Ghana (National Football)

Australian star Tim Cahill was given a straight red today against Germany yet he clearly didn't deserve it.

If you watch the replay you can clearly tell that Cahill made an admittingly bad effort to recover the ball and certainly deserved a yellow.

However Mexican referee, Marco Antonio Rodriguez saw it fit to give Cahill, Australia's last line of hope to salvage anything from today's game a straight red.

I'm not saying that Australia would've made a comeback today, simply because Germany was at least 10 classes ahead of them but a 4-0 loss pretty much cements Australia's fate if they can't win their next two matches.

With Serbia only losing 1-0 against Ghana, Australia is now -3 goals behind them which could make the difference between them advancing or not.

Cahill's presence and ability was enough to keep the game relatively close and could've even produced a goal allowing them to be in third with one more goal than Serbia.

Now onto the tackle itself which is as I said before was a terrible idea yet there was clearly no intent to try and injure Bastian Schweinsteiger by making that tackle.

His only thought was to tap the ball away from the German's and in the direction of his teammates.

Hopefully, Australia successfully appeals this decision and Cahill avoids a suspension.

This error though was to me the only error made by referees this year through three days.

In the opening match, Mexico thought they tapped in an easy first goal giving them a 1-0 lead. But, a brilliant call from the assistant referee took it away.

As you can tell from the reply , Carlos Vela was offsides and the shouldn't have counted.

Today however were some of the toughest calls of the World Cup this year.

During the first match of the day Algeria's Abdelkader Ghezzal threw his arm up for no reason and got a very appropriate handball called against him for his second yellow resulting in a red.

Slovenia later scored against Algeria's ten men in a situation that can only be blamed on the goalkeeper and Ghezzal's stupidity and not the referees for calling it.

Now, in the probably the most important call thus far and a call that has you wondering where Argentina's Hector Baldassi was during France and Ireland's play-off.

You see, Baldassi got the handball against Zdravko Kuzmanovic 100 percent correct and he was on the opposite side of the field surrounded by a swarm of vuvuzelas!

As you can tell Kuzmanovic clearly touched the ball and just like Ghezzal did so for no reason.

It was a clear call to give the penalty shot to Ghana which they took advantage of, winning the game 1-0.

However, the pure "guts" to actually call it far outweigh any potential backlash he'd have received.

When you think of it, the odds that he had a 100 percent clear view of the play are slim and the odds that he actually knew the ball hit his arm was more like 75 percent.

So far, in this World Cup there has been some amazing referees and aside from Cahill's straight red there haven't been many controversial decisions from the referees which is the way it's supposed to be.

World Cup upsets continue, as 32nd-ranked Ghana beat 15th-ranked Serbia.

This complimented the US tie with eighth-ranked England and South Korea's take down of Greece.

I can't watch these upsets happening without the Official 2010 World Cup song playing in my head.

"When I am older, I will be stronger, They'll call me freedom, Just like a wavin' flag".

These upsets are what make the World Cup such a sacred event.

See, to win the World Cup, it doesn't matter how big your military is, where your GDP ranks or how corrupt your leader is.  

It's about getting that black and white ball into the net.

These upsets just make the concept of the World Cup being up for grabs for any given team all the more prevalent.

Yesterday, did it matter that soccer is an exponentially bigger sport in England compared to the United States?

Today, did it matter that an African team had yet to win a game this World Cup and has still yet to ever win a World Cup?

Or, did it matter that South Korea is bordering a powerful nation that is synonymous with nuclear proliferation, while Greece practically invented international competition?

And now, is it really all that relevant that the US has never won a World Cup?  

My high school football coach used to say take what's written on paper and light it on fire.  That's what the US needs to do.

The irrelevance of anything besides those 90 minutes on that field proves that soccer is about athletic competition.

History is removed and the field becomes the only relevant entity of the world.

"Give me freedom, Give me fire, Give me reason, Take me higher."

Pretoria SA - Ghana opened their World Cup campaign against Serbia this afternoon, in what would probably end up, being the most important match in Group D.

With the Germans overwhelming favourites to top the group, whoever came out of today's clash between the Ghanaian's and the Serb's, would be in pole position to challenge them for top spot.

Ghana were victorious against a very disappointing Serbian outfit. An Asamoah Gyan penalty in the 85th minute was enough the give The Black Stars a slender victory.

The same player almost doubled their advantage in stoppage time, but was unlucky to see his shot come back of the post.

Despite the highly-fancied Serbia side failing to deliver, Ghana did enough to suggest that they could be the strongest out of the African nations.

Even without inspirational captain Michael Essien, the Ghanaians have strength in depth, with former superstars Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari, having to settle with a place on the bench.

After a successful Africa Nations Cup in Angola-where they finished runners-up to Eygpt with a depleted side- and with the a number of players graduating from the Under-20 squad, who were crowned Word Champions in Egypt last year.

The side is full of confidence at the moment, and this was evident in spells of their play against Serbia.

They keep the ball quite well, and unlike African teams of the past they seem happy to sit back and soak up pressure, they have the pace and the players to effectively a counter-attacking football.

Two player that stood out today though are relative newcomers to the squad.

Kevin Prince-Boateng - Was only called into the squad on the stroke of the finals, the Portsmouth midfielder was once considered a player with world-class pontential. He has speed, skill and is an eccentric talent. He was excellent against Serbia, running freely at the defence and providing an outlet with his pace.

Prince Tagoe - Recalled into the squad after a success full return to fitness. Had his contract terminated with German Hoffenheim, after it was found out he had a rare heart condition. He fought decision and was reinstated. A strong player, who is also blessed with good pace and has knack of scoring goals.

So the Prince's shone, on a day where The Black Stars put their selves in prime position to reach the next stage.

After the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, two days prior Serbia and Ghana met at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria in the first Group D matchup of this World Cup.

And what a match this was, as Ghana became the first African nation to win a World Cup match in Africa with a 1-0 win over Serbia.

Going into the match, Serbia did not have any surprise starters, but Ghana's manager Milovan Rajevac decided to start as Stephen Appiah, and Sulley Muntari missed out on starting to Kevin Prince Boateng and Anthony Annan.

As the match started, Ghana continued to attack the Serbian net via crosses but the Serbian defense remained strong just they were in qualifying and allowed nothing through.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Serbia tried to get their counterattack to take advantage of the Ghanaian defense, but that too was not able to net any goals.

With that, there was no score at the half.

In the second half, the play continued to remain similarly to the first half with Ghana getting most of the chances but were unable to score.

However, the match completely changed in the 73rd minute, as Aleksandar Lukovic got his second yellow card for a needless foul, giving Ghana the ultimate opportunity to win.

And as a result, Ghana were able to get the goal that they needed in the 82nd minute, as Serbian substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic handled the football inside of the penalty box, giving Ghana the first penalty of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

And Asamoah Gyan was able to put away the penalty with ease, giving Ghana the 1-0 lead.

In stoppage time, Gyan had another great chance, but his shot bounced off the post and the match ended with Ghana winning the first World Cup match by an African nation on African soil by a 1-0 score.

Going into this World Cup, there has been much debate over who will finish alongside Germany in advancing from Group D.

Since the World Cup draw on December 4, this matchup in Pretoria has been portrayed as the match of who will finish alongside Germany.

This matchup is between two great sides, as Serbia will face Ghana in this titanic clash in the nation's capital.

With this in mind, here is my official match preview of this Group D clash between Serbia and Ghana from the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria .

What is on the line:

Serbia:

For Serbia, they know that this will be their best chance to secure second spot in Group D.

That would turn out to be major for Serbia after their last place finish in 2006.

Ghana:

Ghana have the expectations of a continent on the line here in Pretoria on this night, and this will be the opportunity to show that they could make a deep run here in South Africa.

Key Players:

Serbia:

For Serbia, the player to watch will be, without question, Nemanja Vidic.

Vidic is considered to be one of the top central defenders on the plane, and as the rock of the Serbian defense, he must perform well against Ghana.

Ghana:

For Ghana, their key player will be Sulley Muntari.

Muntari did not have the best year ever with Inter, but now he is Ghana's top man with Michael Essien out of the World Cup, and must perform well for the Black Stars.

What each side must do to win:

Serbia:

The White Eagles must rely on playing a strong offensive match, but also must have Vidic to continue to build off his great qualifying campaign here.

Ghana:

Ghana must maintain possession for as long as they can and be sure to utilize the wings on the passes to keep Vidic out of the match as long as possible.

Biggest key to victory:

Serbia:

Serbia just need a strong offensive effort and use all of their chances to the best of their ability.

Ghana:

Ghana must keep the ball away from the middle and rely on strong crosses.

Projected Lineups:

Serbia (4-4-2)

                                                      Stojkovic

           Ivanovic                   Vidic                      Lukovic                 Obradovic

             Krasic                Stankovic                    Milijas                   Jovanovic

                                         Zigic                      Pantelic

Ghana (4-4-2)

                                       A. Gyan                     Tagoe

       D. Boateng             K. P. Boateng                  Appiah                   Muntari

          Inkoom               John Mensah                   Vorsah                    Pantsi

                                                      Kingson

X-Factor:

The X-factor here has to be the African advantage.

So far, it wasn't so kind to Nigeria against Argentina, but will it show in this match?

Prediction:

Overall, this is a pretty even match with two sides that will try not to do too much.

With that in mind, I do see two goals scored here, but the final score will be a 1-1 draw.

Going into this World Cup, hopes are high for Ghana in their second World Cup.

And why shouldn't they be? After all, they have one of the best African squads in the World Cup, and are expected by many to advance from Group D.

Now, with Ghana's first World Cup match rapidly approaching, here are the strengths and weaknesses that will define how well Ghana perform in South Africa.

Strengths:

1. They have had prior World Cup success: The only African nation to advance from the group stage in the 2006 World Cup, Ghana still have a great squad together.

With that experience, Ghana have a solid advantage over the likes of Serbia in their group.

2. This is Africa's World Cup: An advantage that cannot be forgotten, this is Africa's World Cup, a fact that is a major bonus for Ghana.

With the home fans behind them and possibly the referee's, Ghana could make a deep run just due to the fact that the World Cup is on African soil.

3. Strength of squad: Despite no Michael Essien for this Ghana squad, there is still tons of strength on the 23 man roster.

Ghana still do have the likes of Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Stephen Appiah, and Asamoah Gyan on their squad, and that strength will be huge in the World Cup.

Weaknesses:

1. No Michael Essien: Losing Michael Essien is a major loss for Ghana no matter how you put it.

Essien of course is one of the best midfielders on the planet, and he was supposed to be the reason why Ghana were going to advance from their group.

Now without him, Ghana have a major hurdle to clear concerning who will help the Black Stars into the round of 16.

2. Group D will be difficult to advance from: By no means do Ghana have an easy group to advance from with Germany, Serbia and Australia all within the top 20 nations according to the FIFA World Rankings.

All three of these nations have their advantages and could prove to be too much for Ghana if they are to advance from Group D.

3. Not-so-bright start with friendlies: A 4-1 loss to the Dutch in Rotterdam was their first friendly in almost three months, and the Black Stars did not appear to be in the same league as the Dutch in that match.

Now, Ghana were lucky to beat Latvia (who are ranked 88th in the world) in a friendly at the Stadium:mk in Milton Keynes by a 1-0 score.

Hopefully, these friendlies are not an indication of how Ghana will do in the World Cup.

Now, here are five things that Ghana must do to advance from Group D:

1. Ride the support of their home fans: Without question, Ghana will have lots of support from the African fans at this World Cup.

These fans could end up being the reason why the Black Stars could advance onto the round of 16, so Ghana must make sure that they use these fans for their own advantage.

2. Be sure to take full advantage of their chances: Ghana are going to have to face several tough defensive sides in the group stage as the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Philipp Lahm will be potential roadblocks for the Black Stars.

With this in mind, Ghana will truly need to take the most of their scoring opportunities, as they could find themselves on the defensive for most of the group stage.

3. Get a point against Germany in the final group stage match: The final match of the group stage will be against Germany at Soccer City in Johannesburg on June 23.

That match will probably rank inside the top ten matches of the entire group stage, and with this also being Ghana's final match of the group stage, they must pull out with at least a point against a German side that will most likely have secured their spot in the round of 16.

4. Forget about Michael Essien: The loss of Michael Essien is huge for Ghana without question, as his play could have gotten the Black Stars deep in this World Cup.

However, Ghana must forget about Essien and go about with their own business.

5. Get some luck from Serbia and Australia: Serbia and Australia are two sides that have the quality to advance from the group stage.

However, Ghana must hope that these two sides battle for a draw on June 23 in Nelspruit, as that could be the difference in Ghana advancing from the group stage or going home early from the World Cup.

South Africa 2010 was meant to be Africa's coming out party. As the official song for the cup states, “This Time for Africa”. However, slowly the strongest African contenders are losing steam before the tournament even begins.

Today it was announced that Didier Drogba—the Ivory Coast Captain—fractured his elbow in an exhibition match against Japan.

Drogba, the leading scorer of the English Premier League, was the biggest hope to many for the African team breaking through to win the cup.

Strong players back Drogba including the midfielder Yaya Toure from Barcelona, but it is doubtful that the team could go far without the threat of Drogba up front.

Drogba's Chelsea teammate Michael Essien—the former captain of the Ghana team—will also miss the World Cup.

Essien injured a ligament in his knee training earlier in the year and was unable to recover in time to make Ghana's 23-man roster for the cup.

Essien had been a strong presence for Ghana in the midfield and was one of the stars in Ghana's surprise run past the group stage in 2006. 

In what is now a genuine Chelsea curse, fellow midfielder Michael Ballack will also miss the World Cup for Germany after injuring his ankle during the FA Cup Final.

Germany has a depth to recover from the injury that Ivory Coast and especially Ghana don't necessarily possess.

Ghana and Ivory Coast are still very dangerous teams without their star players, with most of their players playing in one of the top four leagues.

It'll be interesting to see which players will step up in each team to give a sense of leadership and create a fairy tale African run. 

While Ivory Coast has more depth in its team, Drogba might be a much greater loss since African teams have had a history of having a hard time finalizing the scoring opportunities they create.

Drogba was an assassin in the box not only in skill but pure physical force. He was one of the most efficient strikers entering the 2010 World Cup.

While the Ivory Coast doctors have not entirely discarded Drogba from playing in the Cup, Drogba announced to his teammate Kolo Toure that he will miss the cup. 

If only for Africa, hopefully Drogba's teammates are able, despite his injury, to aid Ivory Coast to escape their "Group of Death" against Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea.

After going nearly three months without playing an international match, Ghana played their first friendly since a 2-1 loss at Bosnia-Herzegovina back on March 3.

Their opponent was no one other than the fourth best national team in the world: the Netherlands at the Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam.

And early on, it became apparent to Ghana that they would be in for a long night as the Dutch continuously attacked Ghana's goal.

And in the 30th minute, they were rewarded for their efforts as Wesley Sneijder fed Robin van Persie with a beautiful pass that van Persie shot onto Ghana's net.

Despite the resulting save from Richard Kingson, Liverpool's Dirk Kiyt was able to bury the rebound in from close range to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead.

After the goal, the Dutch still continued to get some great chances in, but Ibrahim Afellay missed a golden chance to make the score 2-0 and at the half, the score remained 1-0 in favor of the oranje.

But the second half, the Dutch continued to go forward, and after several unsuccessful chances Real Madrid's Rafael van der Vaart was able to make the score 2-0 as van der Vaart and Mark von Bommel were able to team up for a beautiful Dutch goal.

Six minutes later Ghana finally got on the board, and it was Asamoah Gyan who was able to take advantage of some terrible Dutch defending to make the score 2-1.

But all chance for Ghana to win ended three minutes later when Sneijder nailed home a 25 yard screamer, and van Persie put the cherry on top with a late penalty to give the Netherlands an impressive 4-1 victory.

With this win the Dutch will play on Saturday against a Hungurian side that was not able to qualify for the World Cup, while Ghana will travel to England to face a Latvian side that also didn't qualify for the World Cup.

With the June 1 deadline to submit their final World Cup roster, Ghana have decided to name their 23 man roster two days before the FIFA mandated deadline.

Ghana's roster for this World Cup looks like this:

Goalkeepers: Richard Kingson, Daniel Agyei, Stephen Aholu

Defenders: John Painstil, John Mensah, Samuel Inkoom, Hans Adu Sarpei, Rahim Ayew, Lee Addy, Isaac Vorsah, Jonathan Mensah

Midfielders: Kwadwo Asamoah, Anthony Annan, Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Stephen Appiah, Andre Ayew, Derek Boateng

Forwards: Asamoah Gyan, Prince Tagoe, Dominic Adiyiah, Mathew Amoah

The six players that coach Milovan Rajevac cut from his provisional squad for South Africa are as followed: Stephen Adams, Eric Addo, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Laryea Kingston, Haminu Draman, and Bernard Kumordzi.

Ghana will be going into this World Cup in Group D, with matches on June 13 against Serbia at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, followed by Australia on June 18 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg and Germany on June 23 at Johannesburg's Soccer City.

Of course, the one notable player who did not make Ghana's final roster was star midfielder Michael Essien, who has been absent since acquiring a knee injury in January's African Cup of Nations.

South Africa finally wheeled out the big guns against Colombia last night as Soccer City echoed to the sounds of the vuvuzela and another World Cup-friendly success.

This one was not pretty, but hey, for a side ranked 83 in the world before the tournament kicks off here on June 11, who's nit-picking?

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said his players were "a little nervous at the end" but continue to defy expectations of chronic home failure on the pitch.

The American journalists out here called these pre-World Cup friendlies "exhibitions"... this was never that! Three successful penalties resulted in a 2-1 win over the side ranked 35 in the latest rankings.

South Africa's opening Group A clash with Mexico may be a little tougher, but there are tentative signs Bafana Bafana could avoid being the first host nation not to reach the knock-out stages.

With Premier League stars Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth), Steven Pienaar (Everton) and even the controversial Benni McCarthy (West Ham) all playing a part, Brazilian boss Parreira is now unbeaten in nine since he returned to the hot-seat last November.

To be honest, they were probably better at the Super Stadium in the nearby Soweto suburb of Orlando last week, when they only managed a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria. But a sell-out crowd of 75,000, with their blaring plastic football horns, wasn't going to be denied.

What was it former England captain Bryan Robson said last week after his Thailand side were beaten 4-0 in Nelspruit?

"An atmosphere like that could work in South Africa's favor. The Vuvuzela could be their 12th man!"

Two local lads out of the unimpressive South African Premier League, midfielder Teko Modise and striker Katlego Mphela, scored the South Africa penalties either side of Giovanni Moreno's spot kick.

Parreira even gave McCarthy, under fire for a lack of fitness (and an abundance of fatness according to sources inside the camp), a run. But he was unable to add to his record 32 goals for the Rainbow Nation.

Colombia, who has failed to qualify for the last three finals, will likely be aggrieved by the Kenyan ref Samwel Kipngetich’s decision to retake the first Modise penalty, which was saved by the "Coffee Makers" No. 1 David Ospina. The France-based goalkeeper was adjudged to have moved early and Modise was luckily able to make it the second time.

South African goalkeeper Itumaleng Khune, of the Kaizer Chiefs, appeared to hurt himself early on when he clashed with Jackson Martinez. Khune fouled Adrian Ramos to give away the equalizer, tucked away by Moreno. Worryingly, Khune was substituted at the break.

Pienaar, South Africa's great hope (and probably their only truly world-class player), came on at half-time before Valencia fouled the dreadlocked Siphiwe Tshabalala and Katlego Mphela sent Ospina the wrong way with 58 minutes on the clock.

South Africa has two friendlies to go before the opener against Mexico. Guatemala, ranked in three figures, are first at the new World Cup stadium in Polokwane on May 31.

Fellow qualifiers Denmark —who beat Senegal 2-0 last night —play their final warm-up at Atteridgeville's Super Stadium near Pretoria on June 5.

In other “exhibitions,” Uruguay, who are also in Group A with South Africa, France, and Mexico, produced an encouraging 4-1 win over Israel.

Honduras, who are drawn in Group D with Chile, Spain, and Switzerland, could only draw 2-2 in Belarus. Their group rivals Chile crushed Zambia 3-0.

But for true football fans, last night's friendly efforts around the globe were overshadowed by the news that Ghana's Michael Essien has been ruled out of the tournament.

Chelsea midfielder Essien, one of Africa's greatest footballing exports over the past decade, has been struggling with a hamstring injury, followed by a knee injury.

His last competitive match was for his country during the African Cup of Nations in Angola, but he hasn't played for club or country since then. Tonight, the Ghanaian FA announced he wouldn’t be fit until July. That leaves Ghana —in the Group of Death with Germany, Australia, and Serbia —struggling.