Poor, Poor Australia

I have to admit, I didn't really want to get up for the games today. It's tough enough getting up on a regular Sunday morning, but it's even worse when your national team earned a huge tie with one of the great soccer powers the day before. Add to that the fact that the first game is Slovenia vs Algeria and there's even less of an incentive. But once you tell yourself that this comes around only once every four years it's a lot easier to get out of bed. Oh, and don't worry. We'll be getting to the title of today's post later on.

Slovenia vs Algeria

Ok, maybe I should have stayed in bed. It took me a little while to get to that emotion, but that is definitely how I felt after finishing the match. I was worried going in that this wouldn't be a great game because of the lack of quality of the sides involved, but then I convinced myself that it had a chance to be good since both sides needed a victory in this game to have a realistic chance to advance to the knockout stage and that could create some desperation, similar to relegation games in club soccer. Things started off reasonably enough with a good, albeit standard chance on goal by Algeria off of a free kick in the 3rd. At first I was impressed with the passing ability of each side. They seemed able to string together several one touch passes to move the ball around and get things moving forward. But after a bit, I realized that a lot of these passes were simple touches with no real pressure on the players involved. Sure, the ball was moving well but it wasn't terribly meaningful and had the same disconnect from pressure situations that you have when shooting jumpers in a basketball practice versus trying to make the same shot in a game with a defender in your face. And once they missed some of the more difficult passes as well as started to miss the simple ones, my initial excitement wore off.

As the half progressed, Algeria showed themselves to be the more capable side. They were able to move the ball fairly well and seemed to have more of a creative flair that at least allowed them to see good passing lanes even if the passes tended to not be up to snuff. Additionally, they were able to move the ball up the wings with Nadir Belhadj moving very well up the left side for almost all of the first half. He would often get the attack moving up the field by coming out of the back on a run and was the most entertaining player during this part of the game. Algeria looked most dangerous in the 36th with a free kick, then a corner, and then another corner ending in Rafik Halliche putting a header past the right post. Slovenia was able to get forward during this half though and after that series of set plays for Algeria, seemed to wake up a bit and get some quality chances, including Valter Birsa's dipping shot that Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi had to put over the bar. Slovenia ended the half as the better side but on several occasions flubbed the last pass needed to create a serious chance. Given the quality of play and reluctance to push forward, a 0-0 tie was to be expected.

The first 20 minutes or so of the second half was just excruciating. All of the attack-minded play from the end of the first half seemed to have somehow been washed off at halftime and instead we were treated to possession soccer from both sides that crawled forward only to be undone by a poor pass. The "highlight" of this section of the game was the opportunity to protest a weak yellow card given to Algerian substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal in the 59th for pulling the shirt of a Slovenian defender who was roughly 80 yards from goal. Even Belhadj did not seem to get up and down the wing as often as he did in the first half which removed perhaps the only entertaining element from the game.

Then, in the 73rd minute, Ghezzal was given his second yellow card of the game for a handball and was sent off the field with a red. Now, I disagreed with the first call. I thought it was way too harsh, especially considering that the play was nowhere near goal and Ghezzal had just come on to the field, so it's not like we're talking about a repeat offender. That being said, he has to know that he's playing with a yellow card. It doesn't matter how bad it was, he has it. So when a ball is drifting over your head and you don't really have a shot at it, it is an absolutely terrible idea to stick your hand up in an attempt to bring the ball down, an action sure to earn a second yellow. Regardless, he did it, he was sent off, and now Algeria had to play the rest of the game down to 10 men.

Almost right away, Algeria got the chance they needed to jump in front and then hunker down with ten men to secure three points. Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic played a ball forward to Marko Suler, who casually waited for it while Karim Ziani flew in behind him in an attempt to steal the ball. Ziani reached the ball before Handanovic's frantic screaming alerted Suler, but his first touch was too heavy and Handanovic was able to sprint off of his line and cover the ball to remove the danger. This unfortunately was false hope for Algeria as Slovenia pushed forward and in the 79th minute, Robert Koren took a touch to his right and sent a curling inside-of-the-foot shot towards the back post. It looked like Chaouchi had it covered but he never got his body behind the ball so when the ball skipped a little faster than he expected off the grass, his arms whiffed and the ball ended up in the side of the net. Just an unforgivable mistake for a keeper to make, especially when his side is down to 10 men, and especially when he has that awful Moe Howard haircut for people to already hate him for. Algeria tried to push forward to equalize but never came as close as the chance Ziani had earlier. A real shame because Algeria was the better side, although only slight, for the majority of the game but were doomed by a foolish second yellow and a terrible goalkeeping blunder.

Slovenia 1 - 0 Algeria


Ghana vs Serbia

The last game left a bad taste in my mouth, both because of the quality of play and how it was decided, so I was going into the Ghana vs Serbia game hoping for something to lift my spirits. Just like yesterday, the first few minutes of the game turned my mood around completely. The passing was so much crisper, the skill on the ball was obvious, and Ghana had a chance as early as the 4th minute when Ghana's playmaking forward Asamoah Gyan's free kick went just over the crossbar. In fact, Ghana looked to be be the more dangerous team in general, first with general possession and movement forward, then with quality chances on goal that really tested Serbia. In the 19th, Kwadwo Asamoah put in pretty pass across off of a free kick from the left hand side that John Mensah got to, but couldn't do enough with to put on goal. Then in the 21st, Kevin-Prince Boateng put another beautiful ball across from the left but it was just a bit ahead of the head of Gyan. This was the story of the first twenty five or so minutes of the game as Ghana put in amazing cross after amazing cross but they just couldn't quite convert them into goals.

Serbia slowly started to even out the game, beginning with a near miss over the left post by Aleksander Koralov off of a free kick about 25 yards out center-right. Perhaps the foolish yellow by Ghana's Isaac Vorsah in the 26th or perhaps Koralov's effort did it, but Serbia started to turn their play around. Their defense vastly improved and where Ghana was going past them and getting behind them before, Serbia's defensive cohesion was now better and Ghana's wingers were not roaming freely down the sides. Serbia's attacking did still leave something to be desired as they had some chances but nothing truly dangerous that threatened a change in score or put any fans on edge. The first half ended 0-0 like the first game, but it was an entirely different 0-0. Scoreless games get a bad rap in soccer in my mind. Yes, a 0-0 finish can leave a fan feeling incomplete due to the lack of finality or payoff from a goal, but this 0-0 half was beautifully played and very entertaining to watch. It was a needed pick-me-up after a dull first game.

The second half started fairly well for both sides with Serbia's Milan Jovanovich making a weaving run to the left of goal but failed to wrap his foot around the ball to put it on goal. Then Prince Tagoe put an excellent ball across to Andre Ayew but the finish, once again for Ghana, was wide. After the early equality, Ghana picked up the attack more and once again became the more dangerous side. The crosses were starting to come in again and Ghana's dominance on the wings continued. It is worth noting that the constant action on the sides by Boateng, Ayew, and Tagoe kept the Serbians from doing much of anything with their own wingers for fear of getting lost in transition and being especially vulnerable.

Ghana was dictating play already but they were primed to take total control in the 74th when Aleksander Lukovic was sent off with a deserved second yellow, a clutch and grab that prevented a player from running onto a ball heading towards goal. With Lukovic gone and Serbia down to 10 men, Ghana's barrage of goals seemed all but assured. However, the adversity seemed to fuel Serbia and they began to play better than they had all game, bottling up Ghana's attack and creating chances as they sent men forward. They had their best chances in the 79th when Milos Krasic received the ball dead center in front of the goal and managed to direct his shot directly at Ghana's keeper Richard Kingson, and then in the 80th when Nemanja Vidic put a header off of a corner just over the crossbar. It seemed as if Ghana had assumed that they had already won the game and didn't realize that, even up a man, they had to actually secure the win with a goal. Then in the 83rd minute, Ghana got the chance they needed when Zdravko Lazovic clearly handled a ball in the box directed toward Boateng on the back post. A foolish penalty to take as even though Boateng was behind him, it would be an obvious penalty kick and Boateng would have had to convert a difficult sliding side volley into a goal. With the game in the balance, Asamoah Gyan stepped up to the spot and put in a beautiful penalty kick, high to the left center, giving Vladimir Stojkovic no chance at a save. The best moment of this entire sequence is the subtle grin that crosses Gyan's face right before he buries the ball in the back of the net. Fully confident and rightfully so. Serbia of course pressed for the equalizer but Ghana actually had the best chance of the game when Gyan almost got his second goal, putting his shot off the post instead. The game ended with the more deserving team with the victory and Serbia's road to the knockout stage looking very much in doubt.

Ghana 1 - 0 Serbia


Australia vs Germany

This was supposed to be a game where we saw Germany exert its will on an inferior opponent while Australia tried to hang on and sneak out a draw against one of the tournament favorites. Germany did impose its will but I don't think anyone knew how bad things were going to get for Australia. They did start out the game well at least with a corner kick in the 4th and a ball that just wouldn't find the back of the net due to a low header being stopped by the wrong player, an Australian, and then the follow up blocked by the right player, a German. Germany took control of the game shortly after that initial flurry though and didn't let off the pedal until the very end. Miroslav Klose had a great chance in the 7th when he was in on the goalie but put it right on him instead of picking a corner and Australia momentarily survived. Not for long though as in the 8th minute, Thomas Muller timed his run into the box perfectly and then passed diagonally to the left corner of the 18 setting up Lukas Podolski to drive an absolute rocket past the Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer. Beautiful run and pass by Muller and a rousing finish by Podolski.

The pressure kept coming after that when Muller put another beautiful cross in that Podolski missed with his boot by inches, and then Mesut Ozil played a perfectly weighted through ball to Podolski who set up Klose in front but Klose again missed, this time over and wide off of his foot, a shot he most definitely should have put in. He would have his redemption in the 26th minute however when Philipp Lahm set up Klose on a bending ball near the penalty spot that Klose beat Schwarzer to and headed into the back of the net. Excellent entry pass from Lahm and a calm finish by Klose. I could go over all of the chances by Germany in the first half but it would be unnecessary. They dominated the game in all aspects and cut up the German back line over and over with smartly timed diagonal runs to set up chances or crosses back to the middle. Australia looked absolutely lost on defense and while they occasionally would get a chance moving forward, nothing really put the Germans in danger. I went into halftime wondering how many goals the Germans would get up to.

However, Australian came out much more composed and looked determined to come back in the game. They kept much more possession and marked Germany tighter, not allowing them to run behind their back line at will like in the first half. Their first solid chance was in the 51 when Brett Holman took a touch to the top left of the 18 and put a shot towards goal that swerved right and missed the back post. Germany still showed some of their first half spark though when Lahm and Oliz executed a beautiful one-two pass letting Lahm cut a ball back from the right touchline to the top of the box that Oliz dummied for Muller who shot just over the top right corner of the goal. Exceptional work but a ball that Muller should have put in the back of the net. It looked like we were going to see an interesting second half that would get especially good as Australia got desperate and pressed for goals to get back in the game.

Then the whole game changed. In the 56th minute, Tim Cahill, arguably the best player on the field for Australian, was given a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Podolski. To me, this was the only unwarranted red card of the day and the fact that it was a straight red card made it even worse. It was undoubtedly a tackle from behind, but he left his cleats down and in fact did about everything he could to make a play on the ball while still maintaining a level head about the challenge. Was it a yellow card? I definitely think so. But a straight red to knock Australia's best player out of this match and next match was entirely too much.

The rest of the game looked like a man down scrimmage in practice. Germany almost toyed with Australia as they had runs coming from every angle and put together some brilliant passing. It seems cruel to Australian fans to talk about this even though I'm sure that I have no Australian readers, so I'll just sum up the goals. The first was in the 67th minute when Muller sidestepped a slide tackle at the top of the 18 and finished clinically with a strike along the ground that glanced off the inside of the left post before hitting the back of the net. The last goal was Ozil timing a run to the left of the goal perfectly and then setting up substitute Cacau for a tap-in goal. A simple finish to a game dominated by the Germans. The unfortunate part, besides the quick trigger on the red card to Cahill, was that we didn't get to see much of Germany's true quality in the second half when Australia stepped up their game. Yes, Germany won this game 4-0 but a team of their ability would never do worse when already up 2-0 and with a desperate 10 man squad pressing for two goals. Based on the earlier game though, both Ghana and Serbia should give them a true test later in the group stage.

Germany 4 -0 Australia


And so ends a solid Sunday of soccer. One boring game, one fantastic game, and one exciting game with an obvious ending. Though I complain about getting up at 7am on the weekends in order to catch all the games, I would much prefer that to a Monday where I not only have to go back to work, but have to resume my attempt to remain ignorant of the results in order to maintain drama for my evening viewings. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope the games tomorrow are even better.