As Brett Holman’s long-range effort beat Vladimir Stojkovic in the Serbia goal, Australia fans could have been forgiven for looking at the clock, and, even with 73 minutes gone, thinking second place was there for the taking. Tim Cahill had already put Australia ahead, and two further goals would have put the Socceroos into the last qualification place at the expense of Ghana. With a tie against the United States to follow, anything mig...More

Day 13 of the tournament provided plenty of excitement as the knockout stages continued to take shape. England produced the goods when it mattered with a 1-0 win over Slovenia, while the USA left it extremely late before securing their place in the last 16 with three points against Algeria. In Group D, Germany saw off Ghana to set up a clash with England while Ghana also progressed after Australia did them a favour defeating Serbia 2-1....More

With England desperately needing a victory, the old foes Germany playing Africa’s only remaining realistic prospect for last 16 qualification and the United States pinching a last-gasp goal to seal their progression to the Round of 16, Day 13 of the World Cup was comfortably the most exciting, tense, nail-biting and enjoyable so far. Despite the whole of England skiving for an hour and a half, trying not to shout too boisterously ...More

South Africa could not prevent their premature exit yesterday from this, their very own historic World Cup, despite defeating a disenchanted and dishevelled France. Bowing out with a victory was so important for the people of South Africa, as was what the players have given the tournament on the pitch and the fans off it. The win was crucial to the supporters of Bafana Bafana so they could brim with pride and experience a unique delight...More

The 2006 World Cup heralded Australia’s entry to world football’s main stage. Winning plaudits for their brand of attacking football, shaped by Guus Hiddink, the Socceroos briefly lit up the tournament before bowing out to Italy in a thrilling second round game, one of the best of the whole competition. Four years later, Australia are, barring a reversal of epic proportions, about to fall at the first hurdle, needing as they do a swing ...More

The ninth day of the tournament saw Group E take shape, while Ghana failed to capitalize on a glorious opportunity to make it two wins from two. The Netherlands got the job done with a narrow 1-0 victory over a resilient Japanese side while Denmark set up a deciding encounter with Japan, coming from behind to defeat Cameroon 2-1, knocking the Africans out of the World Cup. HOLLAND 1 Sneijder 53 JAPAN 0 Holland maintained their ...More