Source: FOOTYMAD
NU Mad - World Cup Report - Monday
Thank you Germany, for dragging this competition out of the gutter! Eight games to date - entertainment value 2/10 - until the Krauts showed us the way. Algeria coach Rabah Saadane remains wary of Group C rivals England and USA despite being underwhelmed by their display on Saturday. Saadane: "The performance of the two teams on Saturday I wouldn't say impressed me because I know them and they have vast experience and are at a high level. "England are a notch above the US and they are very committed. We all saw what they can do. "I think there will not be a psychological impact for the great players because of Green's mistake. "I don't think he's destabilised. He played well in the second half, so he will not collapse mentally in another game. "Chaouchi is our best keeper at the moment and for me [dropping him] is out of the question unless he asks for that himself. "He's aware of what he did so he said sorry to the team but he's a keeper with a great future in front of him. "I don't think it would be appropriate after somebody makes a mistake to change them. "I think these two mistakes are part of learning. This is what happens in high-level matches. Football has mistakes. "We saw the mistake of the English keeper. I wouldn't want to blame them." Jamie Carragher is ready to partner John Terry at the heart of England's defence in the absence of the injured Ledley King. Carragher: "I believe we can form a solid defensive partnership if given the chance. "Time will tell, we'll be able to assess after the performances. "You have got to be confident. "A lot of experienced players in the squad have been to World Cups before. I don't think the squad has changed that much from four years ago. Hopefully (we can) build on the experience from then and go one better. "I've played for Liverpool for 12-14 years and the manager always tells us the team two hours before the game. "It's no different. I'm not sure what other teams do, I've never known anything different. "Before the game if you asked me I would have said Rob Green is playing. I think he's played nearly every international running in. "For me I always thought Robert Green was going to start because he was always the first-choice pick. "I'm not sure what he'll do in the next game bit I was always sure if I was going to play in the game that Rob Green would be behind me. "I've seen him this morning and he looks fine. "I'm sure Fabio Capello will be fine. He's been manager of Real Madrid and AC Milan. "I know we talk about the pressure of managing England but speaking to some of the Spanish players I think Real Madrid is another topic all together. "I'm sure he'll be fine." ALGERIA 0 SLOVENIA 1 Algeria goalkeeper Farouzi Chaouchi's error 11 minutes from time handed Slovenia a crucial victory in their Group C match at Polokwane. Less than 24 hours after England's Robert Green had let Clint Dempsey's shot slip from his grasp in the 1-1 draw in the group's opening game, Chaouchi produced a similar howler. Slovenia captain and former West Brom midfielder Robert Koren's 25-yard shot was not particularly venomous but the Algeria goalkeeper allowed it to bounce up off his shoulder and into the net. Only moments before that the Africans had been reduced to 10 men when substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal's needless handball resulted in a second yellow card. The win puts Slovenia top of the fledgling table and with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, an unlikely scenario before the tournament kicked off. On this evidence it would seem unlikely either nation will cause Group C's 'big two' any problems but, as has so often been the case in the past, England have an unwelcome habit of stumbling over hard-working and resolute teams. And both Algeria and Slovenia reached the World Cup with play-off victories over Egypt and Russia, countries supposedly superior to them. ALGERIA: Chaouchi, Bougherra, Yahia, Halliche, Belhadj,Kadir (Guedioura 82), Lacen, Ziani, Yebda,Djebbour (Ghezzal 58), Matmour (Saifi 80). SLOVENIA: Samir Handanovic, Brecko, Suler, Cesar, Jokic, Kirm,Koren, Radosavljevic (Komac 87), Birsa (Pecnik 84), Novakovic,Dedic (Ljubijankic 52). Goal: Koren 79. SERBIA 0 GHANA 1 Asamoah Gyan's late penalty earned Ghana a winning start to their World Cup campaign at the expense of 10-man Serbia in Pretoria. The impressive Gyan, who also hit the post twice, fired home from the spot in 84th minute after Zdravko Kuzmanovic inexplicably handled a cross in the area. That sealed a closely-fought Group D encounter at Loftus Versfeld and puts Ghana in a promising position to progress through to the knockout phase in their second appearance at the World Cup finals. For Serbia, who were playing with a man less from the 74th minute following the dismissal of Aleksandar Lukovic, they now have a mountain to climb as they face group favourites Germany in their next match. SERBIA: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Lukovic, Vidic, Kolarov, Krasic, Milijas (Kuzmanovic 62), Stankovic, Jovanovic (Subotic 76), Pantelic, Zigic (Lazovic 69). GHANA: Kingson, Pantsil, Vorsah, John Mensah, Sarpei, Tagoe, Annan, Kevin-Prince Boateng (Addy 90), Andre Ayew, Asamoah (Appiah 73), Gyan (Owusu-Abeyie 90). Goal: Gyan 84 pen. GERMANY 4 AUSTRALIA 0 Germany got their World Cup campaign off to a flying start with a dominating display against 10-man Australia in Durban. With a young squad and without injured Michael Ballack, the Germans went on a scoring rampage. Lukas Podolski opened their account in the eighth minute before veteran Miroslav Klose doubled the lead before the half-hour mark. Cheered by the numerous green and gold fans at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Socceroos showed more determination after the re-start but saw their challenge take a fatal hit when Tim Cahill was shown a straight red card in the 56th minute following a foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger. Thomas Muller added Germany's third in the 68th minute before substitute Cacau got an easy tap-in less than two minutes after coming on as a substitute. The Germans, who had not lost a group game since 1994, are top of Group D alongside Ghana. GERMANY: Neuer, Lahm, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Badstuber,Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Muller, Ozil (Gomez 73),Podolski (Marin 81), Klose (Cacau 69). Goals: Podolski 8, Klose 27, Muller 68, Cacau 70. AUSTRALIA: Schwarzer, Wilkshire, Moore, Neill, Chipperfield,Valeri, Grella (Holman 46), Emerton (Jedinak 74), Culina,Garcia (Rukavytsya 64), Cahill.
