Spain's midfielder Andres Iniesta scored the crucial goal : Spain 1-0 Netherland

Spain won the World Cup for the first time in history after defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the championship's final match in South Africa.

One may believe in oracles or not, but Paul the Octopus's prediction proved to be true again: it's Vicente del Bosque's team who will take home the 2010 World Cup gilded trophy.

Red and yellow flags enveloped Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium when Spain's midfielder Andres Iniesta scored the crucial goal in the 116th minute. The game went into extra time as both Spain and the Netherlands failed to score in regulation time.

Netherlands' defender Johnny Heitinga received a red card in the 109 minute of the game.

TV reports showed crowds of happy Spanish supporters in Johannesburg and Madrid singing, chanting and tooting their car horns, celebrating their team's long-awaited victory.

Spain reached the World Cup final for the first time after defeating Germany 1-0 in the semifinals on Thursday. The Netherlands made it into the final with a 3-2 win over Uruguay on Wednesday.

The Dutch struggled for the World Cup for the third time: they lost their two previous finals to West Germany and Argentina in 1974 and 1978, respectively.

On Saturday night, three-time champions Germany finished third after beating Uruguay 3-2. Germany was also third at the 2006 World Cup hosted by the country.

Line-Ups:

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Edson Braafheid 105), Dirk Kuyt (Eljero Elia 71), Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong (Rafael van der Vaart 99), Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie.

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila, Xabi Alonso (Cesc Fabregas 87), Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pedro (Jesus Navas 60), David Villa (Fernando Torres 106).

Germany defeated Uruguay 3-2 to clinch third place in the World Cup.

Germany defeated Uruguay 3-2 Saturday to clinch third place in the World Cup.

Midfielder Sami Khedira headed home the winner eight minutes from time in front of a crowd of 36,250 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Germany opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Thomas Mueller coolly taped in the ball from eight metres after Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera parried a shot from captain Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Uruguay equalized nine minutes later when Diego Perez dispossessed Schweinsteiger on the half-way line and passed to Luis Suarez, who set up Edinson Cavani to steer the ball home from inside the area.

Striker Diego Forlan volleyed home his fifth goal of the tournament on 51 minutes to put the South Americans ahead, but a header by Germany’s Marcel Jansen levelled the scores five minutes later.

Khedira’s winner in the 82nd minute meant that Germany finished third for the second World Cup in a row after narrowly failing to reach the final both in South Africa and on home soil four years ago.

Line-Ups:

Uruguay: Fernando Muslera, Diego Lugano, Diego Godin, Jorge Fucile, Maximiliano Pereira, Diego Perez (Walter Gargano 76'), Egidio Arevalo, Edinson Cavani (Sebastian Abreu 88'), Martin Caceres, Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan.

Germany: Hans-Joerg Butt, Marcell Jansen (Toni Kroos 81'), Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Mueller, Dennis Aogo, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Cacau (Stefan Kiessling 73'), Mesut Ozil (Serdar Tasci 90').

Carles Puyol heroes !!! make Spain have a chance to win : Spain 1-0 Germany

Carles Puyol's header has given Spain a 1-0 lead over Germany in their World Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.

The Spain defender connected on Xavi's corner kick in the 73rd minute. Spain has had the best chances in the match in Durban.

David Villa's close-range shot from a pass by Pedro was blocked by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the sixth minute. Neuer stopped Pedro's shot in the 58th, and Andres Iniesta missed from a tough angle moments later.

German substitute Toni Kroos tested Iker Casillas with a shot in the 69th, but the goalkeeper blocked it with his palms.

Casillas also saved Piotr Trowchowski's long-distance shot in the 32nd.

The winner will play the Netherlands in Sunday's World Cup final.

Line-Ups:

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng (Marcell Jansen 52'), Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira (Mario Gomez 80'), Mesut Oezil, Lukas Podolski, Piotr Trochowski (Toni Kroos 61'), Miroslav Klose

Spain: Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Joan Capdevila, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso (Carlos Marchena 92'), Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, David Villa (Fernando Torres 80'), Pedro (David Silva 85')

Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Arjen Robben scored Wesley Sneijder scored his fifth goal : Netherland 3-2 Uruguay

The Netherlands would advance to the final of the World Cup with a 3-2 win over South American side Uruguay.

Wesley Sneijder scored his fifth goal in South Africa and Giovanni van Bronckhorst added one of the goals of the tournament as the Dutch reached their first World Cup final in 32 years.

Van Bronckhorst scored with a blistering shot in the 18th minute, but Diego Forlan equalized in the 41st with his fourth goal of the tournament.

In the second half, the Dutch took control of the match with two goals in a three minute span. Wesley Sneijder would score in the 70th minute and Arjen Robben added another in the 73rd minute with a great header. The score was 3-1 but Uruguay would make it interesting in stoppage time. Maxi Pereira would score in stoppage time as Uruguay cut the lead to 3-2 but that’s as close as it would get.

The Dutch will now play the winner of Spain/Germany in the final while Uruguay will place the loser in the third place match.

Line-Ups:

Uruguay: Fernando Muslera, Diego Godin, Mauricio Victorino, Walter Gargano, Maximiliano Pereira, Martin Caceres, Diego Perez, Alvaro Pereira (Sebastian Abreu 77'), Egidio Arevalo, Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan (Sebastian Fernandez 83')

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Khalid Boulahrouz, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder, Academy de Zeeuw (Rafael van der Vaart 46'), Arjen Robben (Eljero Elia') Robin van Persie

David Villa striker is the first Spanish player to score in four consecutive World Cup matches : Spain 1-0 Paraguay

Villa scored in the 83rd minute of today's 1-0 quarterfinal win over Paraguay at Ellis Park with a shot that ricocheted off both posts before spinning over the line.

The Barcelona-bound striker is the first Spanish player to score in four consecutive World Cup matches, and has moved within one goal of matching Raul Gonzalez' national record of 44.

Torres said Villa has been doing a fine job, scoring five of the team's six goals at the tournament so far.

"He's been very, very important for us, a key for Spain scoring a lot of goals," said Torres. "He gives us the opportunity to go forward and think about winning the World Cup."

Like Del Bosque, Villa backed his strike partner ahead of Wednesday's semifinal match against Germany, the same team Spain beat in the 2008 European Championship final — due to Torres' lone goal.

"We're not at all (worried about Torres), since we know what a great player he is," Villa said. "Surely he'll be back to his best as he was against Germany (in the 2008 final). For sure in the next game, he'll reappear and help us get to the final."

Line-Ups:
Spain: Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Puyol (Marchena 84), Capdevila, Xavi, Busquets, Alonso (Pedro 75), Iniesta, Torres (Fabregas 56), Villa

Paraguay: Villar, Veron, Da Silva, Alcaraz, Morel; Barreto (Vera 64), Riveros, Caceres (Lucas 84), Santana; Cardozo, Valdez (Santa Cruz 72)

Thomas Muller opener goal, Arne Friedrich scores and Miroslav Klose double : Der Panzer destroyed Tango squad

Germany's disciplined defense and clinical counter attacks proved far superior to Argentina's creative flair Saturday, earning a convincing 4-0 win that ended Diego Maradona's hopes of becoming the third person to win the World Cup both as a player and coach.

Germany repeated history by beating Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals for the second tournament in a row, and this time it never looked likely to need penalties to reach the semis.

Thomas Mueller gave Germany an early lead and Miroslav Klose scored two second-half goals either side of Arne Friedrich's simple tap-in as the Germans scored four goals for the third time this tournament.

"What the team showed, it was not only international level, but the level of champions," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "It was absolute class."

Klose's two goals in his 100th international gives him 14 total World Cup scores, putting him level with fellow German Gerd Mueller on the all-time list. Brazil's Ronaldo tops the list with 15, but Klose will have two more games at this tournament to surpass him.

Argentina entered the game with perhaps the tournament's most potent attacking lineup, but neither Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez or Gonzalo Higuain managed to break down the compact wall of German defenders.

Instead it was Argentina's defense that repeatedly cracked as all three of Germany's second-half goals came on well-constructed counter attacks.

After Mueller's third-minute header, Klose added a simple tap-in in the 68th minute. Friedrich then raced from defense to strike home the third in the 74th, and Klose added his second in the 89th.

Line-Ups:

Argentina: Sergio Romero, Nicolas Burdisso, Martin Demichelis, Javier Mascherano, Gabriel Heinze, Nicolas Otamendi (Javier Pastore 69'), Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria (Sergio Aguero 75'), Maxi Rodriguez, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng (Marcell Jansen 71'), Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira (Toni Kroos 77'), Mesut Oezil, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Mueller (Piotr Trochowski 83'), Miroslav Klose

Uruguay reaches World Cup semifinals, beating Ghana 4-2 in penalty shootout

Uruguay reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1970, but ended the hopes of Africa after winning a truly extraordinary match at Soccer City on a penalty shoot-out.

Ghana seemed certain to become the first African side to reach the last four of the competition when Luis Suarez saw red after handling on the line in the dying seconds of extra-time.

However, striker Asamoah Gyan, who had already converted two penalties in South Africa, skimmed the crossbar with the last kick of the game.

Gyan showed incredible guts to take the first spot-kick of the shoot-out but John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah both had their low strikes saved by Fernando Muslera.

And Sebsatian Abreu then showed ice-cold composure to dink the decisive penalty beyond Richard Kingson as Uruguay sealed a semi-final tie against the Netherlands.

Suarez's deliberate handball, which came seconds after he had legitimately blocked one goal-bound effort with his knee, was a gamble that paid handsome dividends.

It was a truly remarkable final few minutes, surely some of the most dramatic in World Cup history, and came at the end of an engrossing and occasionally bad-tempered contest.

Both teams enjoyed periods in the ascendancy - and both were guilty of wasting numerous opportunities.

Sulley Muntari, almost kicked out of the squad after criticising coach Milovan Rajevac earlier in the competition, struck a long-range opener on the stroke of half-time, while the impressive Diego Forlan equalised with a free-kick 10 minutes after the restart.

La Celeste controlled the early part of the contest and their early endeavours twice brought them close to scoring but each time they were denied by Kingson.

The first was a reaction save after John Mensah inadvertently deflected a corner towards his own goal and the second an athletic finger-tip effort to deny Suarez, who will be suspended for the semi-final, after the striker capitalised on a slip by Isaac Vorsah.

But the South American side, already without injured defender Diego Godin, lost skipper Diego Lugano to injury towards the end of the first half, his withdrawal coming at a time when the Black Stars had started to find a foothold in the match.

Rajevac's side had offered almost nothing in attack until Vorsah, recalled in defence in place of the suspended Jonathan Mensah, headed wide from a corner just before the half-hour mark.

Gyan then narrowly missed after the industrious Kevin-Prince Boateng picked him out in front of the deep-sitting Uruguay defence with a square ball, while Mutari headed wide after latching on to a raking pass.

Even so, it looked as though the match would be goalless at the break until Muntari, gifted the time to assess his options, unleashed a vicious 40-yard strike that caught Muslera off guard.

Uruguay brought on Nicolas Lodeiro at the break and the game quickly became stretched as Tabarez's team searched for an equaliser.

Edinson Cavani felt he should have been awarded a penalty after he went down under a challenge from Vorsah, but there was no doubt about Forlan's free-kick from a wide angle that drew his team level.

Ghana had repeated opportunities to strike on the counter, but they wasted a series of excellent positions with poor pass selection, while Gyan tangled repeatedly with several different members of the Uruguay defence.

Uruguay created two good chances for Suarez but he could only guide a cross from Forlan into the side-netting at the far post and drill in a strike that Kingson palmed over.

Andres Scotti blocked a shot from Gyan in the first half of extra-time and, minutes before the shoot-out, almost kicked the ball into his own net as he tried to clear it away from the dangerous Ghana striker.

The Black Stars were dominant in the closing minutes of extra-time as their opponents visibly tired and, after Suarez legally denied Steven Appiah and then Adiyiah - illegally - the match took its dramatic final twist.

Line-Ups:

Uruguay: Fernando Muslera, Mauricio Victorino Diego Lugano (C)(Andres Scotti 37'), Jorge Fucile, Maxi Pereira, Egidio Arevalo, Diego Perez, Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan, Alvaro Fernandez (Nicolas Lodeiro 45'), Edinson Cavani (Sebastian Abreu 75')

Ghana: Richard Kingson, John Mensah (C), Isaac Vorsah, Hans Sarpei, John Pantsil, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Anthony Annan, Asamoah Gyan, Kwadwo Asamoah, Sulley Muntari (Dominic Adiyah 88'), Samuel Inkoom (Stephen Appiah 74')

Wesley Sneijder great header when Netherland beat Brazil 2-1

Soccer's perennial World Cup underachievers from the Netherlands knocked off mighty Brazil on Friday, stamping the Dutch as a strong contender to finally win that elusive title.

Wesley Sneijder, one of the shortest players on the field, scored in the 68th minute on a header for a stunning 2-1 quarterfinals win over the five-time champions.

"It just slipped through from my bald head and it was a great feeling," Sneijder said.

Brazil, which also went out in this round four years ago against France, lost its composure after falling behind, and defender Felipe Melo was ejected in the 73rd minute for stomping on the leg of Arjen Robben.

The Dutch made the championship match in 1974 and '78, lost both, and rarely have lived up to their talent in other World Cups. They did this time, helped by an own goal off the head of unfortunate Felipe Melo that brought them into a 1-1 tie in the 53rd.

Robinho gave the Brazilians the lead on Felipe Melo's brilliant low pass up the middle of the field that the striker put home with a low shot.

But soon, the Dutch took control, and the end of the match presented the unusual sight of the Brazilians scrambling wildly to find an equalizer.

It never came.

Instead, it was the Oranje and their fans doing the dancing.

The majority of the fans inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium were clad in Brazilian yellow — even though the team wore blue Friday. Many of the fans were wearing South Africa jerseys of the same color, though.

But long after the match ended, the only fans remaining were orange-shirted Netherlands supporters, waving their country's red-white-and-blue flags and chanting "Oranje."

"It was an amazing game. I think we showed the whole world how we can play," Sneijder said. "Finally we won, we beat Brazil."

After scoring, Sneijder sprinted around the field, tapping the front of his head, then ran to a TV camera and tapped the lens. He was in the middle of all the postgame celebrating, too, as his teammates swarmed him when the final whistle blew.

A few yards away, several Brazilian players lay on the turf, bewildered and beaten.

The Netherlands reached the semifinals for the first time since losing to Brazil on penalty kicks at the 1998 World Cup, and will next face either Uruguay or Ghana, which plays later Friday.

Having won all five matches so far, the Netherlands extended its team-record unbeaten streak to 24 games, stretching back to a September 2008 loss to Australia.

On a warm afternoon before a sellout crowd of 42,286 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Brazil dominated the first 45 minutes, then fell apart. Before the Dutch comeback, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg timed his leap perfectly to deflect a shot by Kaka that was headed into the right corner of the net.

The one-goal lead wasn't enough. Brazil began to unravel when Felipe Melo jumped in front of keeper Julio Cesar and inadvertently headed the ball into his net.

Sneijder's goal followed a corner kick from Robben. Dirk Kuyt flicked the ball with his head to Sneijder in the middle of the 6-yard box and he rose high enough to deflect it into the left corner of the goal.

Source : deccanchronicle

Line-Ups:

Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Andre Ooijer, John Heitinga, Giovanni van Bronckhorst (C), Gregory Van Der Wiel, Nigel de Jong, Mark Van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder, Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie (Klas Jan Huntelaar 84')

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Juan, Lucio (C), Michel Bastos (Gilberto Melo 61'), Maicon, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Kaka, Robinho Dani Alves, Luis Fabiano (Nilmar 76')

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.