The 4 matches of Day 13:
England were unbelievably dull in their first 2 matches, while Slovenia were sitting pretty with 4 points from the same number of games. England had to win their last match to have any chance of qualifying and in the face of mounting criticism back home and among the traveling journalists, they eventually scraped through. The players, fans and even Capello were delighted with the win, but with tougher opposition to come later, England will need to improve drastically to have any hopes of going far in this tournament. On the other hand, Slovenia are now in real danger of crashing out, which will become true if the USA either draw or win their match against Algeria.
The Americans counted themselves very unlucky to have been denied a thrilling win against Slovenia, but at 0-2 down, they would be happy with the point. As such, they had to win their last match against Algeria, in case Slovenia managed to draw their match. And win they did, thanks to Landon Donovan. This is the second match they have scored really late and it shows their never-give-up attitude. It also means that whoever they play will have to up their concentration levels. They were really unlucky to miss out on a last 16 spot 4 years ago, having been placed in a tough group with eventual champions Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana, but this time, they have been very determined to qualify.
Ghana have been the most impressive of the African contingent, with the youngest average age. Germany have the second youngest team and this contest was likely to be an entertaining affair. And so, it was, with both Germany and Ghana creating plenty of chances. Mezut Oezil missed an absolute easy picking in the 1st half when one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he atoned for it with a fine finish on the hour mark, spanking a left-footed drive beyond Richard Kingson's outstretched arms. With this win, Germany top Group D and will face England in the last 16, who are the runners-up in Group C.
This was an epic thriller, with both teams in with a real chance of qualifying. Ultimately, Australia played spoilsport to Serbia's chances with 2 superb goals: a powerful header from Cahill and Brett Holman's long-range strike leaving Vladimir Stojkovic (hero against Germany) scrambling in vain. Serbia pulled a goal back in a pulsating finish to the game that saw controversy in the shape of a handball by Cahill. Serbia's elimination sees Ghana finish as Group D runners-up and will now face the USA in the last 16.
Here are the last 16 matches from Groups C and D:
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