Serbia kept their dream of escaping the group a real shot in the arm with their surprise victory over Germany, whilst Australia’s brave draw with Ghana has given them a chance – albeit a slight one – of making an appearance in a second consecutive World Cup last-16.

The most intriguing game tomorrow will be the clash between current group leaders Ghana and the pre-tournament group favourites Germany.

The Germans shock loss to Serbia has put their progression in the tournament in real jeopardy and they must now beat the Ghanaians to guarantee their place in the knock out stages. On flip-side a draw for Ghana would see them through, although that may mean they would finish the group as runners-up and possible date with England (some would say that would be a good thing!).

Germany will be without veteran goalscorer Miroslav Klose following his sending off in the Serbia game, and coach Joachim Loew will be nervously hoping that his probable replacement Cacau will be able to add to his account following his strike against Australia in their opening fixture. Other changes are possible as the Germans look to recapture the form that saw them so comprehensively defeat the Aussies.

The Ghanaians have problems of their own, with rebel midfielder Sulley Muntari having yet another bust-up with coach Milovan Rajevac, and although the talented Inter Milan man has apologised to his national manager, he looks likely to remain on the bench. Star defender John Mensah has recovered from a calf problem and looks likely to come back in to the side who will no doubt be looking for a stronger performance from ‘keeper Richard Kingston following his mistake in their last game which gifted Australia’s Brett Holman with a tap-in.

With South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon already out of the competition, the Ghanaians will be desperate to ensure there is an African representative in the knock out stages. Whether they will be get anything out of the Germans remains to be seen, and you somewhat feel that they may have missed their chance with the stalemate in the previous game.

Should Ghana fail to get a satisfactory result from their clash with Germany the door will be left wide open for Serbia to earn a place in the last-16.

The win against the Germans was perhaps somewhat fortunate, with the foolish and ridiculous handball from Nemanja Vidic going unpunished following Lukas Podolski’s poor penalty, as well as the Germans having to play with ten men for nearly an hour.

What couldn’t be questioned however was their defensive solidarity, and once they had got the opening goal, it was very difficult for the Germans to break the Serbs down. A similar performance at the back against the Socceroos tomorrow should be enough to keep a clean sheet, but they will probably be looking for more from giant forward Nikola Zigic, who has flattered to deceive in front of goal so far in South Africa.

Hoping to end the Serbians knock-out chances will be the Australians who have a very slight chance of making it through themselves, although they will have to do so without the aid of Harry Kewell following his red in the Ghana draw, and will also be missing veteran centre half Craig Moore who has also picked up two yellows in the tournament’s first two games.

The Aussies will be boosted by the return of Tim Cahill from suspension, although how much impact he can have leading the line is questionable – particularly against such a strong and experienced defence, and coach Verbeek may chose to utilise Cahill in a familiar attacking midfield role and opt for the more physical presence of Josh Kennedy.

The Socceroos need to win tomorrow and rack up the goals to stand any chance of qualification, with at least a three goal swing required, with their humbling defeat to Germany coming back round to punish them.

The odds on the Aussies are slim, and Serbia look likely to progress, however it’s always perilous to right them off in any sport and only a fool would say they had no chance.

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Man-nipples aplenty on the Algerian side

So while everyone analyses Fabio Capello’s formation and team tactics, let’s face it, as much as we all want England to win, screaming at the TV just won’t help. Neither will booing.

Sunday’s match was like watching a dog chasing its tail, and so naturally my eyes also began to wander away from the ball. If you haven’t already realised, I’m a girl. So here’s an alternative take on England v Algeria.

Okay, first let’s get the tit-tat out the way. Was it only me who noticed the Algerian’s teams football kit? Say hello to nipples! And while their t-shirts were super tight, their shorts were so loose I was worried we might see something a little inappropriate. Saying that, it would have made the match more exciting!

I’ll admit, I am no footie-guru. The off side rule means nothing to me. But I was kitted out in all things England – my flag, mini vuvuzela, and even an England earring. There was an immense amount of pressure and hype surrounding the match, especially after England’s game against US wasn’t the team we were all expecting. But the feeling afterwards was pure frustration. The players might have been playing, but there was no teamwork. Manager Capello, who’s English is minimal, was going nuts from the sidelines. And it was only a matter of time before he started looking like Mr Bean.

On a serious point, if you only tell your team that they are playing hours before, nerves will kick in. (Note to Capello: don’t keep the guys in limbo)

So what does England need to do ahead of the game on Wednesday? Well, one thing is for sure – they need to score some goals. Get their mojo back. They are all top players, but if they don’t work together they will be coming home.   And then maybe Capello should re-think his reasoning into why the WAGs were banned from the World Cup. Maybe the guys need some TLC. All this testosterone doesn’t seem to be doing any good at the moment.

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French fans were left hoping for a bit more va-va-voom from Anelka et al following the first round bore-draw

Two games on…

11^th June

South Africa 1 – 1 Mexico

France 0 – 0 Uruguay

17^th June

South Africa 0 – 3 Uruguay

France 0 – 2 Mexico

Having witnessed an uninspiring first round of matches, most notably accompanied by plentiful criticism of the French, fans were much looking forward to a more direct, purposeful second set of fixtures. Indeed we saw this from Uruguay and Mexico, who brought steel to add to their South American flair and in doing so produced two accomplished displays which put them in pole position to qualify. With the two sides now facing off against each other in a game where the pressure is on neither to win, a draw would see France fail to progress in a stunning anti-climax. South Africa will sense that an urgent performance could see them end with a victory.

Uruguay stepped up their attacking game, with the introduction of Edinson Cavani of Palermo seeing Diego Forlan drop in to a deeper role, where he ran the game like a dictator – playing short one-twos in the midfield, peeling off the full backs and moving infield, generally finding the opposition questioning who should mark him. His conversion of a penalty which he waited all of 5 minutes for, was indicative of his temperament and confirmed him as the man of the match for his second successive game. Oscar Tabarez’s team set the tone for the next game in the group… and another precise, deserving victory was delivered.

Forlan Celebrates his first goal

Perhaps less surprising than any of the results was Mexico’s comprehensive deconstruction of France, who must surely now be regarded as the poorest team in the tournament. Franck Ribery was truly awful in an unnatural position, perhaps even worse than he was in the first game, which is saying a lot. Nicolas Anelka was ineffective and Sidney Govou once more completely anonymous. The complete lack of urgency in their play was merely an on-field demonstration of the malaise surrounding the French camp. Perhaps there really isn’t a better word to describe it. Much has been said of the lack of unity and how the players have not forged an understanding with Raymond Domenech, with the post-match inquisition has doing little to dispel this ill-feeling; “We had good intentions but it didn’t work.”

The longest-serving French coach of all time, a master of no tournament but thankfully, a master of stating the obvious.

In keeping with a desire to end on a positive note, the Mexicans stepped in just where the Irish would have wanted them to – playing with a verve and control that suggested they were the superior team and prepared for the game knowing it. Their confidence was refreshing and their determination to carry the performance through to the last minute, equally so. Giovani Dos Santos, so often a dreadful disappointment in English football, looking as if he were on an academy player mistakenly thrown in to the deep end; looked as if he were indeed still too young to be playing but doing so with a guile and precision that should earn him a look-in at another good club. Spare a mention for Carlos Vela, who was substituted in the first half with what looked like a tournament-ending hamstring injury. Although Guardado or Barrera could be brought in, Vela is a favourite of coach Javier Aguirre and would be missed.

The introduction of Hernandez though, was the turning point. Just as the French looked like gaining momentum, troubling the Mexicans with crosses, the ineffective Franco was brought off for the livelier, quicker ‘Chicarito,’ giving his team a focal point to trouble the suspect pairing of Gallas and Abidal, neither of whom seemed to know who should be marking the lone striker. He took his goal wonderfully, and showed enough clever touches and runs to surely warrant his selection for the final game. The introduction of Cautehemoc Blanco also provided the composure and probing final-pass that was required to transform good possession into effective possession. His run up and finish for the penalty was as wonderful as it was bizarre and it was a special moment for the veteran to have his name on the score sheet in a victory that will rightfully be celebrated not just in Mexico but back in Dublin too.

Substitute Hernandez makes the breakthrough for Mexico and Ireland.

Certainly we hope that this second round of matches will continue to be much like what we have seen in the past day and less like the overly cautious, too-nervous-about-our-quality football that we have been ‘treated’ to so far. What we do know so far is that Group A has given us excitement from the underdog, the tournament’s best player so far… and it’s worst team.

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Germany impressed the pundits in their opener against Australia

The first round of Group D fixtures gave us two winners, and those two sides will be looking to secure their progression to the knock out stages in their fixtures this Friday and Saturday afternoons. Group favourites Germany impressed many ‘expert’ pundits, and arguably gave the best performance of any side in the tournament’s first group games, whilst Ghana edged past Serbia thanks to a penalty in a tight and cautious game. Australia have a lot of work to do following their poor display against the Germans all of which must be done without star man Tim Cahill following his harsh sending off.

Looking at the Germany and Serbia clash on Friday, and it has to be said that the Germans again look likely to take the win – although perhaps not in quite the easy manner that saw them breeze past the Australians. Serbia proved against Ghana that they are strong and resolute at the back, but seemed to lack much finesse in the final third, and that would be there undoing over the 90 minutes, as the superior ‘Black Stars’ dominated the game, something they were aided in doing by the mindless red card received by Aleksandar Lukovic with quarter of an hour to go.

Serbia must be careful not to open up to much against the ruthless Germans, but will surely have to win the game to stand any realistic chance of getting out of the group.

Germany on the other hand will feel under less pressure to secure the win, but should be confident that their superior attacking outfit will prevail against the stoic Serbians. Memut Oezil – as predicted on Offthepost – made a telling impact on the game and will hope to turn in another top performance to secure a knock-out berth for the 15^th consecutive World Cup. Although they may be without important midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, they shouldn’t be too worried

about not getting anything from the game. With three of s

trikers scoring goals, coach Loew should be full of confidence

that his forwards have shaken off their poor domestic showing and have found there blistering international form quickly.

Ghana look well-placed to progress to the knockout stages

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash between Australia and Ghana, and it must be said that like the Serbians, it really is the last chance saloon for the Socceroos to get through to a second consecutive knock-out stages. The Ghanaians on the other hand are well placed to progress following their impressive performance against Serbia. With the pace and power of Gyan as well as he craft of Boatang they should have enough firepower to get goals against the Aussies, but should be careful at the back as they will doubtless come up against a more positive attacking performance than in their opening group game.

The Australians on the other hand will have to up their game to challenge the athletic Ghana side, and will have to defend with more organisation and class than they showed against Germany. Looking every bit the ageing side that they are, this tournament will be the swansong for many of this side, and they will surely want to go out with a bang. Starting the game with just Cahill up front was a mistake from Verbeek, as it negated the Everton midfielder’s greatest strength of arriving in the box late, but he will not have to make a decision on that front for this game, as Cahill is suspended following his red in the first game.

With no sides yet through to the knock-out stages, Germany will want to be the first side to qualify and a comprehensive win against Serbia would give them a good chance of going on and winning the group. Ghana will also fancy their chances against what look likes a poor Australian side, who themselves will be looking to regain some pride and give themselves a faint chance of getting out of the group.

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Gonzalo Higuaín finally found his scoring boots

Despite the win, Argentina undoubtedly had a frustrating start to the World Cup against Nigeria. Argentina went into this game looking to prove their right to be called one of the favourites.

Argentina went for a 4-3-3 formation again, but with perhaps a slightly more attacking slant, replacing Juan Sebastian Verón for Maxi Rodriguez.

South Korea, on the other hand, went defensive. They packed their defence right from the start, and it looked like Huh Jung-Moo’s side were to make damage limitation their number one priority.

Possession was solely in the hands of Argentina in the first part of the match. In fact it took no less than nine minutes for the South Koreans to have the ball in their possession while in the Argentina half. They improved shortly after, starting to pressure  Argentina down their right side – where left-back Gutierrez was once again playing out of position.

South Korea even opened the scoring on 16 minutes – too bad it was in Argentina’s favour. Messi’s well-delivered free kick deflected off the shin of Park Chu Young.

Argentina found the net for themselves after 32 minutes, when Gonzalo Higuaín, who was left wanting in the previous game against Nigeria, headed in from a Maxi cross and subsequent Burdisso flick-on.

From this point, South Korea lacked any sort of cohesion up front; but at the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong made a fantastic save. A rebound landed squarely at the feet of Argentinian midfielder Di Maria, but Jung did well to propel himself into the air and get a hand onto Di Maria’s top corner rocket.

Argentina’s work rate was remarkable, with the effort being led by none other than Carlos Tevez, of course. The South Korean defence looked scared of Man City striker, but absolutely terrified of the World Cup’s most hyped player Lionel Messi. Surprisingly, Messi wasn’t being man-marked for a large part of the game, and was allowed space to twist, turn and get a few shots in himself.

Goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong can only watch as an own goal off the shin of Park Chu-Young slips past him

Then, out of nowhere, a schoolboy error from Argentina full-back Demichellis puts the Koreans back in the game. He hesitates on a pass from goalkeeper Romero, allowing Lee Chung-Yong to steal the ball and cooly slip it past the keeper before the half time break.

The Koreans went into the second half believing they could cause an upset. Both teams looked fluid going forward, but South Korea had the first good attempt on goal following the restart, when Lee Young-Chung broke away to lay the ball into the path of Yeom Ki-Hyun. It was a near miss, however, as Yeom slapped the ball into the side netting.

Despite this second wind from South Korea, they could not stop Argentina extending the lead, when a Messi rebound fell to Higuaín for a simple tap in. That’s two for Higuaín and three for Argentina.

Higuaín didn’t need much longer to complete his hat-trick – three minutes, in fact. Kún Aguëro had come on a substitute for Tevez, and it proved to be a good move by coach Maradona; after a few inspired moves, Aguëro then provided the assist for Higuaín’s third, chipping a ball for the Real Madrid striker to head in while on a run. The replays showed that Higuaín was offside, but it wasn’t spotted by the officials and the goal was allowed to stand.

South Korea knew they had been beaten, and looked a spent force towards the end of the match. Only fitting, then, that the last kick of the game was almost another for Argentina – and what a beautiful goal it would have been. Sending the Korean full-back every which way with some silky close control, Aguëro curled a ball toward the top corner of the far post. Unfortunately it sailed just wide of the mark.

After a generally dull round round of matches and few goals for us to talk about (bar the Germany-Australia match), it looked as if this tournament had finally come alive.

Final score: Argentina 4 - 1 South Korea

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England goalkeeper Rob Green buries his head in disbelief after his mistake gives USA the equaliser

England had to settle for a disappointing point on their opening game of the World Cup as Robert Green’s inexplicable mistake gifted USA a well-earned point.

Steven Gerrard had given England the perfect start as he shot past Tim Howard following good work by Emile Heskey. The England captain collected a cute lay off from the Aston Villa striker and turned the ball into the corner of the goal with the outside of his boot with only four minutes on the clock.

England however, failed to seize the initiative and struggled to fashion many clear cut chances. They were relatively comfortable and their lack of urgency was punished when USA equalised before half time. Clint Dempsey’s tame effort from outside the area was allowed to squirm past Green’s gloves and into the net. It was a horrible moment for the West Ham goal keeper, but there was no doubt he was solely to blame.

Green did however partially make amends when he saved well from Jozy Altidore in the second half. The ex Hull City man’s rasping strike at the near post was well tipped onto the cross bar as Green attempted to atone for his mistake.

Fabio Capello made some big decisions before the game, but at the final whistle they had arguably all backfired. His decision to start James Milner on the left side of midfield was strange considering the Aston Villa winger hadn’t fully trained all week because of illness, and the position in which he has enjoyed the most success this season has been in the centre of midfield. It was even more baffling given Joe Cole’s availability, and the fact that Capello chose to replace Milner with Shaun Wright-Philips on the half hour mark once it was clear Milner was struggling with injury. The Man City winger was largely anonymous and missed his chance to impress.

England’s injury worries were further worsened when Ledley King was forced off at half time with a groin abductor injury and replaced by Jamie Carragher. Carragher had only recently come out of international retirement after being asked by Capello and his rustiness at this level was evident. The Liverpool centre back’s lack of speed was exposed time and time again as Altidore ran him ragged. It is in defence where England should have plenty of concern, with King ruled out against Algeria. Terry and Carragher look to be a pairing devoid of any pace, and will surely struggle against the top teams.

Heskey impressed in this match, but still failed to put the ball in the back of the net on a couple of occasions.

Upfront, Emile Heskey got the nod to start alongside Wayne Rooney and he partially justified his inclusion with a typically busy display early on. He won numerous flick ons and assisted Gerrard’s goal with an intelligent pass. However, he continued to provide his critics with ammunition as he missed a guilt-edged chance on 52 minues. Aaron Lennon played a wonderful through-ball, but Heskey shot tamely straight at Howard. There is no doubt that Heskey is an important part of Capello’s tactical set up, with the way his hustle and bustle style helps to take the burden off Wayne Rooney. However, it remains to be seen whether his place in the team can be justified if he continues to display such a lack of confidence in front of goal. Some will now press for Peter Crouch’s inclusion for Friday, with the Spurs striker having an enviable strike rate for England.

Capello has a lot of thinking to do before England’s crucial must-win game on Friday. Rob Green will almost certainly be axed after his mistake and there will be those who want the talented but inexperienced Joe Hart to start in goal. Questions marks about who should partner Rooney up front, and the left midfield problem will continue to surface.

England’s World Cup adventure has begun, albeit in a tame and anti-climactic fashion. However people needn’t worry; England drew their first game against Uruguay in 1966 whilst Italy drew against USA 1-1 in the group stages in 2006. Football is coming home.

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While communication on the pitch is undoubtedly important, we must remember that football matches are noisy events. Decades ago, football matches in England were regularly set to a sound track of rattles and tickers. Today, drums lead the support when England play at Wembley, and repetitive (and often highly abusive) chants are a common part of going to see you favourite club. Surely, thousands of people hurling abuse at you is going to be far more detrimental to your on-pitch performance than a bunch of wind instruments?

Opposition to the vuvuzela is strong, and the South African authorities are considering to ban them before the tournament is over. In my humble opinion, this would be a shame, as they are a beacon of South African footballing culture, and if we take that away, then we lose some of the colour and atmosphere that a World Cup on any other continent could not bring.

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This game was always going to be a bit special for Argentina coach Diego Maradona. His final ever international match was against Nigeria in the 1994 World Cup, before he failed a drug test and was banned from the tournament. Now, he’s facing the Super Eagles in his first ever World Cup match as a manager, and he has unfinished business to take care of.

Maradona’s favoured 4-4-2 setup was criticised by his own star men Messi and Tévez, so the World Cup legend decided to take a gamble, playing his team in a formation that they had not tried before, but would accomodate Messi and Tévez.

Sporting the facial hair of a spaghetti western villain, the Argentina coach opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Tévez on the right and Messi playing just behind target man Higuaín. A number of players were playing out of their usual position, most notably Jonás Gutierrez, who took up the right back despite normally residing on the left for Newcastle.

Not that the Nigeria formation was without its surprises, however. The classic 4-4-2 was unusual for Lars Lagerbäck’s side, with Obasi playing on the left wing as opposed to his more familiar spot on the right.

Messi absolutely ran riot from start to finish. He terrorised the Nigeria defence with his one-two passes (often involving Véron, who also had a brilliant game) and slick dribbling around the penalty box. He looked like he really wanted to score – and prove his critics wrong, who questioned his comparatively poor performance in Argentina’s qualifying campaign, compared to that for Barcelona, even if by his own monumental standards. The man who coach Maradona humbly described as “my own Maradona” tried relently to get the ball in the back of the net, however this game saw him do just about everything else but that.

Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín also repeatedly failed to hit the net. He missed a number of chances that he really should have put away, especially given his form this season for the Spanish club.

"El Diego" can't resist having a little kickabout on the touch line

One man who did find the net, however, was Olmpique Marseille and former Manchester United full-back Gabriel Heinze, and he did it just six minutes from kick-off. He was left completely unmarked during an Argentina free-kick from near the corner spot, and he headed home to punish the oppositions early.

Nigeria’s marking was generally awful, despite having some big players on their side. Argentina, on the other hand, were fluid on the attack, and frequently posed problems for the Nigeria defence. Considering all the hype surrounding Messi, it was surprising that they laid off him, allowing him to trouble the keeper with a few well-placed shots curling shots.

Nigeria’s keeper Enyeama was the only thing preventing his side the embarrassment of much bigger scoreline. He played an absolutely brilliant match, stopping one-on-ones and reaching out to make some difficult saves. There was a bit of worry for the Nigeria coach 23 minutes in, as his best performer went down in pain, but luckily for his side he was able to continue shortly after.

For all of Argentina’s brilliance going forward, however, they were predictably disorganised at the back. Gutierrez looked particularly uncomfortable, having to play out of his normal position. Nigeria should have capitalised on this, but the fact is they just weren’t getting enough men forward to take advantage of Argentina’s weakness in defence.

Nigeria finally stepped up a gear toward the end of the match, with both sides trying to make something out of the quick counter-attack. Uche should have buried a volley from Yakubu’s cross, but tipped it over.

None of the Nigeria players, bar Yukubu, seemed to have any sort of first touch and, added to their poor marking and inability to pressure their opponents’ defence for much of the game, they were simply outclassed in this match. Argentina will have to sort their defence out, however, if they’re to go all the way in this competition.

Final result: Argentina 1 – 0 Nigeria

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Greece were on the whole unimpressive in their opening game against South Korea, but will be thanking Zeus they didn’t suffer a heavier defeat.

South Korea lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation, making it their priority not to concede in their opening match of the tournament.

Greece went into the game having yet to score in a World Cup match, and seeing as they started with three up front, it looked like the Euro 2004 winners were aiming to make history.

Just two minutes in, Greece should have opened the scoring. Left wing back Torosidis popped a shot over that he really should have put away – not least because South Korea full back Lee Jung-Soo managed to tap a goal in from the free kick, giving his side the lead just four mintes later.

The early lead seemed to set the South Koreans on fire, while having a less fortunate effect on the Greeks, whose chaotic defence was only just managing to hang on against the Koreans who went at them like rabid dogs. Greece, as such, failed to hold on to the ball for much of the match, struggling to deal with the South Koreans pushing higher and higher up the pitch.

South Korea should have got their second after 27 minutes, when a through ball toPark Chu Young left the striker with only the keeper to beat – however Alexandros Tzorvas did well to get a foot on it and keep his side hanging on.

South Korea almost gifted their opponents the equaliser just before the break, when goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong made a hash of a a high cross, almost dropping the ball at the feet of Greek striker Gekas.

Park Ji-Sung celebrates his goal against Greece

Not long into the second half, South Korea got another goal when centre-back Vyntras’s mistake let captain Park Ji-Sung through. The Manchester United winger held off two defenders and slid the ball in to the back of the net nicely.

They should have made it a third just minutes later, however, as Park Chu-Young headed the ball over from point blank range.

Greece finally decided they had to step up their game, and put the pressure on their opponents for a short time. They even protested for a penalty, claiming that Lee Young-Pyo handled the ball in his own box – the replay shows it hit his chest, and the linesman flag was already up, anyway.

Still trailing and being out-performed in the final minutes, Greece switched to a 4-4-2 to try and build their attack through the wings. They even throw a few extra men forward, but it’s not enough to snatch their first ever World Cup goal as a consolation.

Final score:
South Korea 2 – 0 Greece

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The World Champions are the strong favourites to top this group and are expected to cause some heartbreak in the knockout stages. But even as World Champions they aren’t favourites to reach the final in let alone reclaim their title. How far and brightly will their 2010 campaign blaze?

Paraguay

Paraguay considered favourites to progress to the knockout phase alongside Italy. They saw off both Brazil and Argentina to seal their place at the summer tournament, with two games to spare, during their qualifying campaign. Are their impressive qualifying performances enough to strike fear into the hearts of Group F?

Slovakia

Although they pose little threat to Italy and Paraguay, Slovakia are still expected to outperform New Zealand. But how will they perform against the group favourites?

New Zealand

They’re not expected to move higher than the foot of the table in Group F. Surely they deserve some respect for making it to the greatest stage in the footballing world which some of their higher rated counterparts failed to reach, or are they just cannon fodder for their group mates?

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