Brazil Cruise, England Goalless, and Italy's Match Cancelled

Pato celebrating his third goal in three games for Brazil

I did a post previewing the upcoming international action, focussing in on three nations with important fixtures. The three countries I chose to focus in on were Brazil, Italy, and England, and all three had very different results in their international fixtures.

Brazil Cruise with Pato the star


Brazil played against Ukraine, and Mano Menezes's side managed a comfortable 2-0 win. And it's Pato who should grab the headlines with his great goal, and his great form for the Selecao, three goals in his past three matches. I wrote up a more detailed article at Soccerlens talking about the young AC Milan forward and his great form which you can read here. The other goal was scored by Dani Alves who finished off a cross at the back post with a great volley, but now the big question arises, can Brazil keep up their good form through qualification and into the 2014 World Cup which they'll be hosting? Share your comments about this below!

Zambrotta avoiding flares thrown onto the field

Italy have match cancelled due to Serbian fan trouble


Italy played two matches this international break, and it'll be the latter one which was supposed to take place against Serbia which will grab most of the headlines. Their first match away against Northern Ireland ended in a relatively disappointing 0-0 draw (if you want a good match report, click here), and their second which was supposed to be at home against Serbia didn't take place.

The reason? Well, it was due to Serbian fans causing trouble and throwing flares onto the field, towards players, and into sections of the Italian crowd. The kick off was delayed by about 35 minutes, and after about 6 minutes of playing time, the Scottish referee Craig Thomson cancelled the match due to the continuing disruptions.

Now the big question here is, what will UEFA do about this? If you're interested in finding out what'll happen, and want more info regarding this cancelled match, check this out. And what are your thoughts regarding this matter? Should the match be an automatic 3-0 win to Italy? Or should they replay it without away fans? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

Crouch missed a great opportunity to score...

England goalless against Montenegro


England were slightly disappointing in their match, Fabio Capello's side was unable to score a goal at home against Montenegro, and they now find themselves second in the group, three points behind Montenegro.

England were clumsy, and unable to break down the tough Montenegro side which hit Joe Hart's crossbar from a header. Definetely a bad result for England, and if you want a great match report, check this one out from the Guardian. So will England be able to pick up their form and qualify directly? Or will they end up second best to Montenegro? Share your comments below!

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.

Germany lose 1-0 to Serbia with Klose sent off

It's interesting to see the contrast between the Germany which lost 1-0 to Serbia, and the Germany which demolished Australia 4-0 . They're actually relatively similar except with the difference of Klose being sent off, and the other match of this group between Ghana and Australia will be played tomorrow.

Germany - Serbia


It's remarkable the upsets that a World Cup brings, first we almost saw Brazil unable to score against DPR Korea, then we see Spain lose to Switzerland, and today we saw Serbia scrape out a win with plenty of luck.It started just like the Australia game, Germany held possession as Serbia tried to defend fiercely and quickly counter-attack with the likes of speedy Krasic.

Germany found it difficult to pierce Serbia, and they played much more sloppily than they did against Australia with plenty of passes going just wide to be intercepted by a Serbian player. But little by little Germany got into their stride, as Ozil spread passes and created a couple of chances, but nothing too great.

Eventually the big moment came, Miroslav Klose nipped Stankovic from behind got a second yellow card, and therefore a red card. A harsh decision which saw Germany's main striker sent off in the 37th minute, and just a minute later Serbia scored with Jovanovic. Krasic's good cross reached Zigic who headed it down for Jovanovic to volley in at close range for the ultimate upset goal. Then at the end of the first half in a penalty area scrap, Sami Khedira rockets the ball at the crossbar as the goalie was way off of his line, Muller's bicycle kick to follow up and it was blocked off of the line from a Serbian defender.

After the half, Germany released itself on Serbia, putting everything into getting the two goals necessary for the win. Vidic gave away a penalty with an unnecessary handball,  a replica of the handball by Kuzmanovic against Ghana which lost them that game. Podolski stepped up to take the penalty but had it saved by Stojkovic, who celebrated with his teammates.

And although Germany pushed and pushed, Serbia came closest with Zigic scraping the top of the bar with a header. It just wasn't Germany's game as Serbia celebrate their chance of advancing to the next round with a fantastic upset.

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.