Match 37
Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth
Slovenia 0 - 1 England
Place watched: Tape delay – Living room, Olathe, KS
The decision to go back to the Power & Light to watch the US match, resulted in me not seeing this match live.
Match 38
Tshwane/Pretoria
USA 1 - 0 Algeria
Place watched: KC Live – Power & Light district, KC, MO
I arrived at KC Live about an hour early. I had left in time to park in my office lot and walk the 9 or so blocks to the P&L. The main area is about ¼ of its capacity, but I easily found a place to sit. As the match progresses, I anticipate not being able to sit, so I have already planned my standing location. There is a sense of hope and anticipation of good things to come, and I hope those here will not leave disappointed!
The lineups were just announced and there are changes in key positions for the US. I really hope the changes were not a knee-jerk reaction due to the pressure of the match! Herculez Gomez replaces the suspended Robbie Findley, but the benching of Oguchi Onyewu troubles me. He has struggled a bit with getting fit after his injury, but I am not sure that inclusion of Jonathan Bornstein will help our cause. We will soon find out…
The actions started with the US in typical defensive disarray mode. After giving up a couple good chances to Algeria, they settle in and start creating chances of their own. They were really unlucky to not be leading at the half.
Well, it has finally happened. The US are through!!! They waited until the 3rd minute of stoppage time, but they finally scored. A powerful drive by Clint Dempsey was parried away by the Algerian keeper, but it fell into Landon Donovan's path and he coolly deposited the ball into the side netting.
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!!!
Match 39
Johannesburg – JSC
Ghana 0 – 1 Germany
Place watched: Willies, Kansas City, MO
This match is somewhat anticlimactic, but not entirely because our opponent will be determined by the matches this afternoon. The USA now hopes that Germany finishes at the top of their group, so the Yanks will play a weaker 2nd place team. While I firmly believe that the US team that beat Algeria today would have an outstanding chance against Germany, there would still be a much better likelihood of advancing past Serbia or Ghana. Now that I think about it, if Germany loses, they will be on the outside looking in if Serbia also wins, which they should easily do.
All these scenarios put me in a position to want to watch both matches at the same time. I decided to trek to Willies—just across the street from the Power & Light District where I saw this morning’s match and 2 doors down from Kansas City’s best restaurant, Thai Paradise.
I was not disappointed.
Germany won the match but Ghana gave them a run for their money. When Ghana meets the US on Saturday, they will not be a push-over in the least!
Match 40
Nelspruit
Australia 2 – 1 Serbia
Place watched: Willies, KC, MO
Australia was facing a tough road. Not only did they need a win, one of their stars, Harry Kewell, was suspended due to a red card in the last match. Ghana was leading the group, but by only one point over both Serbia and Germany. Australia had to make up a 4-goal deficit even if they did win.
The Socceroos played with a ferocity we had not previously seen from them in this Cup. They beat a really good Serbian team but failed to advance due to an inferior goal differential. It was a highly entertaining match, however.
Match 39
Johannesburg – JSC
Ghana 0 – 1 Germany
Place watched: Willies, Kansas City, MO
This match is somewhat anticlimactic, but not entirely because our opponent will be determined by the matches this afternoon. The USA now hopes that Germany finishes at the top of their group, so the Yanks will play a weaker 2nd place team. While I firmly believe that the US team that beat Algeria today would have an outstanding chance against Germany, there would still be a much better likelihood of advancing past Serbia or Ghana. Now that I think about it, if Germany loses, they will be on the outside looking in if Serbia also wins, which they should easily do.
All these scenarios put me in a position to want to watch both matches at the same time. I decided to trek to Willies—just across the street from the Power & Light District where I saw this morning’s match and 2 doors down from Kansas City’s best restaurant, Thai Paradise.
I was not disappointed.
Germany won the match but Ghana gave them a run for their money. When Ghana meets the US on Saturday, they will not be a push-over in the least!
Match 40
Nelspruit
Australia 2 – 1 Serbia
Place watched: Willies, KC, MO
Australia was facing a tough road. Not only did they need a win, one of their stars, Harry Kewell, was suspended due to a red card in the last match. Ghana was leading the group, but by only one point over both Serbia and Germany. Australia had to make up a 4-goal deficit even if they did win.
The Socceroos played with a ferocity we had not previously seen from them in this Cup. They beat a really good Serbian team but failed to advance due to an inferior goal differential. It was a highly entertaining match, however.
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