FIFA World Cup 2010 : Group C & D Analysis

This World Cup could have started out a little better. The first round of the group stages was sluggish, with teams playing quite defensively. There very too many draws and some matches were extremely boring. Everybody was concentrating more on the vuvuzelas and the Jabulani ball.

The second round of matches brought with it more attacking football. Teams were going for the result to book a berth in the round of 16. The quality of football increased steeply and in the process brought with it more goals.

And if the second round of matches were great, the matches of the third round so far have been absolutely amazing.

Today was a day full of drama, we saw jubilation walking hand in hand with agony, ecstasy on side of the field and anguish on the other side. 

Group C and Group D were in action today. Group C saw England take on Slovenia and USA take on Algeria. The Germans took on Ghana and Australia faced Serbia in the Group D fixtures. All the teams had a possibility of making it to the round of 16 which made the fixtures even more interesting.

GROUP C

ENGLAND VS SLOVENIA

England had to win this to make it through to the next round. After below par  performances in their first two games and with rumors of discord between players, the English supporters were very anxious about their team. 

Slovenia were the smallest nation at this World Cup. But that didn't stop them from being at the top of Group C coming into this match. A draw would have seen them through to the next round.

Fabio Capello made a few changes in his side bringing on Upson, Defoe and Milner at the expense of Carragher (who was suspended), Heskey and Lennon. England was controlling the possesion, and the changes made were paying off.

Milner's performance surpassed that of Lennon, and Defoe's mobility was superior to Heskey's. To prove that point both of them combined in the 23rd minute, with Defore giving England it's first goal of the tournament, scoring from Milner's cross.

England then pushed on, barely giving Slovenia a sniff of the ball. Steven Gerrard nearly scored their second goal but couldn't put it past Handanovic. Wayne Rooney also had a great, chance but Handanovic made the faintest of touch to deflect to ball into the post.

England started to sit deep after the hour mark and Slovenia started to press. Their best chance of the match came in the 66th minute when the had three close range shots at the England goal. After coming up short on all three. England became defensive after that and the match ended at 1-0.

USA VS ALGERIA

This was the match of the tournament so far. Not in terms of the quality of football but in terms of sheer drama.

USA started the match with 2 points and needed a win to secure their place in the next round. Algeria had a point in their pocket and needed a win to have any chance of qualifying.

Algeria started more positively and had a chance to take the lead at the 6th minute. yBut Djebbour slamed the ball into the bar. USA then started to step it up a notch and had a couple of good chances, but couldn't convert.

Dempsey's had a disallowed goal from being called offside and the half ended 0-0. The replays suggested the lineman had made the worng call.

USA dominated in the start of the second half. Dempsey had two chances, made two attempts, and missed both. They were back to square one.

Algeria were looking good on the counter but froze when it came to finishing. They just couldn't score goals. After countless missed opportunities by both teams the score still remained 0-0 at end of the 90th minute with 4 minutes of added time left.

Donovan, Altidore and Dempsey were ready to do work. Donovan started the break, passing the ball to Altidore. Altidore, from the right flank, crossed the ball to Dempsey whose shot was saved by the keeper, with the rebound going to Donovan who thrashed it in. Their supporters erupted in a cry of euphoria and with a 1-0 win, USA found themselves at the top of Group c.

GROUP D

GERMANY VS GHANA

Germany, who had started the World Cup with the thrashing of Australia were now facing the prospect of not making it to the next round. They needed a win to get through.

Ghana started this match at the top of the group table and a draw would see them through to the knockout round. For the first time in the World Cup, we saw two brothers (step-brothers) playing against each other, Kevin-Prince Boateng for Ghana and Jeromy Boateng for Germany.

Germany started commandingly with young players like Ozil and Muellar trying to break Ghana's defense. Ozil had a chance to score when he broke the offside trap, but couldn't beat Kingson.

Ghana showed they weren't intimidated and used their pace and physical strength to counter Germany's skill and technique. The game opened up nicely and Ghana created more chances, but fell short in scoring. Ghana created more chances than the Germans, but failed to find the back of the net.

Lahm defended brilliantly throughout the match and kept Germany in the lead. Gyan and Ayew got many chances to score for Ghana, but couldn't convert any of them.

Ozil finally scored from 20 yards out giving Germany the lead. Though Ghana's defense began to show up, it was too late. The game ended at 1-0.

AUSTRALIA VS. SERBIA

Australia with only a point and a goal difference of -4 needed to win with a huge margin to even have the slightest chance of qualifying.

Serbia were on a high after beating Germany in their previous match and were looking to capitalize on that. They needed at least a draw to qualify for the next round, provided Germany beat Ghana in the other match of the group.

Serbia completely dominated the first half. Krasic's pace seemed too much for the Aussie defense, yet he failed to convert it into points. Schwarzer had to make a couple of brilliant saves too keep Australia in the match.

Serbia did everything right in the first half except score a goal.

The second half started slowly but was brought to life when Cahill scored from a header, followed by Holman scoring from 30 yards out.

With Ghana losing in the other match, Australia needed two more goals to qualify and Serbia also needed two goals to qualify.

All hell broke loose.

Serbia completely lost their composure. They were shooting from way outside the box and appeared to have completely cracked. The game ended 2-1, Australia winning their first match of the tournament but bowing out to Ghana on goal difference.

USA will face Ghana in the Round of 16 and England will have a face-off with Germany, an encounter England would have loved to postpone.

PLAYER OF THE DAY

The players who impressed the most today were Terry, Bradley, Ozil and Lahm. But the one player who stood out was Milner. Agreed, he had a shaky start but he was the one who made the difference for England.

Apart from his assist, he worked tirelessly on the right flank and troubled the Slovenian defense with his accurate crosses. He was equally effective while defending, covering for Johnson and going after loose balls. 

He was much less like Lennon or Wright-Phillips and much more like Beckham, which is exactly what England needed.

MOMENT OF THE DAY

The moment of the day surely had to be when Donovan scored the winner for USA. They were by far the best team of the group and deserved to be at the top.

Though they did lose their composure as the clock ticked, USA finally broke the Algerian defense. And who better to do it than Landon Donovan, who is frequently hailed to be America's greatest footballer.

Even a neutral like me had to give out a cry of joy along with the millions of others.