[PREDICTIONS] Will the USA again save its best game at the World Cup for its second match? Will Fabio Capello‘s lineupchanges produce a win for England? Can Germany duplicate its magnificent performance against Australia when it faces Serbia in a battle of old World Cup rivals? For a look at Friday’s three games andSoccer America’s […]
germany
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Rating the big seven
[MY VIEW] The seven seeds other than host South Africa were considered the favorites to win the World Cup. How did they do in their openers? They ranged fromGermany, magnificent in its 4-0 win over Australia, to Spain, upset by Switzerland, and Italy and England, both lackluster at best in opening ties. Here’s how we […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Capello fires back at Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer‘s column in the Johannesburg Times, criticizing England’s play in its opening game against the USA, certainly hit a chord back at theEngland camp, where Coach Fabio Capello said the former West Germany captain and coach should to comments on his own national team. Beckenbauersaid the soccer he saw from the English in their […]
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
Klose heads toward at history
[PORTRAIT] Miroslav Klose‘s header for Germany’s second goal in a 4-0 win over Australia marked his 11th World Cup strike, putting him withinreach of the all-time scoring record of 15, held by Brazil’s Ronaldo. The Polish-born Klose began his World Cup scoring run in 2002, when he struck five times with his head. Klose and […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Germany provides goal fix; Ghana wins for Africa
[GROUP D] In a tournament desperate for goals, Germany continued its recent history of goalfest openers with a 4-0 win over Australia. Thanks to a late penaltykick, Ghana beat Serbia, 1-0, to become the first African nation to notch a win. Here’s what we liked and didn’t like about the opening Group D games … […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
My World Cup: Referees get it right
By Paul Gardner Half of the 32 World Cup teams have now strutted their stuff, and most of them have been singularly unimpressive. The awful truth behind thisdisappointment is that I am the one to blame for all the caution and the defensive play that we have — and hence the lack of goals. My […]
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
How will Algeria handle turmoil?
[PREDICTIONS] Algeria’s camp was thrown into chaos when popular captain Yazid Mansouri threatened to walk out on theteam after he was dropped from the starting lineup for the Slovenia game. How will the Desert Foxes respond? For more on Sunday’s three games and Soccer America’s predictions … ALGERIA (0-0-0) vs. SLOVENIA (0-0-0) June 13 in […]
Posted inSpecial Edition, What They're Saying
What They're Saying
“We are not typically German anymore. We have more players who go into the one-on-one situations stronger. Technically, we are much stronger and the unpredictability is greater in this German teamthan it ever was. I think this is the best team, with the most quality of all the ones I have played in.” — Germany […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
German forward takes bike tumble
Germany forward Thomas Mueller needed stitches on his chin and scraped his knee after falling off a mountain bike during a ride that was part of a training session in northernItaly. The 20-year-old Mueller, who earned his call-up after a stellar season for Champions League runner-up and Bundesliga, will be OK to play in the […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Not the Greatest Final, but …
By Paul Gardner So here we go again, another super-climactic final that failed to live up to its billing. It’s not that the Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich game was apoor one — it wasn’t. But this was the high-point of the European season, the two best teams, with a ton of the world’s best […]