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Serbia 0–1 Ghana: Asamoah Gyan Penalty Gifts Black Stars Win

The Black Stars became the first African team to win a World Cup finals match on African soil, defeating the Beli Orlovi...

The opening game of World Cup Group D was dramatically won by Ghana, who scored a late penalty to punish a Serbia side whose lack of discipline was ultimately decisive.

Though the first half failed to produce any goals, there were chances at either end. Despite early intent from Serbia, it was the Black Stars who looked the more likely team to open the scoring. After the interval, the pattern of the game remained the same until Aleksandar Lukovic was dismissed for a second booking, inviting Ghana to really go for the jugular late on. And the Africans aimed the decisive blow from the penalty spot in the closing stages of the game when Asamoah Gyan thumped high into the net.

It was an inauspicious start for the Ghanaians, but they would soon enjoy efforts of their own through a spectacular long-range volley from Anthony Annan and a free kick hit wastefully over the top by Asamoah Gyan. With quarter of an hour gone, a fierce driven centre from Kwadwo Asamoah had to be blocked away from the six-yard box by Nikola Zigic following a corner kick, continuing the upbeat and open beginning in Pretoria.

The African side were the more threatening in the early stages, making hay down the left hand flank. Kevin-Price Boateng broke positively into that area of the field with 20 minutes on the clock before delivering right footed towards Gyan, who just failed to get a decisive touch to the ball.

By no means were Ghana dominating, despite their greater number of chances, but Serbia were allowing openings to pass them by, with the control of Pantelic particularly disappointing at crucial moments. Nevertheless, lanky forward Zigic was posing an unusual problem for the Black Stars’ defence, and after the Birmingham City man had drawn a free kick on the edge of the box, Aleksandar Kolarov bent an effort just wide.

Some of the game’s early effervescence had died by this stage, with the Black Stars quick to stifle Serbia by building two walls of four when they ceded possession. Aside from an awkward drive from Dejan Stankovic, which Kingson gathered at the second attempt, the more experienced Europeans were successfully tethered prior to the interval.

After the break, Jovanovic jinked his way into the box but chose poorly when faced with the option to shoot or pass. The Liverpool-bound attacker could have drilled across the front of the goal but instead slashed wide of the near post.

Typically, Ghana responded. Tagoe’s fine centre was headed wide by Ayew, who should have found the net unmarked six yards from the target, before the same player sliced past from outside the box after showing superb fighting spirit to battle through two challenges.

A long throw from John Pantsil was then attacked brilliantly by Asamoah Gyan, who rose above Nemanja Vidic to graze the post with a near post header. Moments later, Tagoe directed an Ayew cross wide.

Amidst this plethora of opportunities to the Ghanaians, Serbia also created their best opening. Pantelic gathered the ball on the left touchline before delivering perfectly to Zigic, who failed to make proper contact with the ball, allowing the opening to pass.

With quarter of an hour remaining, Aleksandar Lukovic, who had enjoyed a strong game in the heart of the defence, was guilty of a tug in the centre of the park while Ghana appeared to be going nowhere and was promptly shown a second yellow card, having been cautioned ten minutes after the restart.

Serbia understandably packed their defence thereafter, yet counter-intuitively looked dangerous all of a sudden. Danko Lazovic’s tenacity seemingly setup Pantelic for a simple finish from 12 yards, but the forward mishit his shot totally. Still, the ball fell kindly for Krasic, whose firm shot was not accurate enough to beat Kingson.

Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic would both send meaningful efforts off target in the following moments, but their defensive duties were of primary importance at this stage.

These efforts came from sporadic raids forwards by the Serbians, and their defence was under pressure from Ghana’s relentless attack. A moment of madness from Zdravko Kuzmanovic cost the Europeans as he inexplicably handled a long cross in the box. From the penalty spot, Gyan cracked a shot into the top left hand corner.

Kuzmanovic had a shot at immediate redemption but leaned back and shot hopelessly over from the edge of the penalty box, consigning Serbia to an opening game loss, though it could have been heavier as Gyan struck the post in stoppage time.

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Germany 4-0 Australia

The third place finishers from the 2006 World Cup, Germany, kicked off their 2010 Group Stage with an impressive 4-0 win over Australia.

Overall, it was a solid performance throughout the German side as they had goals from four different players and kept a clean sheet. The goals were scored by Podoski in the 8th minute, Klose in the 26th minute, Muller in the 67th minute, and Cacau in the 70th minute.

The win puts Germany in great shape to win Group D while Australia’s chances are in trouble. Australia will be without Tim Cahill who was given a red card in the 56th minute.

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Uruguay 0 France 0

Raymond Domenech was unrepentant over his decision to drop Florent Malouda from the French starting line-up, despite seeing the 1998 world champions held to a potentially costly draw against Uruguay in Cape Town.

Malouda, whose 15 goals in all competitions proved influential in Chelsea’s double success last season, was reportedly axed by Domenech following a row in training on Thursday.

The midfielder, apparently unimpressed at plans for him to play a defensive role behind the Bordeaux playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, ended training with Domenech urging captain Patrice Evra to issue a warning over his ‘aggression’ on the practice pitch.

With rumours rife of discontent within the France camp since their arrival in South Africa, yet more friction was the last thing Domenech would have wanted in the build-up to his team’s Group A opener.

But with Uruguay, reduced to 10 men following the second-half dismissal of substitute Nicolas Lodeiro following a dangerous challenge on Bacary Sagna, frustrating the French, Domenech insisted he had no regrets over his surprise decision to omit Malouda.

Domenech said: “There are 23 players and they are all involved, but I made a choice tonight and Malouda didn’t disappoint me with what he did when he came on.

“In the final 15 minutes, we saw a good performance from him. A player that I bring onto the pitch 15 minutes before the end is one I bring on because I believe he will contribute something.

“But there are 23 players and that’s all that concerns for me. I don’t have anything to say about anything else.”

As a man who has previously confessed to allowing his teams selections to be influenced by astrology - with Robert Pires paying the price for being a Scorpio - it is perhaps no surprise that Domenech has been battling to suppress rumbling discord within his squad.

Rumours emanating from their Knysna base suggested that senior players were bent on forcing Domenech to include Thierry Henry in his starting line-up, while the coach continued to face criticism after omitting Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema from his squad in favour of the former Liverpool forward Djibril Cisse.

Domenech is stubbornly single-minded, but dropping a player who enjoyed the best campaign of his career last term in favour Abou Diaby, a defensive midfielder, was a strange move against opponents whose game is based around negating the opposition.

France dominated possession in the first-half, though, with winger Franck Ribery making easy work of the Uruguay right-back Mauricio Victorino.

Only Sidney Govou will know how he failed to hit the target from six-yards after Ribery had crossed following a waltz past his marker.

Uruguay are clearly no longer the force that saw the tiny South American nation lift the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, but Diego Forlan at least displayed some world-class.

The 31-year-old is a wholly different player from the youngster who almost sank without trace at Manchester United. Whenever he received the ball, he had more time and space than any of his team-mates, but they were simply not on his wavelength.

The last time these two countries met in the World Cup, they played out a dismal 0-0 draw in Busan in 2002 prior to both being eliminated at the group stage.

And as they continued to toil away at the start of the second-half, the prospect of another stalemate grew with every poor pass or bad touch.

Too many players on the French side were failing to justify their lofty reputations. Ribery started brightly but faded, while Nicolas Anelka, Jeremy Toulalan and Gourcuff could not even claim that dubious distinction.

France were in need of a helping hand from the bench, but Henry continued to be overlooked by Domenech and Anelka was left to plough on in his lone forward role.

But for Forlan shooting wide from 12 yards on 73 minutes after being teed up by Luis Suarez, La Celeste could have emerged with the victory that would have taken them to the top of the group.

With a clash against the hosts South Africa next up for Uruguay, however, coach Oscar Tabarez conceded that his team must claim a victory in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Tabarez said: “Once we had the player sent off, our priority was just to see out the game and make sure we came away with a point.

“But with all the teams in the group drawing today, we know that we now have to win our next game against South Africa.”

The French simply have to find their way to goal and heal the rifts within the camp, but the former might be more straightforward than the latter.

Domenech said: “We didn’t finish as well as we should have done, so it’s frustrating not to have won the match.

“I need to think about my team, but we need to take stock and take our time.”

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England v USA: match preview

Read a full match preview of the World Cup 2010 Group C game between England and USA at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenberg on Saturday June 12 2010, kick-off 17.30 BST.

Group C
England v USA
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Kick-off: Sat June 12, 7.30pm BST.
TV: ITV1 7pm, ITV HD 7pm

England are without Gareth Barry through injury for their opening game, while Ledley King will replace Rio Ferdinand, ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

The identities of Fabio Capello’s first choice goalkeeper and front-line striker remain shrouded in doubt, though David James seems out of contention for the former position.

The USA are rather more settled, with Jozy Altidore – a confirmed starter after just one goal in his season at Hull - likely to replace Robbie Findlay, despite the latter’s speed, after Edson Buddle seemed to cement his place in the line-up by scoring twice in last week’s warm-up game with Australia.

Touchline duel

Fabio Capello v Bob Bradley: On paper, the former Chicago Fire coach should not stand a chance of outwitting the Italian, one of the most decorated coaches in world football. Bradley, though, has grown into his role since replacing Bruce Arena – initially on an interim basis – in 2006, despite the US Soccer Federation only appointing him after talks with Jurgen Klinsmann stalled.

The United States’ impressive showing in last summer’s Confederations Cup, particularly, buffed Bradley’s reputation as a fine motivator.

Key clash

Wayne Rooney v Jay DeMerit: DeMerit finished his season leaving Watford, where he had spent the last six years of his career, and Rooney now faces the task of getting the better of a defender hoping a good World Cup will earn him a move to a new club.

Rooney will certainly fancy his chances, of course, although DeMerit’s work will no doubt be shared by the equally uncompromising US national captain, Carlos Bocanegra, formerly of Fulham.

Tactical Battle

Capello’s plans for the game have been hampered by Gareth Barry’s injury troubles, meaning the Italian is likely to field a central midfield pairing of Steven Gerrard, his third captain in four months, and Frank Lampard.

If the United States are to repeat their remarkable win against England in the 1950 tournament, they must hope that Michael Bradley, the coach’s son, can exploit any weakness in the highly-rated pair’s understanding.

What they said

Fabio Capello: “England are ready for this match. The first game is always hard because expectation levels are really big. But we have been here eight days, training has gone very well and we are confident. We know the expectation levels of the fans are really good. But I am sure the team can reach the final.”

Bob Bradley: “I would concede stopping [Wayne] Rooney is the key to our chances of success. He is such an important player in their team. He comes here off a super season. Our ability to keep track of him and make life hard for him is a key part of us making sure we can win.”

Teams

England (4-4-2): Hart; Johnson, King, Terry, A Cole; Lennon, Gerrard, Lampard, J Cole; Rooney, Crouch
USA (4-4-2): Howard; Spector, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Cherundolo; Dempsey, Bradley, Torres, Donovan; Altidore, Buddl
Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)

Previous meetings

P9: England 7, Draws 0, USA 2

1950 (Belo Horizonte, WC): England 0 USA 1
1953 (New York, friendly): USA 3 England 6
1959 (Los Angeles, friendly): USA 1 England 8
1964 (New York, friendly): USA 0 England 10
1985 (Los Angeles, friendly): USA 0 England 5
1993 (Boston, friendly): USA 2 England 0
1994 (London, friendly): England 2 USA 0
2005 (Chicago, friendly): USA 1 England 2
2008 (London, friendly): England 2 USA 0

Fact: England have lost just one of their last eight opening World Cup fixtures – against Portugal in 1986. Of the other seven, England have won four and drawn three.

Prediction: USA will be up for it, England should be stronger, but they rarely start well, so this has draw written all over it.

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West Ham continue pursuit of Joe Cole and Thierry Henry

West Ham have insisted that they had not given up hope of bringing Joe Cole and Thierry Henry to the club. David Gold, the club’s co-chairman, has targeted Cole after Chelsea decided not to extend the former West Ham midfielder’s stay.

While Arsenal look to be favourites to sign Cole, Gold insisted he would not interrupt Cole’s England preparations. He said: “We, as much as anyone, want England to do well so there’s absolutely no chance of us talking to Joe during the World Cup. After that, it’s a different matter.”

But he added: “When it comes to big transfers we don’t like to leave any stone unturned. The chance of getting Cole is 10-1. We probably won’t get him but the offer is still there.”

West Ham will also pursue Barcelona striker Henry, with Gold adding: “There is the same chance of Henry coming but we will try.”

One former Premier League played who could return to England is Uruguay’s Diego Forlan. The former Manchester United striker, said: “If a big chance to return to England came up, I would have to look at it.’’

Another World Cup player set to move is Serbia’s midfielder, Milos Krasic, who would prefer a switch to an Italian club.

Currently playing for CSKA Moscow, the 25 year-old said: “Yes, I want to play in Italy, I don’t know what team, but I want to go there. I have heard about Juventus,” he said.

One World Cup player unsure of his future is Argentina’s Angel Di Maria.

However, the Portuguese champions Benfica insisted yesterday that they had received no offers from Real Madrid for the winger.

Reports in Portugal have claimed all week that he was heading for Madrid.

But Benfica issued a statement denying any move was imminent. It said: “There are no offers... particularly from Real Madrid or any intermediaries regarding the player Angel Di Maria.”

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