The Three Up Front podcast is back for another belting half hour of football chat so make sure you tune in…

First up the boys take a look at the state of Fabio Capello’s England side (should they change their tactics? really?) before embarking on a jam-packed show that includes;

Fact or Fiction: The Serbians will likely avoid major UEFA sanctions.

The Big Interview: Studs Up creator Chris Toy talks about the Premier League characters that inspire his comic strips and gives his view on the likely new owners of Liverpool FC.

The X-aggerated Factor: Wayne Rooney’s days at Old Trafford are numbered.

The Shoot-Out: The cult quiz show goes from the sublime to the ridiculous as Sepp Blatter, Jose’s best buddy and the Chilean miners all get a mention.

Make sure you don’t miss it – download 3 Up Front at the earliest opportunity!
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From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Euro 2012 Qualifier between Italy and Serbia was to be played in Genoa, Italy. Since the Serbian fans arrived in Genoa, they had been causing trouble for the police and it only got worse when the game started. The referee, Craig Thomson, at first took the two teams back for 35 minutes after they had walked out for their national anthem. When the players took the field again and started the game, six minutes into the game, Thomson decides to not to wait for something to happen and postpones the game.

More details on this: Serbian violence causes abandonment of Italian fixture.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Euro 2012 qualifier between Italy and Serbia had to be abandoned after just six minutes following crowd trouble in Genoa.

The game in actual fact been postponed for thirty-five minutes prior to kick off as trouble mounted in the away end of the Stadio Luigi Ferraris (home of Sampdoria) where Serbian fans were cascading flares onto the pitch resulting in police intervention.

The Azzurri and the Serbians had originally lined up for their national anthems, only to be sent back into their respective changing rooms, hoping for the chaos to boil down.

Riot police had to tolerate a vast amount of abuse from the Serbian fans who continued to wreak havoc by vandalising parts of the stadium and continuously launching objects at police, ground staff and into the north stand of the ground where Italian supporters were sat.

A number of fans in particular, who were wearing masks to protect their identity, were cutting through mesh fences and smashing glass.

After the delay both sets of players returned to the field and lined up for their national anthem – with the Serbian fans roundly booing their own.

Enough was enough for Scottish referee Craig Thompson who brought the game to a halt after just six minutes as he feared for the safety of the players and supporters as fire crackers/flares continued to flood the pitch.

Italy are now set to be awarded a 3-0 default victory.

Serbian captain Dejan Stankovic can't hold back the tears as trouble escalates.

Serbia supporters had been causing a number of disturbances throughout the course of the day with Italian police clashing with a minority near the team’s hotel. Matters had then escalated into pure pandemonium in the build up to the actual game.

Roberto Massucci, Italian security chief, believes that the Serbian authorities must take full responsibility for the shameful scenes. He believes that such violent fans should have been prohibited from attending Genoa.

“Fans that are so dangerous should not have arrived in Genoa.” he said.

“They should have been stopped by the Serbian officials. We were aware that this game had a risk factor but a behaviour of such aggressiveness we had not experienced for some time. From the traditional channels of communication with the Serbian police, we had not been given any signs of the degree of danger of these fans.”

“We, through experience, had arranged an adequate security, but we would have never imagined such a high level of aggressiveness. But there was no-one here from the Serbian police.”

Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli couldn’t hide his disappointment over the evening’s proceedings. The former Viola man is in no doubt that those involved done their utmost to achieve the postponement of the fixture.

“We are extremely sad and very bitter,” he said. “There were so many children that wanted to watch a show and were not able to do so.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this.The (Serbian) players have been assaulted by their own fans in their bus.”

“Their goalkeeper (Vladimir Stojkovic) was in our changing room, he was trembling and had fear not only about tonight but also in view of returning home.”

“The ultra fans seemed organised. It appeared as though they would have done everything possible to make sure the game was not played. According to the Serbian players, that was their aim.”

UEFA will now await for a report and it looks highly inevitable that they will open a full investigation.

Also see: Italy vs Serbia postponed: Masked Serbian Fans disrupt match with flares (Video).

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Serbia crashed to their first ever home defeat since becoming a indepedent football nation four years ago, losing 3-1 to Estonia in a European qualifier on Friday night.

In five months the team have gone from world cup outsiders to fifth place in group C for Euro 2012.

After a glorious qualification campaign for World Cup 2006, when they performed as Serbia and Montenegro, the side flopped in the tournament finishing bottom of their group at the tournament and could not life themselves for the following European 2008 qualifying.

After bringing Radomir Antic in as head coach, the team now as Serbia, progressed and clinched a place at this summers World Cup in South Africa ahead of France.  Sadly the team did not deliver on the promise it had shown and they crashed out bottom of their group.  Antic for his criticism of the referee in the final group game against Australia earned himself a four game FIFA touchline ban which meant he would be in the stands for the start of Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The ongoing conflict between Antic and the Serbian FA would ultimatly have only one winner. 

At first the FA said that Antic would need to take a paycut as the team’s poor performance during the World Cup had reduced their revenue.  The poor performance of the team, they felt, was Antic’s fault so if he wanted to stay he would have to take a paycut, so the coach said yes.  He reduced his wages by 50% to stay on in the job which was really not what the FA had wanted.

Antic was never the agreeable individual the Serbian FA had wanted but the success he brought on the pitch, with the 22 points from 10 games to qualify for South Africa 2010 and the fact that the national team were once again selling out their home matches due to the exciting brand of football being played, meant that he was untouchable.  But after only 2 qualifying games of the new campaign the axe was swung and Antic was gone.

The reason given was that a coach can not lead a team from the stands but at least the coach from the stand did not lose at home. 

Vladimir Petrovic the new icumbent has a tough job ahead of him.  Moral is low with the squad and the fans do not seem too impressed with the coaching change, but he could not have had an easier first game, home to Estonia.  The press in Belgrade were not too concered with the game, instead looking ahead to the tie with Italy in Genoa which seemed like the clashes that would determine the group winners.

A real fight now lies ahead to qualify for their first Euro since 2000 but perhaps a recovering Italy should not be judged as to frightening a barrier to come up against.  Group C does appear very open group where it looks that all the teams, bar the Faroe Isles, seem capable of taking points off each other but with 6 games to go Petrovic needs his players to start performing now.

Also see our Euro 2012 Qualifiers page for all the Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

A very good day to you all, and welcome to the daily World Cup column here on Soccerlens.

It seems England may have a certain brand of beer to thank for the upturn in their World Cup fortunes after all.

Apparently coach Fabio Capello decided that the only way to get his team up and running was to allow them to have a skinful the night before the Slovenia game – and, you know what, it looked like it may have worked! (Can you imagine the resultant media sh*tstorm if it hadn’t?)

Here’s the best of this morning’s World Cup news…

(If you would like to subscribe to this column  – and others like it on Soccerlens – then please feel free to follow this link, or you can also just enter your email address on the SL homepage.)

Slovenia 0-1 England…

At long last England stamped some sort of authority on the World Cup with a dominant, high-tempo performance that saw them register the deceptively narrow win they needed to see them progress through to the last 16.

After limp performances in their first two Group C games, England were under pressure to finally click into gear. Any lingering doubts were scotched early on as Fabio Capello ushered his side forward, tearing Slovenia apart with the kind of quick, dynamic passing that had been sorely lacking against the US and Algeria.

The deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute when James Milner whipped a dangerous cross into the six-yard box from wide on the right and Jermaine Defoe turned the ball in – thus marking his first World Cup start with a first World Cup goal.

The goal injected even more fervour into the England attack, who pinned Slovenia back into their own half for much of the opening 45 minutes and really should have added a second or third to their tally before the break.

Samir Handanovic put in an impressive shift in the Slovenian goal, producing some fine saves by blocking goal-bound efforts from Steven Gerrard and John Terry and by touching Wayne Rooney‘s scuffed shot onto the post from point-blank range.

As the second half wore on, Slovenia began to find their feet and first Terry, then Glen Johnson had to produce stout blocks to repel two quick-fire efforts from Milijvoje Novakovic before young striker Tim Matavz was denied a dramatic late equaliser due to a heroic last-ditch tackle by England centre-back Matthew Upson.

Wayne Rooney was taken off as a precautionary measure with twenty minutes to play after taking the striker took a knock to the ankle and was replaced by Joe Cole, who received a rapturous welcome upon his arrival.

The last fifteen minutes were tense for both teams.

Slovenia pressed forward as England merely looked to run down the clock, instead of putting the tie beyond doubt – however, some secure handling from David James coupled with some truly fantastic ball-retention work by James Milner saw Capello’s men hang on to their thoroughly-deserved three points.

Highlights…

Read the Slovenia v England match summary.

USA 1-0 Algeria…

USA succeeded where England had failed five days previous, by beating Algeria to book their place in the knock-out stages of the World Cup – despite being on the brink of elimination from the tournament for over 91 minutes.

A 92nd minute, stoppage-time winner from US hero Landon Donovan put Bob Bradley‘s men through, the LA Galaxy winger smashing home after Clint Dempsey‘s close-range effort was repelled by Algerian ‘keeper Rais M’Bolhi.

Algeria were reduced to ten men late in the game when captain Anther Yahia was sent off for picking up a second caution, but the Desert Foxes had long since given up on playing for pride – knowing that even a win wouldn’t see them progress from the group stages.

Donovan’s goal was enough to push England into second place in the Group C standings on goal difference but, with the final Group D table still to have been finalised, it was unclear as to which side that favoured.

Highlights…

Read the USA v Algeria match report.

Australia 2-1 Serbia…

A dominant second half performance from Australia was enough to see that Serbia were knocked out of the World Cup, but unfortunately it couldn’t save the Socceroos from suffering the same fate.

A trademark bounding header from Tim Cahill (restored to the side after serving a one match ban) in the 69th minute and a long-range strike from Brett Holman just four minutes later buoyed Australia’s optimism and they piled forward in search of the two further goals they required to move above Ghana into second place in Group D.

However, as the final whistle loomed, Pim Verbeek‘s side saw their slim hopes of advancing to the last 16 effectively ended when Marko Pantelic reacted quickly to stab home, after Mark Schwarzer had fumbled Zoran Tosic‘s speculative effort, to pull a goal back for the Serbians.

In the end, both sides were left to rue poor results in earlier games – Australia, in particular, paying for their heavy 4-0 defeat to Germany in their opening game – as neither managed to make it past the group stage.

Highlights…

Read the Australia v Serbia match report.

Ghana 0-1 Germany…

Joachim Loew‘s men set up a mouth-watering last 16 tie with England this coming Sunday, after managing to overcome Ghana in a thoroughly entertaining game in Johannesburg last night.

A beautiful strike from rising star Mesut Ozil was the difference between the two teams, the Werder Bremen midfielder lashing a half-volley past Richard Kingson from the edge of the area on the hour mark.

The pulsating match was open and expansive throughout, with Ghana wasting their fair share of opportunities to edge themselves in front and, after Ozil scored for Germany, pull themselves back level – with tournament top-scorer Asamoah Gyan going close on a couple of occasions when he perhaps should have made more of his chances.

Germany held on to their lead pragmatically with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira working tirelessly all night to screen their defense.

At the final whistle, there was still an air of uncertainty emanating from the Ghanaian camp as they waited for news from Nelspruit (Australia vs Serbia) to filter through – but the Black Stars soon realised that they had done enough to book their place in the knock-out phase.

Highlights…

Read the Ghana v Germany match report.

[Inset lager brand here] don’t do teamtalks…

England Coach Fabio Capello has revealed the secret behind his side’s rejuvenation against Slovenia yesterday was to let players enjoy a pint or two the night before. How very English!

After lacklustre displays in their first two Group C games, Capello’s men finally came alive last night with a spirited performance in Port Elizabeth and the Italian gaffer was delighted with the manner in which his side rediscovered their enthusiasm;

“Yesterday evening they drank beer before the game and I saw the team play with the spirit that we lost in the games we played before this game. The performance was really good and we created a lot of chances to score a second goal.

This is the spirit that I remember when we played in the qualification games. I am really happy with the performance of the team.

We played hard, we attacked the ball and this is important if we want to win.”

If they play that well after a couple of jars, then I’d seriously consider letting them all get completely twangoed before the Germany game!

Henry to meet Sarkozy…

Striker Thierry Henry will meet French president Nicolas Sarkozy at the presidential palace L’Elysee later today, to discuss the national team’s disastrous World Cup campaign.

A statement from L’Elysee read;

“Henry called the president from South Africa to tell him that he wanted to see him on his return.”

I can’t imagine what they’d have to talk about – except maybe the fact that Les Bleus finished bottom of their group with only a single goal and point to their names….

Oh! And the fact that Nicolas Anelka was sent home after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at coach Raymond Domenech…

And the fact that the entire squad refused to train and also threatened to boycott their final game in protest over the FFF’s treatment of Anelka…

Actually, there was that thing about captain Patrice Evra going AWOL from a press conference after being told he couldn’t tell reporters the truth…

And…and…and…

Stat attack…

• New Zealand have managed just three shots on target during the World Cup so far, but have scored with two of them.

• Until yesterday’s round of fixtures, there had been a red card issued in every single Group D game.

Algeria’s Saifi ‘slapped female journalist’…

A female journalist has claimed that Algerian forward Rafik Saifi ‘slapped her’ as he left the pitch after the Desert Foxes were knocked out of the World Cup by the USA last night.

Reporter Asma Halimi, who works for Algerian newspaper Competition, told the BBC World Service;

“I was waiting for the Algerian players. When Saifi came I just moved away. I felt a hit.

I will make a complaint with FIFA and with the police.”

The incident was witness by the BBC World Service’s Richard Connelly, who seemed to think that the animosity between Saifi and Halimi dates back to last year when the latter published a less-than-favourable article about the Algerian player;

“Rafik Saifi slapped the face of journalist Asma Halifi, she hit him back as a reflex.

He then threw a bottle of sports drink which missed and had to be restrained from attacking her again.

Saifi took exception to an interview that she translated and published in her newspaper, there was a similar incident between the two last year.

She’s going to complain formally to FIFA and to the police later on tonight.”

I’d suggest that they just kiss and make up, but he’d probably end up headbutting her.

Drumming up support?

Here’s the Portugal squad indulging in a little bit of rhythmic team-bonding.

Deco is taking it FAR too seriously (eyes closed!) and Simao just doesn’t want to know!

Quote of the day…

“There’s a great history of England versus Germany so this is going to be a wonderful opportunity.”

Did Germany coach Joachim Loew just mention the war? I think he got away with it.

And in other news…

France coach Raymond Domenech will not be charged by FIFA for refusing to shake hands with his South Africa counterpart Carlos Alberto Parreira after the two teams met on Tuesday. (Guardian)

Despite limping off the field yesterday, England striker Wayne Rooney is expected to be fit for his country’s second round showdown with Germany on Sunday. (Telegraph)

Soccerlens Fantasy Football…

Soccerlens Fantasy Football gives you the option to go against friends and fellow competitors over a day’s games.

This means that you should pick your fantasy team from players involved in the games happening on that specific day. It also gives you the option of picking your fantasy team with the players you might be more familiar with.

Either way, it’s fast and action packed. So pick the specific round(s) you want to join from the home-page and join a competition!

You can also challenge your friends over a specific round by creating a private competition

Today’s (Thursday 24th June) round is as follows:

• Denmark vs Japan

• Cameroon vs Netherlands

• Slovakia vs Italy

• Paraguay vs New Zealand

Give it a go and you may come away with a cash prize!

The 2010 World Cup on Soccerlens…

There will be comprehensive coverage of the World Cup on Soccerlens over the coming months.

With the dedicated World Cup section (chock full of info, including fixtures and stats – and even links to buy replica shirts) on SL, there really is no need to go anywhere else for your World Cup needs this summer!

You can even follow us on Twitter and Facebook if you’re that way inclined.

Also on Soccerlens…

• Foreign Managers: Right Or Wrong?

• Soccerlens World Cup Podcast: Foreign Gaffers, Uruguay’s Prospects and Yakubu’s Howler!

• The Day The U.S Got Through

• Are The English Fans Behind England?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Australia 2-1 Serbia
2010 FIFA World Cup
23 June 2010

Australia secured their first win of the 2010 World Cup but it wouldn’t be enough as they missed out on the knockout stage. The Socceroos opening 0-4 loss to Germany proved to be the difference as they were behind second place Ghana on goal difference.

Serbia would get some great chances in the first half but Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made some key saves to keep it scoreless. In the second half, the Aussies would score two goals in a four minute span to give them a chance at the knockout stage. The goals were from Tim Cahill in the 69th minute and Brett Holman in the 73rd minute.

Australia still needed a few more goals to make up the goal difference with Ghana but couldn’t find them. Serbia would make it even tougher by cutting the lead in half in the 84th minute with a Marko Pantelica goal.

Both sides were eliminated with the result. Serbia will be disappointed after getting a win against Germany but losing to the two other sides. Australia would have had a chance if they would earned a draw or conceded fewer goals against Germany.

Australia 2-1 Serbia Goal Videos

Australia 1-0 Serbia – (Cahill) 69′

Australia 2-0 Serbia – (Holman) 73′

Australia 2-1 Serbia – (Pantelic) 84′

See all2010 World Cup Video Highlights.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Morning everyone and welcome, welcome, once again welcome to the daily World Cup column on Soccerlens.

Apologies if none of today’s news makes sense, I think a part of my brain may have died whilst watching a certain game of football last night – I think you can probably guess which one I’m referring to!

Here’s the best (and the very worst) of what South Africa has to offer up today…

(If you would like to subscribe to this column  – and others like it on Soccerlens – then please feel free to follow this link, or you can also just enter your email address on the SL homepage.)

Germany 0-1 Serbia…

After their dismantling of Australia, Germany were riding high coming into their second Group D tie in Port Elizabeth yesterday – and were fully expected to dominate a Serbia side that had struggled to settle during their opening game defeat at the hands of Ghana.

However Raddy Antic‘s side had obviously not read the script, as their bustling performance saw them take – and resiliently hold on to – a narrow one-goal lead.

After ridiculously petty refereeing saw German striker Miroslav Klose dismissed after only half-an-hour for two innocuous trips, Serbia sprang into life and consequently took the lead just minutes later – Liverpool-bound forward Milan Jovanovic volleying home Nikola Zigic‘s knock-down from close range.

Germany fought back and were ‘handed’ a golden chance to equalise after Nemanja Vidic‘s baffling handball presented Lukas Podolski with the opportunity to level from the penalty spot, but the Cologne striker’s weak effort was routinely saved by Vladimir Stojkovic.

The frame of the goal then came in for a bit of a battering as the game rumbled on, Sami Khedira crashing a powerful shot against the bar for the Germans before both Jovanovic and Zigic struck the woodwork for the Serbs.

Highlights…

Read the Germany v Serbia match report.

USA 2-2 Slovenia…

A dramatic late equaliser from Michael Bradley (son of coach Bob) saw the Yanks come from two goals down to secure a hard-fought point in an entertaining Group C tie in Johannesburg.

Two first-half goals from the lively Valter Birsa (a whipped 20-yard stunner) and the not-so-lively Zlatan Ljubijankic (a cool, slotted finish past Tim Howard) looked like being enough to secure the Slovenians a safe passage through to the knock-out stages, but Matjaz Kek‘s men hadn’t counted on what was to follow after the break.

Bradley senior made a couple of attacking changes at half-time and the gamble paid off almost immediately when golden boy Landon Donovan raced clear through the inside-right channel and fired a confident shot into the roof of the net from eight yards out.

The US continued to pen Slovenia back and were rewarded for their continued enterprise when Bradley junior poked home a cathartic leveller in the 82nd minute.

Bradley’s men were then robbed of a winner at the death when referee Koman Coulibaly chalked off Maurice Edu‘s late goal after apparently spying an infringement somewhere in the crowded box, although it only seemed to be the defending side that were guilty of any holding.

Highlights…

Read the USA v Slovenia match summary.

Quote of the day…

“I don’t know how they stole the goal from us. I’m not sure what the call was.”

I’m sure US star Landon Donovan isn’t alone on that front.

England 0-0 Algeria…

England failed (once again) to stamp their authority on the World Cup after failing to come up with anything against a pedestrian, unadventurous Algerian side.

The fact that a pigeon (which perched itself on the back of the goal net) commanded most of the screen time throughout the game was indicative of the moribund display on offer elsewhere on the pitch.

A chorus of boos met Fabio Capello‘s side as they left the pitch after the final whistle, a fitting finale for what was an abjectly woeful, constipated performance.

‘Highlights’…

Read the England v Algeria autopsy report.

The aftermath in quotes…

“It’s nice to see your home fans booing you.”

Just a hint of sarcasm from Wayne Rooney, speaking to the ITV cameras as he left the pitch.

“It is a long way to come out here, they want what’s best for us and we do too. We want to qualify and they want to extend their stay out here and see us go as far as possible.”

Midfielder Gareth Barry looks like he may be starting to finally ‘get it’.

“We’re not happy with the performance, we need more if we want to stay in this tournament until the final stages.

We were not good enough to make the breakthrough in the final third.

We’ve not got any excuses, we know what we have to do. We have to win the final game which adds to the pressure but at this level you have to handle that pressure.

We were not aggressive enough and didn’t have the cutting edge in the final third. Give them [Algeria] credit but we have to look at ourselves.”

By Jove, I think captain Steven Gerrard might be on to something here!

“We’re a great team regardless of what anyone says about this game.”

Jermaine Defoe sticks his ‘rose-tinteds’ on.

“You have to give Algeria credit for making the game as dire a spectacle as it turned out.”

‘Keeper David James. Algeria shouldn’t get all the credit.

“I thought they would be better. I don’t know what happened.”

Algeria coach Rabah Saadane.

“Never in the field of World Cup conflict, has so little been offered by so few to so many.”

The Sun channel Winston Churchill to make their point.

“Hopeless, Clueless, Spineless”

Weirdly, The Daily Telegraph were slightly less verbose.

“Rubbish, garbage, talentless, useless, inadequate, incompetent, unskillful, absurd, meaningless, tosh, trash, farce, lumber, dross, dregs, trivial, NOTHING!”

A text message I received from my Grandad at the final whistle.

Once more into the breach…

The game that marred my evening was marred itself by a ‘security breach’ that saw an irate fan barge his way into the England dressing room to confront David Beckham.

The FA have officially complained to FIFA after the man eluded security staff before remonstrating with Beckham, who has travelled with the England squad to South Africa despite being injured, minutes after the game had finished in Cape Town.

An FA spokesman confirmed that his organisation are in doubt as to where the responsibility lies;

“A fan got in past FIFA security. We have formally complained to FIFA after the game and will follow it up in writing.

This is not acceptable and thankfully no serious harm was done.”

You can read a little more on the story here. (BBC Sport)

Ipso defecto…

FIFA have insisted they have no idea as to whether four members of the North Korea World Cup squad have gone missing, with reports starting to circulate within various South Africa-based media outlets.

Allegations have surfaced in the press that the players may have tried to defect after the official team sheet for North Korea’s 2-1 defeat by Brazil on Tuesday listed the players Kim Myong-Won, An Chol-Hyok, Kim Kyong-Il and Pak Sung-Hyok as absent.

FIFA communications director Nicolas Maingot told a press briefing:

“We have no information on this – we have only been contacted on this issue by the media. Our media officer with the Korea DPR who has spoken to their delegation completely deny these rumours.”

What could possibly force four men, who have been living under blanket oppression for the best part of their lives, to ‘go missing’ at the first chance they get?

If ITV had broadcast the ’66 final…

Tres, tres amusant. Mostly because it’s so true!

And in other news…

Switzerland defender Phillipe Senderos may miss the rest of the World Cup after injuring his ankle attempting to tackle a teammate during the Swiss’ shock win over Spain. (F365)

Injured Italy ‘keeper Gianluigi Buffon is to have surgery on his spine. (Goal)

Holland winger Arjen Robben will be fit (but probably won’t start) for the Dutch when they take on Japan later today. (Guardian)

World Cup winner Nobby Stiles is in ‘good spirits’ after recovering from a stroke. Get well soon Nobby. (Mail)

Soccerlens Fantasy Football…

Soccerlens Fantasy Football gives you the option to go against friends and fellow competitors over a day’s games.

This means that you should pick your fantasy team from players involved in the games happening on that specific day. It also gives you the option of picking your fantasy team with the players you might be more familiar with.

Either way, it’s fast and action packed. So pick the specific round(s) you want to join from the home-page and join a competition!

You can also challenge your friends over a specific round by creating a private competition

Today’s (Saturday 19th June) round is as follows:

• Netherlands vs Japan

• Ghana vs Australia

• Cameroon vs Denmark

Give it a go and you may come away with a cash prize!

The 2010 World Cup on Soccerlens…

There will be comprehensive coverage of the World Cup on Soccerlens over the coming weeks.

With the dedicated World Cup section (chock full of info, including fixtures and stats – and even links to buy replica shirts) on SL, there really is no need to go anywhere else for your World Cup needs this summer!

You can even follow us on Twitter and Facebook if you’re that way inclined.

Also on Soccerlens…

• How Koman Coulibaly Made 300 Million Enemies In 15 Seconds!

• Daniele De Rossi: ‘If We Lose, It Would Be As If The All-Blacks Were Knocked Out In Rugby’

• Soccerlens Offical 2010 World Cup Song

• World Cup Podcast: England Fever, French Flops And Maradona Magic

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Germany 0-1 Serbia
2010 FIFA World Cup
18 June 2010

Serbia would get a crucial win in Group D over Germany on Friday afternoon at Port Elizabeth.

The match was scoreless until a foul by Germany’s Miroslav Klose would alter the momentum of the match. Klose would get booked for his second yellow card in the 36th minute to received a red card. It would put Germany to 10 men for the rest of the match and proved to be significant.

Serbia would take advantage only a few minutes later as a cross was sent in the box and scored by Milan Jovanovic in the 38th minute. They would never relinquish the lead. Germany did come close in the second half as a handball was called on Nemanja Vidic in the box. It was a penalty kick for Germany in the 60th minute. Lukas Podolski stepped up to take the penalty but it was saved by Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.

The result now puts Group D up for grabs as Serbia and Germany are tied with three points and the other two teams (Australia and Ghana) have yet to play their second match.

Germany 0-1 Serbia Goal Videos

German 0-1 Serbia – (Jovanovic) 38′ 

See all2010 World Cup Video Highlights.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

You can watch Germany v Serbia live online through our partners at Live Sport Network. Click here to sign up.

Germany v Serbia
Group D, 2010 World Cup
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Friday, 18 June 2010
Kickoff: 16:30 Local

Germany’s win over Australia briefly catapulted them into the favourites slot, and while their squad always had the quality, it’s worth noting that their win came against a team shorn of striking ability and defensively stale, while the scoreline was flattered by their best player being sent off.

Not too different then, from Argentina’s 4-1 win over South Korea, where the losing side played far better than the result suggested and the winners were helped by the profligacy of their strikers.

The World Cup may be seeing fewer goals but it’s not because of better defending, it’s more a case of teams not being as efficient in front of goal as before. Still, with everyone having played at least a game, there’s no room left for using rustiness as an excuse.

Serbia go into this match knowing that they need to win, but have the players to hold off Germany’s forward line and with their players having extensive experience in European leagues (especially Bundesliga), their players will know how to best counter Germany’s strengths.

Serbia need at least a point from this game and will be hoping that Australia can nick points off Ghana, otherwise it’ll be curtains for them at this World Cup. Germany, on the other hand, know that a victory will secure qualification and put them in the second round alongside the likes of Mexico and Argentina.

Germany v Serbia Live Feeds

You can watch Germany take on Serbia live online as well as all other World Cup matches, plus hundreds of football games from around the world. Read our live World Cup football page for more details.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Afternoon everybody, and welcome to the daily Soccerlens World Cup column.

Here’s the best of what the tournament, way down yonder in South Africa, has to offer up today…

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Algeria 0-1 Slovenia…

Slovenia moved to the top of the Group C table after captain Robert Koren‘s late winner secured them all three points against Algeria in Polokwane yesterday.

Just as the game was about to enter the final ten minutes Koren, recently released by West Brom, let fly with a low 20-yard effort that somehow evaded Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi‘s awkward dive and ended up nestled in the far corner of the net – thus giving the Eastern Europeans their first ever win at a World Cup finals.

Algeria also did their bit to rewrite the record books when forward Abdelkader Ghezzal picked up the fastest red card for a substitute for two bookable offences in World Cup history after being issued with a second caution for a frankly ludicrous handball. A proud day for the Ghezzal family I’m sure!

Highlights…

Read Jonathon Feyerherm‘s Algeria v Slovenia match report.

Serbia 0-1 Ghana…

Yet another solitary late goal was enough to ensure that Ghana got their World Cup campaign off to a well-deserved winning start.

Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng shone in what was only his second appearance for his country, as Serbia struggled to contain the mobile, well-conditioned Ghanaian midfield.

Serbia’s plight was made even more difficult when defender Aleksandar Lukovic picked up a second booking for impeding Asamoah Gyan just 15 minutes from time, but there was still time for Raddy Antic‘s side to threaten the Ghana goal – ‘keeper Richard Kingson reacting quickly to palm a close-range Milos Krasic effort over the bar.

However, Ghana finally received the breakthrough their dominant display deserved as they were awarded an 85th minute penalty when Zdravko Kuzmanovic inexplicably handled a high cross slung into the area – which Udinese striker Gyan confidently dispatched to give the Black Stars the perfect start in their bid to progress from a potentially difficult group.

Highlights…

Read the Serbia v Ghana match report.

Germany 4-0 Australia

Germany pulled out a 4-star performance, filled with attacking creativity and guile, to comprehensively beat ten-man Australia in their opening World Cup clash.

Goals from Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (who is now within four goals of equalling Ronaldo’s World Cup goal-scoring record) Thomas Muller and Cacau ensured the German’s stated their credentials in consummate style.

Germany were aided in their victory by two significant factors, the first being the sparkling performance of young Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Ozil and the second being the 55th minute dismissal of Australia’s Tim Cahill for a clumsy – but seemingly innocuous – challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Watch all the goals from the Germany v Australia game.

Mountain out of a Cahill…

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill was inconsolable after receiving a red card during his country’s opening World Cup clash defeat against Germany yesterday, describing the incident as ‘one of the saddest moments of his career’ before breaking down in front of the assembled media.

The recipient of the offending challenge, Bastian Schweinsteiger, approached Cahill after the game and told the Everton man that he didn’t think that the tackle wasn’t red-card worthy but the German’s gesture proved too much to bear – as Cahill struggled to compose himself during a post-game press conference;

“I’m just sad. It’s probably one of the saddest moments of my footballing career to be in this position, to hear Schweinsteiger say that, it’s very nice of him to say it wasn’t a red card. It just shows you how dreams can be made and crushed in the space of hours.

It’s one of the lowest points of my career. But this is the beauty of football. One day you are a hero, the next day you are at the bottom.”

My leg stayed bent all the way. Never once did I try to straighten it. What do you want me to say?”

Cahill is now certain to miss Australia’s next gama against Ghana on Saturday at the very least.

Bless ‘em…

The Yanks still don’t quite get it, do they?

(Taken from the New York Post.)

Let injured Drog’s lie…

Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure has issued a rallying call to his team-mates, telling them to believe that they can make an impact in South Africa without or without captain Didier Drogba, who is facing a race to recover in time for their opening Group G game against Portugal tomorrow.

The Manchester City centre-back told FIFA.com;

“During the first few days, it was really hard to take because Didier is our captain and best player, after all.

He’s a top goalscorer who has always stood up to be counted when we have found ourselves with our backs against the wall but there are 23 players here representing the Ivory Coast and it is all those players together who will win us matches, not Didier Drogba on his own.

We will deal with whatever comes our way. What counts now is that everyone fights for each other, side by side.”

Toure also praised the way in which newly-appointed coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has changed the attitude of the Cote D’Ivoire collective;

“[Eriksson] has put an added emphasis on playing as a team and not just as a collection of individuals.

He has managed to change the mindset of the team and of each player. We have always had good players, but have never been able to properly work together as an effective unit, defending and attacking as one.

That’s what we have been working on, and we hope that it will bear fruit, starting with our first match versus Portugal.”

Ball control…

I feel your pain Sir, I really do. Brings a new meaning to the phrase ‘knocking a few balls around’.

Fan of the day…

A Ghana fan turned up with a huge smouldering pot on his head, and thought absolutely nothing of it.

And in other news…

Despite protestations from players, supporters and officials alike, the World Cup Organisers have confirmed that they will not be banning fans from bring their much-maligned vuvuzelas to games. (BBC Sport)

England defender Ledley King looks set to miss out on the rest of the World Cup after sustaining a groin strain against the USA on Saturday, leaving Jamie Carragher (who seemingly fancies the job), Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson vying for a starting berth alongside John Terry against Algeria . (Sky Sports)

A slightly more pressing injury concern for England is the fact that Wayne Rooney had to sit out of training this morning after receiving a knock on the ankle, although the injury is unlikely to keep him out of the Algeria game. (Guardian)

Soccerlens Fantasy Football

There’s £1600 up for grabs in the Soccerlens World Cup Fantasy Football Challenge, so why not try your hand?

There are also some pretty significant runners-up prizes on offer, so it’s well worth a go.

The 2010 World Cup on Soccerlens

There will be comprehensive coverage of the World Cup on Soccerlens over the coming months.

With the dedicated World Cup section (chock full of info, including fixtures and stats – and even links to buy replica shirts) on SL, there really is no need to go anywhere else for your World Cup needs this summer!

You can even follow us on Twitter and Facebook if you’re that way inclined.

Also on Soccerlens…

• Italian phrasebook for referees!

• Clash of the newbies: New Zealand v Slovakia

• A touch of Mourinho required for the Aussies?

• 10 things you should know about Japan v Cameroon

• Also,  10 things you should know about Netherlands v Denmark

From Soccerlens.com - Football News