Sami Khedira Heads Die Mannschaft To 3rd Place World Cup Finish

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said he was determined to prove Paul the octopus wrong by beating Germany in the third-place play-off on Saturday. Unfortunately Oracle Paul was proven correct once more when Die Mannschaft won the most entertaining match in the World Cup so far. Sami Khedira pounce on some haphazard La Celeste defending to guide a header past Muslera in the 82nd minute.

It was another five goal thriller which Uruguay unfortunately ended up on the losing end. There are no complaints though as Forlan and team were beaten by another great Germany performance. Jogi Loew braved his own flu condition to take his place on the team bench and he witnessed another masterful display from Schweinsteiger. Basti capped a great World Cup outing by captaining Germany in Lahm's absence.

Two mistakes from Muslera gifted Germany goals duly despatched by Mueller and Jansen. Diego Forlan's long range shooting has been a highlight of this World Cup tournament and he did not disappoint with another contender for goal of the tournament. Finally Khedira popped up with the winning header for the fully deserving German side. 

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Oranjemen Hopes Third Time's The Charm In World Cup Final

There was a fear that the first semifinal of the 2010 World Cup between Uruguay and the Netherlands was going to be a tedious, hard fought match which will climax in a penalty shoot-out. I am glad we did not have to sit through that. Instead we witnessed a high-scoring match, two unstoppable long range shots and the best Oranjemen performance so far in this World Cup.

The absence of Nigel de Jong allowed for the introduction of Demy de Zeeuw. The Ajax defensive midfielder did not last long and had to be replaced at halftime. That turned out to be a pivotal moment in the game as Rafael van der Vaart came on and gave the Oranjemen the boost to emerge victors. Martin Caceres must be distraught as it was his overhead kick in the 27th minute that floored the Ajax man, resulting in the enforced substitution. A substitution which handed Holland the game winning initiative.

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Black Stars Denied Historic Semi Final Place

It was not a quality match. Surely not. What it was, it was a competitive match. Ghana played without fear and got the opening goal. Uruguay then stepped up their game and through the excellent Diego Forlan, they got their coveted goal. Once both teams were tied at 1-1, it was a tense match all the way. One goal, one opportunity would have sealed it.

A late late injury time Ghana attack caused panic in the Uruguayan defence, one unavoidable Luis Suarez handball later, Asamoah Gyan stepped up with the chance to be Africa's hero in extra time. And he struck the crossbar!! Penalties were needed to decide this extremely tough match.

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Luis Suarez Struck Twice As La Celeste Reach Quarterfinals

Uruguay and South Korea kicked off the second round of the South Africa World Cup in style when La Celeste stole the match 2-1 in dramatic fashion. Luis Suarez curled in a right footer in heavy rain to send Uruguay into the last eight of this tournament. His double in this match puts him in contention of the Golden Boot award.

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Group A Decided! La Celeste and El Tri Advance

Group A was decided today. I try to unravel the action in two halves, highlighting the differences in attitude and excitement in both Uruguay-Mexico and France-South Africa.

La Celeste and El Tri need a draw for both to progress. France need a big win and hope that Uruguay win by two goals. Finally South Africa need three points, three goals and hope Mexico loses by two goals.

Action from the first half:

Luis Suarez made amends for a 5th minute miss by heading home a 43rd minute cross by Cavani. Mexico and Uruguay fought out an unexpectedly open first half with both teams having chances to score in this match. El Tri seemed to have the upper hand but always looked susceptible to the counter attack. Uruguay took their chance well and Luis Suarez further enhanced his reputation as a lethal striker. Uruguay on course for the top of Group A, possibly avoiding Argentina in the process.

Raymond Domenech said that a miracle is needed to advance. Les Bleus got off to the worst possible start, going a goal down and then having Yoann Gourcuff sent off within the first 25 minutes. South Africa clearly refused to accept that they are on the verge of going out in the group stage. Bafana Bafana need to win, score three goals and hope that Uruguay beats Mexico. Mphela got South Africa's second goal which meant that Group A is perfectly poised for more drama. Tshabalala was outstanding for South Africa as they played with a lot more attacking intent.

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Forlan's Double Destroys "The Boys" World Cup Dream

Bafana Bafana or "The Boys" was dealt a crushing blow to their hopes of advancing past the group phase when they were given a footballing lesson by Uruguay. After a confidence-boosting draw against Mexico in which South Africa played well, Parreira's players would not be faulted for thinking they could get at least a draw against Uruguay especially with home support.

South Africa dream came crashing down thanks to an almost perfect performance from Diego Martin Forlan Corazo. A perfect performance would be a hattrick obviously.

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Early Sidney Govou's Miss Set Tone For Dull Draw

Raymond Domenech ruminated at the end of a drab draw that,

"We lacked that last bit, the last pass.The other two have the advantage. We had to guard against an unlucky counter. It is almost a beautiful 0-0 but the result is what it is."

In the end, France lacked that cutting edge against a resolute Uruguay. Nicolas Ledeiro collected the first red card in this summer's World Cup finals. France and Uruguay battled to a draw in a match where Nicolas Anelka, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez were supposed to supply the goals.

Only Forlan looked like he was capable of providing that decisive goal but for all his positive running, he had only one clear chance - a chance that he skewed left of the French goal.

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2010 World Cup Group A Head To Head

South Africa and Mexico kick off the 2010 World Cup over in Africa this Friday 11th June. The first match from Group A will be much anticipated, simply to signify a full month of football mania. France and Uruguay round up the first day's match schedules.

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