in the first half but missed plenty of chances Nikola Zigic heading wide with nowhere near him inside the penalty area.

In the second half, it was Australia that came out to win it as in the 69th minute, the Aussies broke through with Luke Wilkshire's long right-wing cross finding the head of Tim Cahill for the pinpoint finish inside the post. Four minutes later, Australia had hope of advancing when Brett Holman's long-range drive beat Vladimir Stojkovic to the right-hand post for a 2-0 lead. But Australia's hopes faded as Marko Pantelic pounced on a rebound after Schwarzer spilled a shot by Tosic in the six-yard box to make the final score 2-1 for Australia.

Ozil celebrating his wonderstrike

Ghana - Germany

Germany are up for an epic clash against England after they secured the top position in their group. Die Mannschaft beat Ghana 1-0 which was also enough for the Africans, who saw how Australia beat their main competitors Serbia 2-1. The Black Stars will now face the USA in the next round. Germany started well as they knew they had to win to avoid elimination. They should've taken the lead when Mesut Özil escaped the offside trap and came 1 on 1 with Ghana goalie Richard Kingson. His shot was right at the goal-keeper and was blocked by the African goalie leaving the Germans in despair.

At the other end, Asamoah Gyan came close to scoring when he headed the ball past Manuel Neuer only to see Philipp Lahm clear the ball off the line. An even contest developed and this continued in the second half. Only difference came on the hour mark when Özil placed a beautiful shot in the left hand corner out of Kingson's reach to give Germany the lead.

The match came to an uninspiring end but Germany will now prepare for a match that's very inspiring. Joachim Löw's men will face England on Sunday.

Netherlands grab win and Australia draw with Ghana

Two matches which weren't as exciting as I expected them to be, especially the Netherlands match, but I look forward to seeing Cameroon play Denmark later today.

Netherlands - Japan


In this match, the Dutch showed a bit more fire and movement than the last match they played against Denmark, we saw more movement from all the players as they kept possession like few can. Little by little we also saw Japan emerge a bit, but nothing truly substantial, Honda was isolated and had trouble with the Dutch back-line. It was quite the dead-lock in the first half, although they had the majority of the possession, the Netherlands were unable to create anything thanks to Japan's good defending all over the field.

In the second half, the Netherlands came out with more conviction, and in the 53rd, they found the goal which broke the stalemate. It was Inter Milan's star midfielder Wesley Sneijder who drove the ball at Kawashima who just couldn't hold the shot as it bounced into the back of his net.

The rest of the second half was Japan pilling on the pressure creating plenty of opportunities, but in the end, the Netherlands were able to hold them off and take another three points rather unconvincingly, but it's the results that matter.

Ghana - Australia


Things began well for Australia, they seemed very convinced and determined as they went out without their star player, Tim Cahill, because of his sending off last match against Germany. It was Harry Kewell who took Cahill's place up front, and it seemed like he had a very positive effect on the team. Australia scored in the 12th minute, Bresciano hit a free kick which Wigan's 4th goal-keeper Kingson couldn't contain, Holman followed up to give Australia the lead.

While things seemed all well for Australia, they suddenly turned into another terrible scenario in the 24th minute as Ghana had the ball in their penalty area. Then Harry Kewell who was on the Australian goal-line was hit by a shot, first on the chest and then on the arm, producing a direct red card for himself, and a penalty for Ghana.

The decision was harsh, but Roberto Rosetti the prestigious Italian referee had few doubts as the Australian players pointed at the large TV screen for proof that the arm was attached to the body. It was Gyan who converted the penalty, just like he did against Serbia to give his side the equalizer.

But the second half was different than what we might've expected, instead of opportunities for Ghana, we saw opportunities for a very determined Australia. Wilkshire was unable to score 1 on 1, and Kennedy had a great chance to score from a rebound but he somehow missed the ball.

The match ended 1-1 giving both sides a bitter-tasting point.

Ghana and Slovenia both grab wins

The World Cup continues, it's the third day of the tournament and there have been nine goals and two keeper errors. While these are some pretty negative statistics, it's very possible that the goals will start flowing in much more with the upcoming Germany vs Australia game.

Algeria - Slovenia


Algeria seemed to be controlling much of the first half, they created most of the chances with a dangerous Belhadj free kick which Handanovic had to tip over the bar and Halliche coming close with a header from a corner. Slovenia also had a good opportunity before the half with Birsa's long range dipping shot which Chaouchi managed to save.

It was in the second half that things took a turn for the worse for Algeria, in the 73rd minute, substitute Ghezzal blatantly handles the ball, earning himself a second yellow card which resulted in his expulsion. It was only five minutes later that Slovenia scored, Koren with a low weak curling shot from outside the box which snuck it's way past Chaouchi. The Algerian keeper making a mess of the shot with his hands held as if he wanted to catch the ball instead of push it out, the ball just bounced off of his arms and into the goal, winning the match for Slovenia

Right now, Group C is poised in a very delicate position for all the teams except Slovenia, the USA and England need to win their next games if they want to get out of this group without Slovenia stealing their spot.

Slovenia   (3)
England    (1)
USA        (1)
Algeria     (0)



Serbia - Ghana


This match was also decided because of a handball and a sending off, the game started slowly with both teams reluctant to push out of their half except for occasional counter-attacking bursts from Ghana. The game seemed truly deadlocked, while Serbia seemed slow in executing their ideas, Ghana's speed wasn't that useful against the tough Serbian defence. There was only one shot on target the first half, and Serbia only came close with long-range free-kicks, a very disappointing half.

In the second half, things only loosened up with a few subs, Lazovic and Kuzmanovic were brought on, providing a bit more speed and fight into the Serbia attack and midfield. Ghana also began to attack more convincingly, Asamoah Gyan hit the outside of the post with a good header as the Black Stars began to rise more up the field. In the 73th minute, Serbia's Lukovic gets his second yellow for a stupid foul, being sent off and allowing Ghana to press up the field more. But Serbia fought back, Lazovic slipped a neat ball through to Pantelic right in front of goal who whiffed it, leaving it for Krasic right behind him who rifles it right below Kingson bar, but the Ghana keeper did well to save the effort.

In the 83rd minute, Serbia's substitute Kuzmanovic unluckily handballs the ball in the area, resulting in a Ghana penalty which Gyan tucked away calmly. Ghana's scorer could've gotten another goal, Gyan was released 1 on 1 with the Serbia keeper and Gyan hit the inside of the post with a curling finish. It was Ghana's pace and determination which won the game, while Serbia was tough on defence, they were very slow and lethargic moving forward.

Ghana tops Group D with three important points and Germany and Australia still have to play later today, be sure to check back on SWU for a full match report on that game as well.

Egypt Conquer Third Consecutive African Cup of Nations

With all the hype of the Togo team attack, the African Cup of Nations in Angola was overshadowed by accusations and fear, but a fantastic final provided Egypt their third African Cup of Nations in a row, and their seventh of all time. 

After beating their ultimate rivals Algeria 4-0 in the semifinal, they went on to play a weakened Ghana side. After having lost their World Cup spot to Algeria in World Cup Qualifying, the Egyptian team put their heart and soul in the Africa's greatest tournament. It took 84 minutes of play before Egypt found the winner, but a beautiful fast paced one-two unleashed supersub Mohamed "Gedo" Nagui to slot in the winner. But Ghana made themselves be feared, after a free kick that barely cleared the crossbar by Asamoah Gyan, and Asamoah's long range effort stopped by Egypt goalie, Essam Al-Hadary, Egypt rolled their sleeves up and re-claimed their title as African Champions.

Ghana is U20 World Cup Winner

Ghana wins the 2009 Egypt Under 20 World Cup, Ghana is the first African team to win the trophy, and certainly will not be the last. Against a tough Brazil side, Ghana was able to defend well after losing Daniel Addo in the 37th minute because of a red card. Ghana held out until the penalty shootout, where goalkeeper Agyei brilliantly saved Teixeira's penalty, helping Ghana reach the famed trophy. At first Brazil dominated, but little by little, Ghana came out of their shell, and started to attack. As Ghana improved, Brazil became sloppier, and eventually both teams were fighting it out. Brazil missed some great chances, and the ones they took were stopped by Agyei, and although Brazil was more offensive overall, Ghana were able to claim the trophy with patience. Ghana's striker Adiyiah through great playing and goalscoring received two awards, Top Scorer, and the Competitions Best Player. The striker was Ghana's main attack force against Brazil, and scored a penalty in the shootout, helping his team be the first African team to win the U20 World Cup.