2010 World Cup: Day of Shock, Controversy, and Disappointment in South Africa

Friday was a day to remember for all six nations involved in games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In a day where poor refereeing was rampant across South Africa, there was still plenty of excitement and disappointment for all the parties involved.

The early kickoff was between Germany and Serbia. Almost everyone expected the Germans to win after their 4-0 thrashing of Australia. Serbia had been overlooked by the media and were not expected to do much after their 1-0 defeat to Ghana.

Well, that was certainly not the case, and referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco had something to say about the pace of the game as well.

In ten minutes, starting with Miroslav Klose in the 12th minute, four players were booked by Undiano. After it seemed like the ref let the teams play for a bit, Philipp Lahm was given a yellow in the 32nd, and then came the big blow, Klose's second yellow in the 36th, which eventually led to Milan Jovanovic's goal to put the Serbs up 1-0.

The action seemed to quiet down at the start of the second half, then came Nemanja Vidic's challenge on Lukas Podolski in the box that ended up in a yellow for the Serbian defender and Podolski lining up for a penalty kick.

That penalty kick was poorly struck and was saved by Vladimir Stojkovic. The Germans could not have asked for a better chance to tie the game, but Podolski could not deliver and leaves Group D in Ghana's hands with a win against Australia tomorrow.

At Ellis Park in Johannesburg, the U.S. were looking to get off to a good start against Slovenia, but that was the complete opposite of what actually happened. A wide open Valter Birsa drilled the ball into the back of the net in the 13th minute and put the whole American team and supporters into shock mode.

After two good chances, one off a Jose Torres free kick and the other a pass in front of goal that Landon Donovan barely missed, the Slovenians came back on the counter and scored goal number two thanks to Zlatan Ljubijankic.

The second half saw a completely different U.S. team, with Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber being subbed in for Torres and Robbie Findley. Within two minutes, Landon Donovan got free on the right side and scored an amazing goal past the fearful looking Samir Handanovic.

After a furious attack from the Americans and some threatening counters by Slovenia, the breakthrough the Americans were looking for came in the form of Michael Bradley in the 82nd minute with the game-tying goal and the Americans were not done.

Three minutes after Bradley's goal, Donovan lined up for a free kick, swung it in, and Edu found the back of the net and the U.S. thought they had won the game. But, referee Koman Coulibaly saw something that caused him to blow the whistle and wave off Edu's goal. Replays showed that there was no offside and all the fouling was committed by Slovenia, but the decision was made and the Americans were left with a draw that left them with mixed feelings.

Those feelings got a lot better when they saw the end result of the England-Algeria match.

Thankfully, the officiating in this match was better. Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov let both teams play and it was a good match. Algeria's defense stepped up to the plate with clearances in crucial situations.

England's offense looked out of sync with Wayne Rooney yet again not being able to find space and get decent scoring chances. No matter who Fabio Capello put into the game alongside Rooney, whether it be Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe, or Peter Crouch, none of them were able to be effective.

Another struggle for England will be who ends up at center back alongside John Terry with Jamie Carragher receiving his second yellow of the tournament, which makes him ineligible for Wednesday's game with Slovenia. Capello now gets to choose from the oft-injured Ledley King, or the internationally inexperienced pair of Matthew Upson and Matthew Dawson.

Friday provided a new perspective in how all six teams are seen. Germany is not invincible, Serbia is a strong team, Slovenia is for real, USA has heart, England needs help, and Algeria is stubborn.