I know what everyone is expecting and no, I'm not going to go on some long "the USA was robbed" diatribe... yet. We'll most assuredly get to that. First though, let's go through the importance of today's games and my absurd schedule. I believe last night was the worst of any night so far as I didn't fall asleep until after 4:00am. Adding the Celtics game to my viewing list really killed any chance I had of a decent night and as it was, I didn't finish watching the games until 3:30am or so. If I hadn't started writing during the France vs Mexico game, it could have gone a lot worse. I had debated skipping the first game and just waking up for the U S at 10, but I knew that I would hear about the result of the first game from the announcers and I didn't want to break my streak on laziness. So, I woke up at 7:20 for the Germany vs Serbia game, a game of great importance for both sides. Serbia had dropped their first match and needed a result against Germany to have any realistic chance of moving forward. Germany had won their first game handily, but many teams can win handily if they play up a man for over a half an hour. Additionally, Germany is scheduled to play a tough Ghanaian (yes, that is the proper descriptor) side in their last match and going into that needing a result could prove difficult. On to the match.
Serbia vs Germany
Serbia started off the game by pressuring well and Zdravko Kuzmanovic got off a shot from distance that went wide left in the 2nd. It wasn't the best of chances, but it was a declaration that Serbia would be willing to press into the attack and not just sit back and try to absorb Germany's pressure. Possession of course started to even out from this early surge and Podolski had a chance at the other end off a corner in the 7th. With the ball falling to him on the left hand side of the box, I couldn't help but think of the rocket that he put in against Australia. He struck this ball well also, but it stayed left and never troubled the keeper. Similarly in the 11th minute, Milos Krasic of Serbia played a ball across the top of the 18 to Milos Ninkovic but Ninkovic's mishit his shot and the keeper was never troubled. This is how the first half an hour or so of the game was played. Germany had more possession but was never able to turn its half chances into serious threats while Serbia had to create their chances off of counters and quicker builds but lacked a finishing touch. Perhaps the reason for this feeling of disconnect was that the referee seemed exceptionally quick to reach for cards early on to take control of the match. In the first half an hour, two players were booked for each team and all were more or less borderline calls.
In the 36th minute, Germany received the worse (or perhaps the worst) of the referee's quick trigger finger when Miroslav Klose was given a second yellow for a foul that was at best a free kick. The Germans were stunned when a card was given and rightfully so. Germany now had to play slightly under an hour worth of soccer down not just a man, but an incredibly talented striker that can create goals off of nothing. Things got even worse two minutes later when Krasic played a ball across to 6'8'' forward Nikola Zigic. Zigic headed the ball down inside the 6 to Milan Jovanivic who settled off of his chest and then hit a falling lefty side volley into the back of the net to make the score 1-0 for Serbia. Things had fallen perfectly for Serbia, both literally and figuratively, but now they had the unenviable task of holding on for fifty minutes to a determined and offensively talented German team. Still, the Germans were reeling and only got one respectable chance in the remainder of the first half when Mesut Ozil played a crafty through ball to Sami Khedira. Serbia keeper Vladimir Stojkovic beat Khedira to the ball though and Serbia was able to go into the half holding on to the 1-0 lead.
I suppose some could be surprised by this, but it should be no shock that Germany maintained more possession and created more chances in the second half, even though they were down a man. The German side is (cue blatant stereotype) efficient in their passing and is the type of team that can send people forward without leaving their defense totally exposed. However, there will always be a risk when you're down to 10 men and Serbia was able to hold possession at times and counter when Germany pressed far forward. The pressure came immediately in the 46th when Khedira rang a shot off the crossbar off of a corner and then a chance for Thomas Muller was cleared off the line by the Serbian defense. In the 54th, Bastian Schweinsteiger found himself at the top of the 18 for a clear shot but fed it directly into the keeper to squander an opportunity. The chances kept coming in the 57th when Ozil played Podolski through and Podolski went back post with his shot but ended about a foot wide of the target. Also, let me quickly say this about Ozil: I was unimpressed at first with him when he got a card for going to ground too easily against Australia. However, the more I watch him the more I can forgive him for that indiscretion because he is a very creative player with excellent vision. He always seems to find that angle that others can't and he's definitely been a bright spot so far in the tournament.
The German pressure came to a head in the 60th when central defender Nemanja Vidic blatantly played the ball with his hand in his own box, setting up Germany for a penalty kick. I still don't know why he risked taking a penalty kick and the only thing I can come up with is that he thought Podolski's cross was going to find someone behind him, but the replay shows that to be far from the case. Whatever the reason, Podolski stepped to the line to take the penalty kick that could put Germany level again, despite being down to 10 men. Podolski sent the ball to his right, which is the natural direction to try to tuck in a ball with a left foot, but Stojkovic guessed correctly and smothered the kick to rob Podolski and the Germans. In the end, it was a very average take by Podolski. He left it too far away from the post and because Stojkovic picked the side correctly, it really was an easy save. The Germans did have chances after this, but that was easily their best and in the end, despite all the pressure they put on with ten men, the Germans were defeated. This sets up an incredibly important match with Ghana next week as Germany may very well need a win to have a chance to make it through since Serbia finishes up with Australia. From tournament favorites to potential group stage upset in just one game. I love the World Cup.
Serbia 1 - 0 Germany
Slovenia vs United States
Needless to say, I was incredibly excited for this game as a US victory would put them firmly in the driver's seat for a berth in the elimination stages while a loss would most likely prove disastrous for them since powerhouse England still had two games against the "easy" teams in this group. I had taken the morning off as soon as the schedule came out so I was sitting in my apartment with a couple of friends to watch this monumental match and cheer on the US live instead of on a DVR delay. The game started off unsurprisingly cautious as each side tried to feel the other one out so there would be no mistakes while movements forward were made in an attempt to score. However everything went south in the 13th minute when Valter Birsa collected a ball dead center about 25 yards out and Oguchi Onyewu failed to close him out. Birsa set up on his left foot and bent a ball to the right side of goal and in for the initial tally. Not only did Onyewu fail to close Birsa out, but he also inexplicably went down to ground as the ball came towards him, screening US goalkeeper Tim Howard and leaving no chance for a remarkable save. The US could really have not found a way to start the game more poorly.
Possession went back and forth for a while with no real advantage or chances for either side. Most of the play here was in the midfield and innocuous possession in the offensive side. There seemed to be little urgency for the US side, an infuriating mentality considering they were playing in a game of great importance and had already conceded a corner. Eventually though, the US played their way into the game and got an excellent chance from Jose Torres off of a free kick from the right side of goal. Rather than play an in-swinger across the box, Torres went for the near post and forced a nice reaction save from Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic. In the very next minute, Jay DeMerit got a surprising amount of power on a header from the top of the 18 but put it just wide to the left side of goal. The attack was momentarily broken up in the 40th minute when Robbie Findley was given a yellow card for a phantom handball in the Slovenian box, which will cause him to miss the next match. In all honesty though, I wasn't too upset about this. Findley did not play well in the England game or in this game and I think I'm actually happy about Bob Bradley being forced to find a new forward to pair with Jozy Altidore. The US picked up where they left off though in the 41st as Clint Dempsey played a ball across the goal to Landon Donovan at the back post, but it was cleared out by Slovenia before it had a chance to make it all the way through. The US had several chances and looked to be knocking on the door for the equalizer.
Of course, everything fell apart on the next Slovenian counter as Zlatan Ljubijankic took a well played through ball and calmly finished under Howard when the US keeper went to the ground to block the near post shot. Just atrocious marking betwen DeMerit and Onyewu who left Howard out on an island with the talented forward. Howard had been exceptional against England and while he is capable of making fantastic saves in such situations (and it obviously would have been nice if he could do it again), his defenders cannot continue to abandon him so thoroughly. The US ended the half down 2-0 and I was absolutely heartbroken. It seemed absurd that the US could blow this great of a group draw, especially after getting a result against England in the first game, but it was all unraveling in front of me and any other fans watching, listening, or following over the internet. The US now needed to come back with two goals against a team that is known for its disciplined defense.
I don't know what Bob Bradley said to his players in the locker room, or what they said to each other during the break, but the US came out dominating possession in the early stages of second half and creating chances around the Slovenian penalty area. To the relief of US fans everything, things got interesting in a hurry as a Slovenian defender couldn't get to a ball played to Donovan, giving a free run at goal to one of America's great talents. Dribbling in from a horrible angle with no players filling the box, Donovan seemed to have no options available. But with the keeper hugging the near post to stop the short side shot, Donovan took him off guard by roofing a shot into the underside of the netting and brought the US back within a goal. Absolutely brilliant individual play by Donovan who had no business turning this into a goal. My hat is off to him for the effort.
The US continued to hold possession and get chances forward but it seemed destined to be one of those games similar to Spain's match with Switzerland where all the chances in the world wouldn't turn into the equalizer. In the 7oth, Altidore was able to get his foot on the ball with a turn in the box, but could only hit it at the target and Handanovic swallowed up a shot right at him. The US had another similar chance in the 72nd when Benny Feilhaber put a touch on goal off of a free kick but put it right at Handanovic again. Chances and chances but nothing going in, and the US seemed to get desperate by throwing long balls near the goal rather than building through the middle. But it was rewarded in the 82nd when Jozy headed a high ball down into the box and Michael Bradley came charging through the middle to put a quick touch over the Slovenian keeper and into the back of the net to level the score at 2. Excellent job by Altidore to turn his aerial effort into a pass and great hustle by Bradley to fill the middle and get a touch to the ball. As much as I was on the edge of the seat while they tried for the equalizer, now they had a legitimate chance to get the full three points as they had all of the possession, all of the chances, and all of the momentum.
The go-ahead goal came in the 85th when a beautiful Donovan cross off a free kick found substitute Maurice Edu in the middle of the box and Edu made no mistake by burying it in the back of the net. But wait. The goal was disallowed by a call that, at the time of this posting, we still don't know the reason for. I watched replay after replay and I honestly can't see what would have been called there. The only potential offside player was Bradley who was not only involved in the play but was actively being bear hugged by a Slovenian defender, one of three grab and holds by Slovenia on the play. Edu was certainly onside when the ball was struck, so I have absolutely no idea what the call here was supposed to be. What I do know is that whatever the call, the US was denied the victory and forced to settle for a point out of this game.
Just to be clear here, I can live with a point. I really can. The US started off sluggish and needed to concede a goal to start to show up and needed to concede a second goal before truly turning up the dial and coming out blazing. There is really no excuse for a team that needs adversity in game to be able to function and the US is most definitely at fault for putting themselves in a hole and needing goals to climb back out. That being said, it was a terrible call. A call that kept the US from climbing to the top of the group and from being in a much more comfortable position going into the last match. A real shame.
United States 2 - 2 Slovenia
Algeria vs England
With the draw in the US vs Slovenia game, England was now poised to take three points from a lesser Algeria side and take control of Group C. If they were able to do that, they could go into their last game with Slovenia knowing that a draw would still give them a chance to go through depending on what the US did, and a win would definitely put them past the group stage. How they came out as flat as they did remains a complete mystery to me.
Possession in this game shifted slightly from team to team, but there was never really a time in the game where it was applicable to say that Team X was dominating and Team Y was on their heels. Most of the play was in midfield or in the less dangerous portions of the offensive third and despite being outclassed on paper, Algeria was able to hang with the English and take pressure off their defense by passing around and moving forward. In the 5th, English captain Steven Gerrard had a chance to take a shot at goal but elected instead of that perfect set-up pass, a pass that was of course cleared away. This would become a theme for the game and would last all the way through to the end. Both sides, but England especially, seemed determined to set up a perfect opportunity rather than put the ball on goal and try to create something through rebound or keeper misplay (as if there haven't been enough of those). In fact, it's really not worth going through the chances that each side had. There really wasn't a single head-in-hands, oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-that-didn't-go-in type of chance for either side. All the chances were shots at the keeper, shots that went harmlessly wide, or interesting build-up that lacked the final touch, be it shot or pass, that would put one side up. Really, really skittish and hesitant stuff from both side, and especially from Wayne Rooney. I have never seen Rooney play a game where he seemed timid from start to finish, but that is exactly how he looked today. All of his challenges seemed half-hearted and all of his energy seemed to just keep him going rather than see him making plays. If England is going to beat Slovenia next week, and be certain that they need to do exactly that, Rooney will have to play like the lethal striker he is and not a player afraid to make a mistake.
England 0 - 0 Algeria
Going into the last set of matches, here is how the group looks:
1. Slovenia - 4 Points - +1 Goal Differential
2. United States - 2 Points - 0 Goal Differential
3. England - 2 Points - 0 Goal Differential
4. Algeria - 1 Point - -1 Goal Differential
The US gets the second spot over England because the tiebreaker after goal differential is number of goals scored. So if both games ended in 0-0 draws next week, the US would move through on the weight of their 3 goals to England's 1. But still, this is all about the available points on the board. Every team except for Algeria is in regardless of other tiebreakers if they can win next Wednesday so that has to be what everyone is shooting for. Then again, that was more or less the situation today and teams failed to play their best. Let's hope that next week is different. For the United States, at least.
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