Firstly, Group D saw Ghana and Germany battle it out for top spot, while Serbia and Australia were hoping for results to go their way a little.
Both Germany and Ghana looked impressive. The Germans, ever industrious, ever strong and forever (annoyingly) successful! The manager Joachim Löw made a few changes from the one that lost 1-0 to Serbia in their last game.
Out went the suspended Klose and Holger Badstuber and in came Cacau and Jérôme Boateng. For the Ghanaians, Jonathan Mensah came in for Lee Addy in defense.
Both teams went out to win it and both showed some calm, confident football and in the end, they were in fact so evenly matched, it took a wonderful strike from new German sensation Mesut Özil to separate the two teams.
The Germans took it 1-0 but the Ghanaians could so easily have had a few of their own too, were it not for a combination of wasteful chances and heroics at the back for the Krauts(!), including a wonderful block by stand-in captain, young Philipp Lahm. I'm not sure where he's from but that name sounds awfully French to me ;)
Still, the result meant that either Serbia had to draw or Australia had to win by a margin of 4 goals and in a pulsating match at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, both results actually looked like they may have come through (!).
After a goaless first half, the Australians came out strong and scored twice in quick succession through Cahill and new hero Brett Holman but the Serbs broke Ozzie hearts and hopes when a tricky shot came in, Mark Schwarzer spilt it and Pantelić was on hand to swing it back in Serbia's favour with a toe poke from close in.
So, in the end, German and Ghana through, 1st and 2nd respectively.
In group C, The Americans were in a good position to go through, by they needed to beat the Algerians and for most of the game, they really seemed like doing it. But they were given a stern warning after just 4 minutes when Algeria came close by smashing the bar.
But that was as close as they'd get as the U.S. picked up the game and started to probe forward. They must have thought things were totally against them too as they had another goal disallowed, this time for offside. Replays show the decision was probably just about correct, but it was very close.
In the end though, they got their just rewards 2 minutes into injury time, when Donovan pounced on to a parried shot to slot the ball home, with the Americans celebrating like there was no tomorrow. Luckily for them, there is a tomorrow, and in fact, there is Sunday and a place in the last 16 too.
That meant that England needed a victory over Slovenia by 2 goals or more in their game against Algeria to top the group and avoid a clash with the Germans in the last 16.
Right from the beginning, it was obvious there was a little more urgency in Fabio Capello's team than in the two previous games. Recently, the trials and tribulations surrounding the England camp bore the marks of the kind of rapidly sinking ship that the French got on before they sailed out here.
John Terry was the focal point, stating that the manager needs to play Joe Cole if he's to have someone on the pitch that can 'unlock' the opposition's defense (which I agree with actually). That, and a statement indicating that there was unrest among the players, was not seen by the Italian in a nice light.
Still, everything rectified, and Terry himself put in a would-be-captain's performance to help England get through. The much awaited goal of comfort, came from Jermaine Defoe, who finally started up front with Wayne Rooney.
James Milner, also a change from the last game, replacing Aaron Lennon, whipped in a wonderful cross from the right and Defoe got in front of his marker to put the ball in the back of the net. It looked like it came off the inside of his calf, to be honest, but he won't mind and neither will England.
Frankly speaking though (!!!), personally, I was really rather disappointed with the performance. In truth, I didn't believe they really looked like a side capable of going too far. They were miles behind the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Germany themselves and even Spain, who haven't played that well but still look better.
I was a little in shock when the next morning, the press seemed to be bathing Capello's tactical nuances in sweet champagne, praising the teams dedication and also the brilliant way in which they got their victory. To be fair to John Terry at least, the guy almost dislocated his blimmin arm when heroically throwing himself at a Slovenian shot when he was practically on the ground already!
But still, playing a mediocre team, I wanted GOALS! Once again, maybe I was watching a different game to the one the newspapers were watching. I dunno. To me they still looked very slow, languid and short of quality.
Rooney had an abysmal first half apart from a nice little knock back to Gerrard who, to his credit, tried to place it into the bottom corner but the shot lacked power.
Apart from that, I thought Rooney lost too much possession and in the second half, he had a great opportunity to score, breaking the offside trap, but seriously lacked composure by scuffing his shot. The keeper got minimal finger tips to it and it went off the post but all in all, I really didn't rate him at all. Maybe he hasn't quite got over his outburst on the telly after the Algeria game. I don't know.
Sooooo, this result means a clash with Germany on Sunday. A team that look like they're up and ready to kick anyone out of this world cup. A team to genuinley fear. Just one more goal and we'd be in the top half of the table. Now we have to face the Germans and - if we get through - the Argentineans, and then - if we get through - the Spanish / Portuguese, and then... Well, I'll be singing a different song if we get that far!
So, ummm... Why were we so pleased again?
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