David Villa Spain's hero as they beat Iberian neighbours Portugal 1-0

David Villa was once again Spain's hero as they beat Iberian neighbours Portugal 1-0 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Barcelona striker scored his fourth goal of the tournament, his seventh in as many World Cup starts, with a poacher's finish in the 63rd minute in Cape Town to complete a fine Spain move against a Portugal side that was reduced to ten men in the final moments when Ricardo Costa was sent-off for violent conduct.

Two years to the day since their European Championship triumph, Spain were the more fluid team throughout and deserved their victory, which sets up a quarter-final clash against Paraguay in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque named the same starting line-up that beat Chile in their last game, while Simao Sabrosa and Hugo Almeida returned to the Portugal side for the first ever World Cup finals clash between the Iberian rivals.

The action started almost immediately, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres bending a shot that Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo had to scramble to save, before making an almost identical stop to keep out Villa's effort.

At the other end, Tiago tested Iker Casillas from the edge of the box and then he and Almeida missed the target with headers from unmarked positions.

Both sides came out after the beak with more purpose, and Portugal nearly took the lead in the 52nd minute when Almeida's cross took a deflection and looped just wide of the post.

Spain responded and Villa smashed an effort just wide before substitute Fernando Llorente, on for Fernando Torres, headed straight at Eduardo from point blank range.

Spain took the lead two minutes later and it took something special for Portugal to concede only their second goal in 13 internationals. Some wonderful build-up play from Andres Iniesta and Xavi set up Villa, whose first shot was saved by Eduardo before his second found its way into the goal via the underside of the crossbar.

Sergio Ramos and Villa both forced Eduardo into a diving saves as Spain pushed to double their advantage. Portugal rallied late on but Costa saw red after he appeared to direct an elbow towards Joan Capdevila and Spain played some of their customary passing football to comfortably see the game out.

Line-Ups:

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevilla, Xabi Alonso (Carlos Marchena 90+2'), Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Fernando Torres (Fernando Llorente 59'), David Villa (Pedro 87')

Portugal: Eduardo, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentreao, Raul Meireles, Pepe (Pedro Mendes 72'), Tiago, Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao Sabrosa (Liedson 72'), Hugo Almeida (Danny 58')

Samurai team struggle eliminated a penalty shootout : Japan 0-0 Paraguay

Japanese star Keisuke Honda led Japan's attack but the Blue Samurai lost 5-3 to Paraguay on a penalty shootout in the World Cup last-16 match. The CSKA Moscow midfielder, who scored two goals and set up another in the group stage, played as lone frontman for the fourth straight game with support from J-League forward Yoshito Okubo and Grenoble's Daisuke Matsui.

An inconclusive first phase continued after half-time despite Honda's tireless runs up and down the pitch. In the 71st minute, Honda fed a through pass to substitute forward Shinji Okazaki in the box. But the prolific Shimizu S-Pulse forward, who had scored against Denmark on a Honda cross, could only hit his effort into a Paraguay defender.

Honda received his first yellow card of his World Cup debut tournament in stoppage time for handling the ball in midfield before the game headed into extra-time at 0-0.

Line-Ups:

Paraguay: Justo Villar, Antolin Alcaraz, Paulo Da Silva, Claudio Morel Rodriguez, Carlos Bonet, Nestor Ortigoza (Edgar Barretto 75'), Cristian Riveros, Enrique Vera, Edgar Benitez (Nelson Valdes 59'), Roque Santa Cruz (Oscar Cardozo 91'), Lucas Barrios

Japan: Eiji Kawashima, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuji Nakazawa, Yugo Nagatomo, Yuichi Komano, Yuki Abe (Kengo Nakamura 80'), Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Yoshito Okubo (Keiji Tamada 105'), Keisuke Honda, Daisuke Matsui (Shinji Okazaki 65')

Brazil beat Chile 3-0 to reach quarterfinals

While its fans paraded around the stadium with two huge replicas of the World Cup trophy, Brazil clinically beat South American rival Chile 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals Monday.

The players were almost nonchalant about yet another victory over a personal patsy — Chile hasn't beaten Brazil in a decade — as they shook hands and exchanged hugs. They let the folks in the stands do the same samba and the singing as they moved closer to holding the real prize.

Five-time champion Brazil will face the Netherlands, which earlier Monday defeated Slovakia 2-1, on Friday.

Juan opened the scoring in the 35th minute at Ellis Park Stadium with a firm header from near the penalty spot off a corner kick. Luis Fabiano added to the lead in the 38th, receiving a one-touch pass from Kaka and dribbling past goalkeeper Claudio Bravo inside the area before hitting the open net.

Robinho scored his first goal in the tournament with a shot from the top of the area in the 59th minute, a one-timer into the far corner. It was Robinho's seventh goal in Brazil's last six matches against the Chileans.
Chile is the first South American team eliminated. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are in the final eight, and Paraguay plays Japan on Tuesday.

The victory in front of nearly 55,000 fans at Ellis Park extended Brazil's dominance over Chile. It was the eighth consecutive win; the last loss to Chile was 3-0 in a 2000 qualifier for the 2002 World Cup.

Brazil has now reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup every time since the 1990 tournament in Italy, when it fell 1-0 to Diego Maradona's Argentina in the second round. Brazil coach Dunga and assistant coach Jorginho were starters in that Brazilian team.

The Brazilians won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups in that span.

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Line-Ups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Juan, Lucio, Michel Bastos, Maicon, Gilberto Silva, Ramires, Kaka (Kleberson 79'), Robinho (Gilberto Melo 85'), Dani Alves, Luis Fabiano (Nilmar 76')

Chile: Claudio Bravo, Gonzalo Jara, Pablo Contreras (Rodrigo Tello 46'), Ismael Fuentes, Mauricio Isla (Rodrigo Millar 61'), Carlos Carmona, Jean Beausejour, Arturo Vidal, Mark Gonzalez (Jorge Valdivia 46'), Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo

Arjen Robben scored opener and Wesley Sneijder finalize with crucial goal : Slovakia 1-2 Netherland

An individual goal by winger Arjen Robben helped Netherlands into the quarter-finals of the World Cup as he set them on the way to a 2-1 victory over Slovakia on Monday.

Robben struck in the 18th minute when he ran on to a long through ball from Wesley Sneijder, turned and slammed in a left-footed shot past Jan Mucha in the Slovak goal. Sneijder added a second after a pass from Dirk Kuyt in the 84th.
It was the first start of the tournament and the first goal for Robben, who came to the finals carrying a hamstring injury.

Slovakia grabbed a late consolation goal through a Robert Vittek penalty with the last kick of the match. The Dutch will play the winners of the second round game between Brazil and Chile later on Monday in the quarter-finals.

Line-Ups:

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Joris Mathijsen, John Heitinga, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Gregory Van Der Wiel, Nigel De Jong, Mark Van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder (Ibrahim Afellay 90'), Arjen Robben (Eljero Elia 70'), Dirk Kuyt, Robin Van Persie (Klas Jan Huntelaar 80')

Slovakia: Jan Mucha, Jan Durica, Martin Skrtle, Radoslav Zabavnik (Martin Jakubko 86'), Peter Pekarik, Marek Hamsik (Marek Spara 86'), Juraj Kucka, Erik Jendrisek (Kamil Kopunek 71'), Miroslav Stoch, Vladimir Weiss, Robert Vittek

Higuain scored Carlos Tevez double to face Germany in session big match : Argentina 3-1 Mexico

Argentina beat Mexico 3-1 Sunday to set up a tantalising quarter-final against Germany thanks to a brace from Carlos Tevez with a Gonzalo Higuain strike sandwiched between.

Tevez’s opener had been clearly off side and will spark great debate on a day when a refereeing error marked the England Germany match. Tevez however struck a thunderbolt for the third, one of the best individual goals at the World Cup so far.

Mexico played well and can look to a fine control, shimmy and strike from Javier Hernandez on 71 minutes which pegged it back to 3-1 and reflected the role the Central Americans played in this last 16 tie.

Line-Ups:

Argentina: Sergio Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Heinze, Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez (Javier Pastore 86'), Angel Di Maria (Jonas Gutierrez 76'), Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez (Juan Veron 68'), Gonzalo Higuain.

Mexico: Oscar Perez, Efrain Juarez, Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio, Andres Guardado (Guilermo Franco 62'), Gerardo Torrado, Adolfo Bautista (Pablo Barrera 45'), Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez.

Klose and Podolski scored, Thomas Mueller double : England 1-4 Germany

Thomas Mueller scored twice in the second half Sunday and England had a goal not awarded by the referee in a 4-1 victory that put Germany into the World Cup quarterfinals.

The 20-year-old forward finished two quick German counterattacks within 3 minutes to sink England's hopes of beating Germany at the World Cup for the first time since the 1966 final.

England was not helped by referee Jorge Larrionda waving play on even though Frank Lampard's first-half shot landed well past the goal line after hitting the crossbar. Germany led 2-1 at the time.

Germany went up on goals by Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski before Matthew Upson pulled a goal back in the 37th minute.

On Lampard's non-goal, after the ball landed inside the goal, it ball spun back into the arms of Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. England coach Fabio Capello initially celebrated what he thought was an equalizer by clenching his fists and shaking his arms. But his face changed when he realized the goal had not been given.

Line-Ups:

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Jerome, Boateng, Thomas Mueller (Piotr Trochowski 72'), Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil (Stefan Kiessling 83'), Miroslav Klose (Mario Gomez 73').

England: David James, Glen Johnson (Shaun Wright-Phillips 87'), Matthew Upson, John Terry, Ashley Cole, James Milner (Joe Cole 64'), Steven Gerrard, Fank Lampard, Mr Gareth Barry, Jermain Defoe (Emile Heskey 71 '), Wayne Rooney.

Prince Boateng and Asamoah Gyan resume sole African representative : Ghana 2-1 USA

Ghana, the only African team left in the tournament, celebrated moving into the quarterfinals against Uruguay on Friday in Johannesburg after beat USA 2-1

Kevin Prince Boateng put Ghana ahead when he stripped the ball from Ricardo Clark in the 5th minute and beat goalkeeper Tim Howard from 16 yards.

Once again, the U.S. came back, and Landon Donovan tied the score with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute after Jonathan Mensah pulled down Clint Dempsey streaking in. But no matter how much the Americans pressured after Gyan scored, they couldn't tie it again.

In the first-ever extra time World Cup game for the U.S., Gyan got the winning goal when he took a long ball from Andre Ayew over the defense and beat U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra, his teammate on the French club Rennes. Gyan let the ball bounce, took a touch with his chest, and with Jay DeMerit vainly trying to catch up, scored over goalkeeper Tim Howard with a left-footed shot from 16 yards.

Line-Ups:

USA.: Tim Howard, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Bornstein, Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark (Maurice Edu 31'), Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore (Hercule Gomez 90'), Robie Findley (Benny Feilhaber 45').

Ghana: Richard Kingson, John Pantsil, Jonathan Mensah, John Mensah, Hans Sarpei (Lee Addy 72'), Anthony Annan, Samuel Inkoom (Sulley Muntari 111'), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Stephane Appiah 78'), Dede Ayew; Kwadwo Asamoah, three-Asamoah Gyan.

Brilliant Luis Suarez scored twice eliminate one Asian vice : Uruguay 2-1 South Korea

Luis Suarez scored twice as Uruguay beat South Korea 2-1 on Saturday and advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years.

Playing in swirling wind and rain, Suarez scored the winner in the 80th minute after sidestepping two defenders and curling a right-footed shot off the post from the edge of the area.

Lee Chung-yong had tied the game in the 68th on a header after goalkeeper Fernando Muslera left his line attempting to punch away a looping ball.

Uruguay took the lead in the eighth when Diego Forlan's cross from the left flank went across the goal mouth and Suarez put the ball in the net with a one-timer from a tight angle.

Uruguay will play a quarterfinal against the United States or Ghana, who play later Saturday

Line-Ups:

Uruguay: Fernando Muslera, Diego Godin (Mauricio Victorino 45'), Diego Lugano, Jorge Fucile, Maxi Pereira, Egidio Arevalo, Diego Perez, Luis Suarez (Alvaro Fernandez 84'), Diego Forlan, Alvaro Pereira (Nicolas Lodeiro), Edinson Cavani

South Korea: Jung Sung-Ryong, Lee Jung-Soo, Cho Yong-Hyung, Lee Yong-Pyo, Cha Du-Ri, Kim Sung-Yueng (Yeom Ki- Hun), Kim Jung-Woo, Kim Jae-Sung (Lee Dong-Gook 60'), Lee Chung-Yong, Park Chu-Young, Park Ji-Sung

David Villa and Andres Iniesta scored brought Spain to the round of 16.

David Villa and Andres Iniesta each scored as Spain beat Chile 2-1 on Friday at the World Cup, a result that sends both teams on to the round of 16.

Villa got his goal on a shot from 45 yards out in the 24th minute, when goalkeeper Claudio Bravo came out of his area and cleared a ball straight to the Spain striker.

Iniesta doubled the advantage by beating Bravo with a right-footed shot from the edge of the area in the 37th, with Marco Estrada ejected after collecting his second yellow card on the play.

Chile didn't back down, pressing and scoring on substitute Rodrigo Millar's deflected shot in the 47th.

Line-Ups:

Chile: Claudio Bravo, Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Waldo Ponce, Arturo Vidal, Mark Gonzalez (Rodrigo Millar 46), Marco Estrada, Gonzalo Jara, Jorge Valdivia (Esteban Paredes 46), Jean Beausejour, Alexis Sanchez (Fabian Orellana 65).

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila, Xabi Alonso (Javi Martinez 73), Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Fernando Torres (Cesc Fabregas 55), David Villa.

Netherlands' 2-1 win over Cameroon ensured that the Orange perfect point in Group E

The Netherlands produced its first goals of flair and finesse to beat Cameroon 2-1 and set up a second-round match with Slovakia.

Robin Van Persie finished off an end-to-end move in the 36th minute, and substitute Arjen Robben sent a shot against the post in the 83rd that Klaas Jan Huntelaar only had to slide in for the winner.

In between, Samuel Eto'o scored on penalty kick for Cameroon.

The Dutch won Group E with three victories. They play Slovakia on Monday in Durban.

Cameroon lost all three of its matches.

Playing with poise and confidence, the Dutch often thrilled the crowd of 63,093 with their creative moves. Yet Eto'o and Cameroon often were able to pierce the defense and threaten goalie Maarten Stekelenburg.

In the 73rd minute, the tens of thousands of orange-clad fans in the Green Point Stadium cheered when Robben made his debut at the World Cup almost three weeks after sustaining a left hamstring injury in a warmup game. He immediately showed his value.

After tiptoeing carefully during his first moves, he was served a pass on the right wing 10 minutes after coming on. With a move so often seen during his sterling season with Bayern Munich, he cut inside, beat defenders and curled a shot past goalkeeper Hamidou Souleymanou. It crashed against the post and Huntelaar was in the right place to give the Netherlands the win.

After two victories, coach Bert van Marwijk sought to keep the momentum and played both midfielder Nigel de Jong and Van Persie, even though both would have been excluded from the Slovakia game if they drew another yellow card.

Instead, Van Persie scored a typical Dutch goal in the 36th minute, one that flowed from defense to attack with crisp, pinpoint passing and ended with a precise shot.

After Dirk Kuyt took the ball up the right side, Van Persie played a neat one-two with Rafael van der Vaart, and then shot through the legs of Souleymanou from a tight angle.

Cameroon, which put Africa on the soccer map when it reached the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup, did not give up. Van der Vaart handled a free kick by Geremi in the area. Eto'o scored on the penalty kick.
Late in the game, Cameroon defender Rigobert Song made a cameo appearance in his fourth World Cup.

Source : deccanchronicle

Line-Ups:

Cameroon: Souleymanou Hamidou, Stephane Mbia, Landry Nguemo, Nicolas Nkoulou (Rigobert Song 74'), Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Geremi, Jean Makoun, Alexandre Song , Samuel Eto'o, Eric-Moting Choupo (Mohamadou Idrissou 72'), Gaetan Bong (Vincent Aboubakar 56').

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Khalid Boulahrouz, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dirk Kuyt (Eljero Elia 66'), Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart (Arjen Robben 73'), Robin van Persie (Klaas Jan Huntelaar 59').

Keisuke Honda and Yusuhito Endo helped lift Japan to a 3-1 win over Denmark

Spectacular first-half goals by Keisuke Honda and Yusuhito Endo helped lift Japan to a 3-1 win over Denmark on Thursday, sending the Japanese into the round of 16 at the World Cup.

The Danes, who replied in the 81st minute when Jon Dahl Tomasson tapped in the rebound from his own penalty kick, failed to advance from the group stage for the first time in four World Cup appearances.

Shinji Okazaki scored an insurance goal in the 87th for the Japanese.

Japan's first two goals came from free kicks less than 15 minutes apart, as it collected its second win in Group E.

The Japanese finished with six points compared to three for third-place Denmark. Cameroon was last in the group.

The Japanese have now reached the knockout round for the second time. They also advanced in 2002, when they were tournament co-hosts with South Korea.

Japan will face Paraguay in Pretoria on Tuesday in the second round.

Japanese players took held hands and bowed like a chorus line before their joyous fans at the end of the game.
Honda got his second goal of the tournament in the 17th minute with a blistering kick from the right of the Danish area. The ball went over the wall and swerved beyond goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen's reach into the far corner.

Endo's free kick came from outside the penalty area directly in front of the Danish goal. He curled his shot around the wall. Despite leaping to his left Sorensen couldn't get to it.

Denmark was awarded a penalty when Makoto Hasebe brought down Daniel Agger. Tomasson hit the ball at Eiji Kawashima, but the goalkeeper couldn't hold on and the Danish captain knocked in the loose ball.

Honda tormented the Danish defense with his tight dribbling before laying the ball to Okazaki, a substitute, who put away the final goal.

Source : deccanchronicle

Line-Ups:

Denmark: Thomas Sorensen, Daniel Agger, Per Kroldrup (Soren Larsen 56'), Simon Poulsen, Lars Jacobsen, Martin Jorgensen (Jakob Poulsen 34'), Christian Poulsen, Thomas Kahlenberg (Christian Kahlenberg 63'), Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson, Nicklas Bendtner

Japan: Eiji Kawashima, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuji Nakazawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Yuichi Komano, Yuki Abe, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Yoshito Okubo, Keisuke Honda, Daisuke Matsui (Shinji Okazaki 73')

Robert Vittek goal inspiring to win and put them through to the second round : Slovakia 3-2 Italy

Holders Italy exit in the World Cup group stage when they lost 3-2 to Slovakia on Thursday having been largely outplayed.

Slovakia's win put them through to the second round.

Striker Robert Vittek scored after 25 and 73 minutes and Kamil Kopunek added a third in the 89th for World Cup debutants Slovakia in their final Group F match at a stunned Ellis Park, where Italian flags stopped waving almost from the start.

Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella scored for Italy.

Slovakia, who made four changes to boost their attacking options given they had to win to have any hope of qualification, started brightly and showed a speed of movement which Italy have severely lacked all tournament.

Slovakia finished second in Group F to Paraguay. The Italians were last, the first time they'd ever finished at the bottom of an opening-round group.

Team Line-Ups:

Slovakia: Jan Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Radoslav Zabavnik, Zdeno Strba (Kamil Kopunek 87'), Miroslav Stoch, Marek Hamsik, Robert Vittek (Stanislav Sestak 92'), Juraj Kucka, Erik Jendrisek (Martin Petras 95').

Italy: Federico Marchetti, Gianluca Zambrotta Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito (Christian Maggio 45'), Riccardo Montolivo (Andrea Pirlo 55'), Daniele De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso (Fabio Quagliarella 45'), Vincenzo Iaquinta, Simone Pepe, Antonio Di Natale.

Tim Cahill and Brett Holman scored second half goals as Australia beat Serbia 2-1 in the last game Group D

Tim Cahill and Brett Holman scored second half goals as Australia beat Serbia 2-1 in the teams' final World Cup Group D match on Wednesday.

Neither team advanced, however, because Germany beat Ghana 1-0. Both of those teams moved into the second round.
Marko Pantelic pulled a goal back for Serbia, but Australia held on despite a late onslaught.

Cahill put the Australians ahead with a glancing header off Luke Wilkshire's cross in the 69th minute. Substitute Holman got the second from long range 4 minutes later.

Australia needed to win the match to have any chance of reaching the round of 16 and put on a stirring second-half performance. Serbia, knowing it would need a win if Germany beat Ghana, faded in the second half.

Line-Ups:

Australia: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Michael Beauchamp, Tim Cahill, Josh Kennedy, Luke Wilkshire (Richard Garcia 82), Mark Bresciano (Scott Chipperfield 66), Jason Culina, Carl Valeri (Brett Holman 66), Brett Emerton, David Carney.

Serbia: Vladimir Stojkovic, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Vidic, Aleksandar Lukovic, Milos Krasic (Zoran Tosic 62), Dejan Stankovic, Ivan Obradovic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Danko Lazovic, 77), Milos Ninkovic, Milan Jovanovic, Nikola Zigic (Marko Pantelic 67)

Mesut Ozil decisive his score rescue for Der Panzer : Germany 1-0 Ghana

Germany leads Group D after beat Ghana Wednesday night for put the round of 16 large. The two countries went into determination game and yielded few scoring chances.

Mesut Ozil a hero of Germany scored on a left-footed bring Der Panzer at the top of the standings with six points from three matches.

Despite the defeat, Ghana also advanced to the round of 16 — taking second place in the group with four points. Australia also finished with four points, but Ghana was ahead on goal differential.

Game finally entered the German ahead one hour, Mueller bait which accelerated in the right wing to meet in front of the penalty box Ozil. Without escort Ozil fired a hard left foot goalkeeper Kingson.

Team Line-Ups:

Ghana: Richard Kingson; John Pantsil, Jonathan Mensah, John Mensah, Hans Sarpei, Anthony Annan, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Dede Ayew, Prince Tagoe (Sulley Muntari, 64'), Kwadwo Asamoah, Asamoah Gyan (Matthew Amoah 81').

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng (Marcell Jansen 73'), Thomas Mueller (Piotr Trochowski 68'), Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Tomas Kroos 80'), Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil, Cacau.

Crucial Landon Donovan goal into stoppage time make him a American hero : USA 1-0 Algeria

Landon Donovan scored a goal seconds into stoppage time on Wednesday to give the United States a dramatic 1-0 victory over Algeria, and hand the Americans a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

"I've been on a long journey these last four years and today I am so stoked and proud," said Donovan.

"Algeria were pushing and we had to take the fight to them. Time felt like it stopped when I scored but I just couldn't miss it from there.

"We aren't done yet. We had a bad decision against Slovenia (when a late goal was ruled out), but we are Americans. We get on with it, we don't complain."

Source : deccanchronicle

Team Line-Ups:

United States: Tim Howard, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Bornstein (DaMarcus Beasley 80), Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu (Edson Buddle 64), Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore, Hercules Gomez (Benny Feilhaber 46).

Algeria: Rais Ouheb Mbouli, Majid Bougherra, Rafik Halliche, Inter-Yahia, Nader Belhadj, Fouad Kadir, Hassan Yebda, Medhi Lacen, Karim Ziani (Adlane Guedioura 69), Rafik Djebbour (Abdelkader Ghezzal 65), Karim Matmour (Rafik Saifi 85).

Jermain Defoe's goal helped England reached the last-16 of the football World Cup : England 1-0 Slovenia

England finally found their form at the Port Elizabeth stadium Wednesday and reached the last-16 of the football World Cup with a 1-0 over Slovenia.

England started the game on a positive note and enjoyed better ball possession and sparkled with sharp passes.

Jermain Defoe's opening half goal helped England scrape past Slovenia 1-0 after securing the runners-up spot in Group C.

Starting in place of misfiring Emile Heskey, Defoe turned out to be England's unlikely hero when he found the match-winning goal in the 23rd minute.

It was Defoe who responded to his coach Capello's call by superbly slotting home the ball past Slovenia keeper Samir Handanovic from a James Milner curling cross from the right wing to give England the lead.

The impressive Slovenes, however, crashed out of the tournament after the United States scored a late-winner over Algeria in another Group C match in Pretoria to secure the took top spot.

Team Line-Ups:

Slovenia: Samir Handanovic; Miso Brecko, Marko Suler, Bostjan Cesar, Bojan Jokic, Valter Birsa, Robert Koren, Aleksandar Radosavljevic, Andraz Kirm, Zlatan Ljubijankic (Zlatko Dedic 62'), Milivoje Novakovic.

England: David James, Glen Johnson, Matthew Upson, John Terry, Ashley Cole's, James Milner, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Jermain Defoe (Emile Heskey 85'), Wayne Rooney (Joe Cole 72').

Martin Demichelis and Martin Palermo scored make Argentina make is not invincible : Argentina 2-0 Greece

Martin Demichelis and Martin Palermo scored second-half goals Tuesday to help Argentina beat Greece 2-0 at the World Cup and earn first place in Group B.

Argentina will play Mexico in the round of 16, while Greece has been eliminated.

Argentina left seven regular starters on the bench and created few good chances against the Greek defense.
Lionel Messi was given the captain's armband for the first time, making him the youngest Argentina captain ever at 22.

Team Line-Ups :

Argentina : Sergio Romero, Martin Demichelis, Clemente Juan Rodriguez, Nicolas Burdisso, Nicolas Otamendi, Mario Bolatti, Juan Sebastian Veron, Maximiliano Maxi Rodriguez (Angel Di Maria, 63), Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero (Javier Pastore, 76), Diego Alberto Milito (Martin Palermo, 80)

Greece : Alexandros Tzorvas, Vaggelis Moras, Avraam Papadopoulos, Loukas Vyntra, Vassilis Torosidis (Christos Patsatzoglou, 55), Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Alexandros Tziolis, Giorgos Karagounis (Nikos Spiropoulos, 46), Konstantinos Katsouranis (Sotirios Ninis, 54), Georgios Samaras

South Korea reached the second round after a 2-2 draw against Nigeria.

South Korea reached the second round of the World Cup on Tuesday by holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw in a thrilling match.

Lee Jung-soo and Park Chu-young scored for South Korea after Kalu Uche had given Nigeria the lead in the 12th minute. Ayegbeni Yakubu netted a 69th-minute penalty kick to draw Nigeria level again — moments after Yakubu missed a wide open net.

Argentina won Group B by beating Greece 2-0 and South Korea reached the World Cup knockout stage away from home for the first time. The only other time South Korea got beyond the group stage was when the team surged to the semifinals in 2002 on home soil as tournament co-host with Japan.
Nigeria was the second African team to fall out of the first World Cup held on the continent. Host South Africa was eliminated earlier Tuesday.

Team Line-Ups:

Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama, Chidi Odiah, Danny Shittu, Joseph Yobo (Elderson Echiejile 46), Rabiu Afolabi, kalu Uche, Dickson Etuhu, Yusuf Ayila, Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Victor Obinna 70), Chinedu Obasi, Nwankwo Kanu (Obafemi Martins 57).

South Korea: Jung Sung-ryong;, Cha Du-ri, Lee Young-Pyo, Cho Yong-hyung, Lee Jung-soo, Kim Jung-woo, Ki-Sung yong (Kim Jae-sung 87), Park Ji-sung, Lee Chung-yong, Park Chu-young (Kim Dong-jin 90 +3), Yeom Ki-hun (Kim Nam-il 64).

Luis Suarez scored to give the Uruguay a 1-0 victory overcome Mexico.

Uruguay won Group A and Mexico also advanced Tuesday after Luis Suarez scored in the 43rd minute to give the South Americans a 1-0 victory at the World Cup.

Both teams will face Group B members; those teams will be decided Tuesday night.

Suarez, Uruguay's most dangerous striker all day, ran unguarded to the back post and headed in Edinson Cavani's brilliant cross for his first goal of the tournament.

The two countries went into the last group game sharing the lead at four points and needed only a draw to advance. But both fielded attacking lineups. Even so, the game yielded few clear scoring chances.

Team Line-Ups:

Mexico: Oscar Perez, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Rafael Marquez, Ricardo Osorio, Hector Moreno (Israel Castro, 57), Gerardo Torrado, Dos Santos Giovani, Andres Guardado (Pablo Barrera, 46), Luis Guillermo Franco, Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Balcazar Javier Hernandez, 63)


Uruguay: Fernando Nestor Muslera, Diego Moreno Lugano, Jorge Fucile, Mauricio Victorino, Alvaro Barragan Pereira (Andres Scotti, 77), Diego Perez Ruso, Maximiliano Victor Pereira, Egidio Arevalo Rios, Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez (Alvaro Fernandez, 85), Diego Forlan

Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela scored to lead South Africa to a 2-1 win over a France team.

Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela scored first-half goals to lead South Africa to a 2-1 World Cup win over a France team in turmoil. Despite the win Tuesday, Bafana Bafana became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage.

Substitute Florent Malouda scored for France in the 70th.
Plagued by internal strife, the 2006 runner-up was forced to play with 10 men after Yoann Gourcuff was ejected for elbowing Macbeth Sibaya in the 25th minute.

The French also were eliminated from the tournament, while Uruguay and Mexico advanced from Group A.

After playing with a lone striker in its first two matches, South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira opted to put two men up front against France — Bernard Parker and Mphela — and it paid off.

Mphela gave the France defense fits, with strong runs and dangerous drives from distance. He nearly scored his second goal in the 43rd with a right-footed drive from 25 yards that forced a diving save from Hugo Lloris. Then his right-footed shot hit the crossbar five minutes later.

South Africa's attacking style brought the crowd at Free State Stadium to life, and the home fans roared with each Bafana Bafana foray into the French half.

"I really thought we could pull through," Khumalo said.

Facing a 2-0 halftime deficit, France coach Raymond Domenech brought on Florent Malouda at the half and striker Thierry Henry 10 minutes later to try to boost his team's flagging attack.

The changes had little impact, until Ribbery collected a through ball deep on the right flank and crossed to Malouda in the middle to finish.

South Africa is the first host nation not to advance to the second round in 80 years of World Cup play.

Team Line-Ups:

South Africa: Moeneeb Josephs, Bongani Khumalo, Aaron Mokoena, Tsepo Masilela, Anele Ngcongca (Siboniso Gaxa 55'), Thanduyise Khuboni, MacBeth Sibaya, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Steven Pienaar, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker (Siyabongan Nomvethe 68')

France: Hugo Lloris, Sebastian Squillaci, William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Abou Diaby, Alou Diarra (Sidney Govou 82'), Djibril Cisse (Thierry Henry 52'), Yoann Gourcuff, Frank Ribery, Andre-Pierre Gignac (Florent Malouda 45')

Terrific Villa scored two goals make opportunities open for Spain and eliminate Honduras 2-0

David Villa scored two goals as Spain got its World Cup pursuit back on track with a 2-0 victory over Honduras on Monday.

Villa beat three defenders in the 17th minute before goalkeeper Noel Valladares got a touch to the Spain striker's rising shot but not enough to keep it out.

Villa scored his 40th international goal in the 51st when his shot from the edge of the area deflected off a defender to go over Valladares. But Villa missed a penalty kick in the 62nd at Ellis Park, sending it wide right.

Spain has three points and can still win Group H with a victory over Chile, which earlier beat Switzerland 1-0 to lead with six points. Switzerland has three points and Honduras has zero.

Villa single-handedly took the pressure off Spain, a favorite coming to South Africa, with a superb individual effort that helped ease the frustration of a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland.

He dribbled between Honduras players before cutting past Osman Chavez to send a right-footed shot into the far corner of the net as he slipped to the ground.

Jesus Navas picked Villa out for the second goal, with the striker's shot glancing off Chavez into the top of the net.
Villa's fifth career goal tied him with four Spain players as the country's leading scorer in World Cup play and moved him within four goals of Raul Gonzalez's record 44. But he shot No. 41 wide on a penalty kick in the 62nd after Navas was tripped inside the area.

Honduras barely remains alive in the tournament after also losing to Chile 1-0 last week.

Spain got back to its classy style and attacked from the start in front of 54,586 fans. It created a handful of chances inside the seventh minute, when Villa's long-range shot beat the outstretched Valladares but went off the crossbar.

Ramos headed Joan Capdevila's cross over the net while free at the far post in the 11th.

Spain's defense provided goalkeeper Iker Casillas with some nervous moments soon after. Casillas rushed to catch a high ball before blocking Amado Guevara's shot just before Villa's first goal.

Navas' speed kept Honduras off-kilter, while Fernando Torres uncharacteristically missed three clear chances in the first half.

Torres, making his first start since right knee surgery in
April, headed over the crossbar before sending a shot high in the 33rd. He then wasted Villa's fine pass from inside the area at the close of the half.

Source : deccanchronicle

Team Line-Ups:

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos (Alvaro Arbeloa 77'), Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila; Jesus Navas, Xabi Alonso, Xavi (Cesc Fabregas 65'), Sergio Busquets; Fernando Torres (Juan Manuel Mata 69'), David Villa.

Honduras: Noel Valladares, Sergio Mendoza, Osman Chavez's, Maynor Figueroa, Emilio Izaguirre, Danilo Turcios (Ramon Nunez 62'), Wilson Palacios, Amado Guevara, Roger Espinoza (Georgie Welcome 45'), Walter Martinez, David Suazo (Jerry Palacios 84').

Substitute Mark Gonzalez scored on a impressive header : Chile 1-0 Switzerland

**The match started in a sea of red — Chilean and Swiss fans in their predominant colors, and many empty seats, which are mostly red at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Costumes included a woman dressed in a full-length cow outfit and dozens of Chilean flags.

Alexis Sanchez appeared to give Chile the lead in the 49th minute, but was clearly offside. He nearly scored in the 55th minute on a break but was thwarted from the right side by Benaglio.

Substitute Mark Gonzalez scored on a header in the 75th minute as Chile beat 10-man Switzerland 1-0 to move closer to a spot in the final 16 at the World Cup.

Gonzalez headed home a pass from fellow sub Esteban Paredes, who had gotten around the staunch Swiss defense and crossed to Gonzalez at the back post. Gonzalez's downward header beat goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.

Before Chile scored, Switzerland set a World Cup record in the 69th minute by going 551 minutes without allowing a goal, breaking the mark of 550 held by Italy at the 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Chile has won both its games in Group H.

Team Line-Ups:

Chile: Claudio Bravo, Waldo Ponce, Gonzalo Jara, Gary Medel, Matias Fernandez (Esteban Paredes 65'), Carlos Carmona, Arturo Vidal (Mark Gonzalez 45'), Mauricio Isla, Humberto Suazo (Jorge Valdivia 45'), Juan Beausejour, Alexis Sanchez

Switzerland: Diego Benaglio, Stephane Grichting, Steve von Bergen, Reto Ziegler, Stephen Lichsteiner, Benjamin Huggel, Gokhan Inler, Gelson Fernandes (Albert Bunjaku 77') , Valon Behrami, Blaise N'Kufo (Eren Derdiyok 67'), Alexander Frei (Tranquillio Barnetta 42')

Party goal from Portugal put on the most dominant performance of the World Cup : Portugal 7 - 0 North Korea

**Portugal put on the most dominant performance of the World Cup, routing North Korea 7-0 on Monday and eliminating the Asian nation from the tournament.

Simao Sabrosa, Hugo Almeida and Tiago scored over an eight-minute span in the second half, after Raul Meireles' 29th-minute goal gave Portugal the lead. Substitute Liedson added another in the 81st.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke his goalless streak in the 87th minute, and Tiago added his second goal two minutes later.

The win moves Portugal into second place in Group G with four points, two behind Brazil. The Ivory Coast has one point, and North Korea can't advance in the tournament after two straight losses.

Source : deccanchronicle

Team Line-Ups:

Portugal: Eduardo, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao, Miguel, Pedro Mendes, Raul Meireles (Miguel Veloso 70'), Tiago, Simao (Duda 74'), Hugo Almeida (Liedson 77'), Cristiano Ronaldo

North Korea : Ri Myong-woof, Jun-Il Ri, Pak Chon-Jin, Ji Yun-Nam, Cha Jong-Hyok (Nam Song-chol 75'), An Yong-Hak, Pak Nam-chol (Kim Kum-Il 58'), Mun In-woof (Kim Yong-Jun 58'), Hong Yong-Jo, Jong Tae -Se

Luis Fabiano showed Brazilian flair in both his goals and Elano with a well-shot Kaka controversially sent off. Barzil 3-1 Ivory Coast

**Brazil qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup with a 3-1 win against Ivory Coast in their Group G clash at Soccer City on Sunday, but had star midfielder Kaka controversially sent off.

Kaka was dismissed for a second yellow card in the final minutes for pushing Abdelkader Keita, but it appeared the Ivorian had wildly exaggerated the impact of the shove by falling to the ground clutching his head.

Sevilla forward Luis Fabiano showed Brazilian flair in both his goals which takes the Dunga-coached South American giants into the knockout phase with their final group game with Portugal still to come.

Midfielder Elano compounded Ivory Coast's misery with a well-taken shot on 62 minutes after some great work on the left wing from Kaka before Didier Drogba scored a late consolation goal on 79 minutes.

But Elano was later stretchered off the field with what appeared to be a nasty shin injury.

Chelsea striker Drogba started for the Ivory Coast despite his broken arm, but the Premier League star was largely overshadowed as Dunga's side lived up to their mantra Joga Bonito - play beautifully - with some Brazilian magic.

The Brazilians opened the scoring when Kaka slotted a pass between two defenders for Luis Fabiano to blast his shot high into the net past Elephants' goalkeeper Boubacar Barry on 25 minutes.

The Elephants finished the half on the attack with Portsmouth forward Aruna Dindane testing Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar, but it stayed 1-0 at the break.

Bad-tempered finish to the match

Luis Fabiano again showed his class as his three touches - with a suspicion of handball - saw him beat three defenders before rifling his shot past Barry who could only get a glove to the ball on 52 minutes.

Elano, who also scored in Brazil's 2-1 win over North Korea in their opening game, then got in on the act when Kaka squared the ball from the left wing for the Galatasaray midfielder to score after an hour.

But within minutes he had to leave the field after a lunging studs-up challenge from an Ivorian.

The match ended in a bad-tempered fashion, with Kaita picking up a yellow card for a dangerous tackle which clipped the ankle of Michel Bastos on 75 minutes.

Drogba got on the score sheet when he beat Brazil's offside trap for an unmarked header which rolled past goalkeeper Julio Cesar with 11 minutes left.

Kaka picked up a yellow card for a push on Yaya Toure on 85 minutes and it turned into a red three minutes later when Keita ran into the Brazilian who was looking the other way, and then crumpled to the floor, clutching his face.

The referee reached for the cards and a disbelieving Kaka was dismissed.

Brazil face Portugal in their final group match on Friday in Durban, while the Ivory Coast face North Korea in Nelspruit at the same time.

Team Line-Ups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Elano (Dani Alves 66'), Kaka, Robinho (Ramires 92'), Luis Fabiano.

Ivory Coast: Boubacar Barry, Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Guy Demel, Siaka tiene, Didier Zokora, Yaya Toure, Cheik Tiote, Salomon Kalou (Kader Keita 67'), Didier Drogba, Aruna Dindane (Gervinho 53').

Enrique Vera and Cristian Riveros scored and Paraguay beat Slovakia 2-0 on Sunday

**Playing with a three-man front line spearheaded by Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguay controlled the tempo from the start at Free State Stadium.

Vera broke through for La Albirroja in the 27th when forward Lucas Barrios slipped a pass into the box and Vera angled it past Slovakia goalkeeper Jan Mucha with a one-time shot.

Riveros added a goal in the 86th minute, a left-footed blast from the edge of the penalty area.

The win puts Paraguay atop Group F with four points after two matches. Slovakia has one point. Defending champion Italy and New Zealand also are in the group, and play later Sunday — they each began the day with one point.

Playing in its first major tournament since the former Czechoslovakia divided in 1993, Slovakia looked outclassed and unsure of itself facing a big, physical Paraguayan team that beat both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifying.

After Paraguay tied Italy 1-1 in its World Cup opener, national coach Gerardo Martino opted to switch from a 4-4-2 formation to an attacking 4-3-3 against Slovakia, with Santa Cruz, Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios up front.

The trio of powerful strikers proved a handful for the Slovakia defense, outjumping, outmuscling and outrunning the Slovaks.

Forced to focus on defending, Slovakia never mounted a serious challenge to Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar's goal. Slovakia's first and only shot on goal came with Robert Vittek's drive in injury time.

Santa Cruz, who plays for Manchester City, was a welcome addition to Paraguay's starting lineup. The striker has been hampered by a leg injury, and only came on as a second-half substitute against Italy.

However he made his presence felt almost immediately Sunday, collecting a ball at the top of the box in the 3rd minute and hitting a right-footed shot that forced a diving save from Mucha.

Team Line-Ups:

Slovakia: Jan Mucha, Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Zdeno Strba, Vladimir Weiss, Jan Cossacks, Kornel Salata (Miroslav Stoch), Marek Hamsik, Robert Vittek, Stanislav Sestak (Filip Holosko 69').

Paraguay: Justo Villar, Carlos Bonet, Antolin Alcaraz, Paulo Da Silva, Claudio Morel, Enrique Vera, Victor Caceres, Cristian Riveros, Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Valdez (Aureliano Torres 67'), Lucas Barrios (Oscar Cardozo 80')