Day 3: Australia in “victims of crime” shocker

Algeria 0 – 1 Slovenia

Serbia 0 – 1 Ghana

Germany 4 – 0 Australia

If England fans had any panicky worries last night that a draw with the USA could see them struggle to get out of the group, they can rest easy. Both Algeria and Slovenia showed that they should not pose a threat to either of the other sides in Group C in a frighteningly dull match to start the third day of the World Cup. Algeria were willing and probably had more about them in the game but struggled to control their passing, often overhitting the light Jabulani ball. They had a couple of half-decent chances from crosses but for the most part could not put together a really threatening forward move. They were subject to a couple of very strange tactical decisions by Rabah Saadane, as well – one of their most talented players, Karim Ziani, was deployed on the left wing but the normally right-sided player is clearly totally one-footed and his potential impact was almost completely nullified by his own positioning. Their cause was also hindered by one of the most hilarious sendings off I’ve seen for some time – substitute striker Abdelkader Ghezzal got booked within a minute with a silly shirt-pulling and then gained his second yellow about fifteen minutes later with one of the most blatant and idiotic handballs you’re ever likely to see. His attempts to persuade the referee he should not have been dismissed were comical in their audacity.

Slovenia weren’t different to what we expected them to be per se, but they were a little underwhelming. I expected to see a greater understanding of their own game, a more organised, compact and productive performance, but instead they were simply ordinary. Captain Robert Koren was gifted his goal by a ludicrous mistake by Faouzi Chaouchi, equally as bad as Green’s last night, but this time the mistake was one everyone could have seen coming after Chaouchi’s poor all-round game, in which he constantly tried to overdo the most simple of goalkeeping duties.

The score was no different but Serbia 0 – 1 Ghana was a much more interesting affair, although Serbia, one of my dark horses, were disappointing. Beanpole Nikola Zigic did his best to make things happen but Milan Jovanovic on the left had a poor game, failing to cut inside with any purpose and therefore preventing Aleksandar Kolarov from breaking successfully from left-back. Playmaker-winger Milos Krasic was anonymous too, and much of Serbia’s creativity was expected to come from him. Zdravko Kuzmanovic ran Ghezzal pretty close in the Idiot of the Day stakes with a similarly moronic handball that led to the Ghanaians’ penalty, converted excellently by Asamoah Gyan to win the game, when seeing out a draw seemed achievable for ten-man Serbia.

Ghana put in a pretty decent performance, and they will have been pleased that their makeshift central midfield of Anthony Annan and Kevin-Prince Boateng had a relatively comfortable match in which to work on their partnership. I think they will still hope that Sulley Muntari is fit and ready in time to face Germany later in the group, though, but with Australia up next for them they have a great chance to qualify now.

Speaking of Germany v Australia, I guess the questions over the inexperienced German side have largely been answered with a fantastically assured performance by Joachim Loew’s team. Mesut Oezil completely ran the show, particularly in the first half, with a display of dazzling creativity that really caught my eye. Australia just couldn’t handle his clever runs from in front of their defence. My favourite bit of skill was the subtle pull back from a low Phillipp Lahm pass to play in Thomas Muller, even though Muller blasted over the bar. Germany as a whole were exciting and made a mockery of the odds that some bookmakers have been giving them to win the tournament (16-1 at one stage). Loew sensibly used his second-half substitutions to rotate his strikers, some of whom were out of form, and now they should all be in good confidence going into trickier games against Serbia and Ghana. Certainly Germany have put in the first really impressive performance of the tournament and promised a whole lot more as well.

Australia were of course hard done by, the Mexican referee giving their most important player Tim Cahill a frankly awful red card for an accidental collision that Cahill did a good job of pulling out of, but overall they didn’t really seem likely to compete with Germany at any stage, particularly without a recognised centre-forward for nearly 75 minutes. Josh Kennedy may not be much, but he is at least an aerial threat who could have made space for Cahill to play where he is at his best, behind the main striker. Pim Verbeek will now need to be more adventurous if his team are to recover, but without Cahill for at least the next game I think Australia are all but out.

Man of the Day: Oezil, without a shadow of a doubt. May well be my new favourite player. The only downer was his deserved yellow card for a needless dive early on.

Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to an exciting game between the Netherlands and Denmark that the Dutch should win, probably a draw between Japan and Cameroon, and I would also go for a draw in Italy versus Paraguay, with Paraguay maybe to sneak it. See you then.

World Cup Guide: Group C Preview

GROUP C

ENGLAND

FIFA World Ranking: 8

Team Colours: All white. Away kit is red shirts with white trim, white shorts, and red socks.

Manager: Fabio Capello has stamped his authority on the England team, forcing discipline and professionalism into training where Shteve McClaren let the players run the show. The Italian, who guided A.C. Milan to the Champions League in 1994, has yet to make England an excellent team but has certainly steadied the ship after McClaren’s disastrous reign. Refuses to be bullied by the media but doesn’t quite seem to have settled on his preferred tactics yet, having previously favoured pairing Wayne Rooney with Emile Heskey up front but deviating from that in the preparatory friendlies.

Form: One of the first European teams to qualify for the finals, England made good work of their qualifying group, with nine straight wins to seal their place before losing the dead rubber against Ukraine, and scored a European high of 34 goals during that campaign. The stats perhaps flattered them a little – the only game in which England really shined was the Theo Walcott-inspired demolition of Croatia in Zagreb that earned revenge over their Euro 2008 qualifying nemesis. More recently England have been uninspiring – they won friendlies against Mexico and Japan that they deserved to lose, having been outplayed in both and causing several players to lose their places in the squad, including Walcott.

Captain: Following yesterday’s tournament-ending injury to Rio Ferdinand, England are spared the most uninspiring captain of all time (Rio probably thought that when Capello told him he was the captain that they were going to pretend to be pirates) and instead Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard takes the armband. This is a huge tournament for Gerrard – coming off the back of a disappointing season for his club, he has never played consistently at his best for his country and at age 30, this may be his last chance to make an impact at the World Cup. Rumours of a £30 million bid for his services by Real Madrid will follow him throughout the summer, but Gerrard may well find the captaincy liberating, allowing him to drive the team on in the same way that he has done in the past for his club.

Key Man: It’s tempting to say Frank Lampard, but you just can’t look past Rooney, the only English striker who can really do damage to the top teams. Everything comes down to how England make room for him – it’s the unfashionable option but I think Heskey needs to play alongside him. Rooney himself has said that he prefers playing with Heskey, and Capello’s inclusion of the Aston Villa striker in the squad against his previous statement that he wouldn’t pick players not playing for their clubs shows his importance. It will also be vital that Rooney doesn’t lose his temper – he’s shown signs of improved maturity over the last couple of years, but he will be one of the first to grow frustrated if the game isn’t going well.

Man to Watch: Four years ago Owen Hargeaves won back the hearts of an entire nation by being the only English player to visibly run all over the pitch with 100% effort and determination, and this year, though he’s already better known to English fans, James Milner will be the one who can be absolutely relied on to keep going even if everything seems lost. Has been a revelation since his club manager Martin O’Neill moved him into the centre of midfield, but he can play pretty much anywhere on the pitch except maybe centre-half or in goal, and will likely be the first person that Capello turns to off the bench.

Prediction: England have a thin squad with the possible exception of the midfield and need to avoid any more injuries to key players. They do have the virtue of a kind draw, though. They should easily move past this group and you would expect them to overcome Serbia in the second round. A potential rematch with Mexico awaits in the quarter finals, which could be a stumbling block, but again England would be favourites for that. But as soon as England bump into a really good team – most likely Brazil in the semi finals – they will probably be brushed aside.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. David James (Portsmouth)

12. Robert Green (West Ham)

23. Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders

2. Glen Johnson (Liverpool)

3. Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

5. Ledley King (Tottenham)

6. John Terry (Chelsea)

13. Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

15. Matthew Upson (West Ham)

18. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)

20. Michael Dawson (Tottenham)

Midfielders

4. Steven Gerrard, captain (Liverpool)

7. Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)

8. Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

11. Joe Cole (Chelsea)

14. Gareth Barry (Manchester City)

16. James Milner (Aston Villa)

17. Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City)

22. Michael Carrick (Manchester United)

Forwards

9. Peter Crouch (Tottenham)

10. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

19. Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

21. Emile Heskey (Aston Villa)

USA

FIFA World Ranking: 14

Team Colours: White shirts with a grey diagonal stripe and red trim, white shorts with red and blue trim, white socks. Away kit is dark blue shirts with a white diagonal stripe and red trim, dark blue shorts and dark blue socks.

Manager: 52-year-old Bob Bradley managed first in college soccer and then in the MLS for nine years with Chicago Fire, MetroStars and Chivas USA. He was originally named interim national team manager following the 2006 World Cup as everyone expected Jurgen Klinsmann to take over, but while negotiations with the great striker fell though, Bradley was busy building with young players as if he was already the full-time manager. He was eventually given the job permanently in early 2007 and presided over a largely successful qualification period.

Form: The US only lost twice in the final phase of CONCACAF qualfication, once to Mexico (understandable) and once to Costa Rica (an aberration). Their form during that qualfication was at times very impressive, the win away in Honduras to secure their ticket to South Africa a particular highlight as well as a flashy 8-0 thrashing of Barbados. They’ve also made sure to play several friendlies against top quality teams (and England) in the last year or so to gain experience, and also sprung a surprise at last summer’s Confederations Cup by beating Spain in the semi finals.

Captain: Former Fulham centre-back Carlos Bocanegra now plies his trade at Rennes. He’s a solid if unspectacular defender who can also ably fill in at left-back or as a holding midfielder if necessary. For a defender, he has a pretty good international scoring rate of 12 in 78, too, so expect him to be marked heavily at corners and free-kicks. Should lead the back line well.

Key Man: Only one man – if Landon Donovan plays to his potential then the USA will be a force to be reckoned with. The most talented male footballer his country has ever produced, Donovan will play behind the forwards and look to slip in from behind and look for a shooting opportunity. He’s never quite produced the goods at a major tournament before but is now in his prime – if he doesn’t make this World Cup one to remember he may never do it.

Man to Watch: 22-year-old central midfielder Michael Bradley has fought off the predictable shouts of nepotism (he’s the manager’s son) to make himself a vital part of the American XI. At just 18 he earned a transfer to Europe with Heerenveen in Holland, where he impressed, scoring 16 goals in 52 games (including 15 in his second season, the most by any American player in a foreign league), and is now in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach. He’s a dynamic player who likes to get forward and could have a real impact on this group.

Prediction: The US are a strong side with some great goalkeepers and a handy midfield – Donovan and Bradley will be joined by Clint Dempsey, who’s had an excellent season for Fulham, and Rangers winger DaMarcus Beasley – but they have a somewhat inexperienced forward line (past Jozy Altidore and Donovan, their other three forwards have 10 caps between them) and their full-backs could be exposed by a couple of good wingers. They should definitely get out of this group and will give England a run for their money but will probably finish second. They would be underdogs in the second round where presumably Germany await them, but not incapable of springing a surprise. In fact I have a sneaky feeling that this could be a good year for the Americans. I’ll stick my neck out and say they’ll make the quarter-finals.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Tim Howard (Everton)

18. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

23. Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves)

Defenders

2. Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

3. Carlos Bocanegra, captain (Rennes)

5. Oguchi Onyewu (A.C. Milan)

6. Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)

12. Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)

15. Jay DeMerit (Watford)

21. Clarence Goodson (Start)

Midfielders

4. Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach)

7. DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers)

8. Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

10. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

11. Stuart Holden (Bolton)

13. Ricardo Clark (Frankfurt)

16. Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

19. Maurice Edu (Rangers)

22. Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus)

Forwards

9. Herculez Gomez (Pachuca)

14. Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy)

17. Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)

20. Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

ALGERIA

FIFA World Ranking: 30

Team Colours: All white with one grey sleeve and green trim on the shirts. Away kit is all green with thin vertical red and white stripes on most of the shirt.

Manager: Rabah Saadane, whose playing career was prematurely ended by a car accident at 27 years old, is now incredibly in his fifth spell as Algeria manager. He’s pretty much spent the entirety of his managerial career in the Algeria job but found time to win the African Champions League in 1989 with Raja Casablanca.

Form: Algeria’s qualification for the tournament was impressive at home but unconvincing away – which doesn’t bode too well for their trip to South Africa. They won all six games at home in the final two qualifying phases but finished deadlocked with Egypt at the end, necessitating an atmospheric tiebreaker match in neutral territory, which Algeria won. Their Africa Cup of Nations campaign went OK, starting with a terrible 3-0 loss to unfancied Malawi, but recovered to reach the semi-finals, where Egypt exacted revenge to put them out. They lost to Nigeria in the third-place playoff. They were roundly humiliated by the Republic of Ireland, who really should be here instead of France, losing 3-0 in a friendly last week, and do not look entirely ready to make a fist of this group.

Captain: 32-year-old defensive midfielder Yazid Mansouri is the most experienced member of the Algerian squad, having made his debut in 2001 and earning 65 caps since. He played briefly on loan for Coventry City in 2003 but had his contract terminated when he left to play in the Cup of Nations without his club’s permission. He doesn’t score or get forward much, and isn’t a particularly gifted player, but his experience will be important if this squad are to force their way out of the group against the odds.

Key Man: Since joining Portsmouth in 2008, Nadir Belhadj has caught the eye in an otherwise uninspiring club side, with some exciting displays down the left-side as a defender or winger. He’s plenty willing to bomb forward in search of a cross or a shot but has a tendency to blow hot and cold. Algeria need him at his best as if he plays well he is a key attacking asset.

Man to Watch: Karim Ziani is a versatile player who primarily operates down the right side of midfield but can also be utilised as a second striker. His classy performances for first Sochaux and then Marseille in Ligue 1 earned him a move to German champions Wolfsburg last summer but he has struggled for games this season. With 52 caps he is one of the more experienced players in the Algerian side but he needs to score more goals, with only 4 for his national team.

Prediction: Algeria’s squad is shockingly inexperienced – it contains 6 players with just 1 international appearance, one with only 2, three more in single figures and one, defender Carl Medjani, with none at all. They also lack a prolific striker. It’s hard to see this somewhat ragtag bunch of players making a serious impact on the group, though they may have strong periods during games against England or the USA, it seems unlikely that they would be able to dominate entire games against the likes of those teams. Qualification for the round of 16 would be a really huge achievement.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef)

16. Faouzi Chaouchi (ES Setif)

23. Rais M’Bohli (Slavia Sofia)

Defenders

2. Madjid Bougherra (Rangers)

3. Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth)

4. Antar Yahia (Bochum)

5. Rafik Halliche (Nacional de Madeira)

12. Habib Bellaid (Frankfurt)

14. Carl Medjani (AC Ajaccio)

18. Abdelkader Laifaoui (ES Setif)

20. Djamel Mesbah (Lecce)

Midfielders

6. Yazid Mansouri, captain (Lorient)

7. Ryad Boudebouz (Sochaux)

8. Mehdi Lacen (Racing Santander)

15. Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg)

17. Adlene Guedioura (Wolves)

19. Hassan Yebda (Benfica)

21. Foued Kadir (Valenciennes)

22. Djamel Abdoun (Nantes)

Forwards

9. Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena)

10. Rafik Saifi (Istres)

11. Rafik Djebbour (AEK Athens)

13. Karim Matmour (Borussia Monchengladbach)

SLOVENIA

FIFA World Ranking: 25

Team Colours: White shirts with green trim and funky green zigzag pattern across the chest, white shorts, white socks. Away kit is green shirts with yellow trim and funky yellow zigzag pattern across the chest, green shorts, green socks.

Manager: Matjaz Kek was always more known for his leadership skills than his playing ability as a player and appeared just once for his national side, but has enjoyed more success as a manager. He spent six years at Maribor, the club he finished his career at, winning two Slovenian league titles. After spending a few months coaching the Slovenian under-15s and under-16s he was given the full national team job in 2007 and upset the odds by leading Slovenia’s charge towards qualification alongside eventual group winners Slovakia, both of whom put pre-qualifying favourites Poland and the Czech Republic into the shade. He’s done a really good job with a team nobody fancied to get here.

Form: Slovenia’s surprising qualifying campaign was built on defence, conceding only four goals (only the Netherlands conceded fewer, and they played two fewer games), and they were in the hunt for the automatic qualifying spot at the top of the table until the very last day. This included two wins over the group winners Slovakia. Their playoff against Russia was thrilling, with Russia quickly taking a two-goal lead before Nejc Pecnik scored a late goal which allowed Slovenia to dig deep in defence and snatch a one-nil home win to go through on away goals. They outclassed New Zealand 3-1 in a recent friendly but will need to be ready for sterner tests than that in this group.

Captain: Robert Koren was surprisingly released by his club West Bromwich Albion having played more games for them than any outfield player in the 2008/9 Premiership season and then helping them to promotion back to the big time this year, so he will see this tournament as an opportunity to sell his services as well as lead his country. A reliable central playmaker, Koren is one of his country’s most vital assets with the most caps (46) and the most effortless talent in the squad. He picks an excellent pass and has racked up plenty of assists.

Key Man: Milivoje Novakovic is at the peak of his powers. The 31-year-old Cologne striker has a superb record of 51 goals in 108 games for his club and scored five in qualifying. He is far and away this team’s most potent goal threat and at 6’4″, he will pose a serious aerial challenge for opposition defences.

Man to Watch: This could be the summer that 25-year-old goalkeeper Samir Handanovic really makes a name for himself. The young Udinese shotstopper was part of arguably the meanest defence in Europe through qualifying and has recently won himself a bumper new contract at his club alongside talismen like Fabio Quagliarella and Asamoah Gyan.

Prediction: Slovenia should not be taken lightly. Expect some determined defending in exactly the sort of way that England, for example, usually have serious trouble with, but a lack of squad depth in midfield and up front will probably tell for Slovenia in the end. They should pick up a point or two, and could definitely get a result against Algeria, but making it to the second round is unlikely.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Samir Handanovic (Udinese)

12. Jasmin Handanovic (Mantova)

16. Aleksander Seliga (Sparta Rotterdam)

Defenders

2. Miso Brecko (FC Koln)

3. Elvedin Dzinic (Maribor)

4. Marko Suler (Gent)

5. Bostjan Cesar (Chievo Verona)

6. Branko Ilic (Lokomotiv Moscow)

13. Bojan Jokic (Chievo Verona)

19. Suad Filekovic (Maribor)

22. Matej Mavric (Koblenz)

Midfielders

8. Robert Koren, captain (unattached)

10. Valter Birsa (Auxerre)

15. Rene Krhin (Inter)

17. Andraz Kirm (Wisla Krakow)

18. Aleksander Radosavljevic (Larissa)

20. Andrej Komac (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

21. Dalibor Stevanovic (Vitesse Arnhem)

Forwards

7. Nejc Pecnik (Nacional de Madeira)

9. Zlatan Ljubijankic (Gent)

11. Milivoje Novakovic (FC Koln)

14. Zlatko Dedic (Bochum)

23. Tim Matavz (Groningen)