World Cup Game 47 –Uruguay 2 vs. 1 South Korea
Uruguay booked there place in the quarter finals of the World Cup thanks to a Luis Suarez man of the match performance and brace sealing a 2-1 victory against South Korea in Port Elizabeth.
It was the on-form Ajax striker Luis Suarez who is regarded as one of the most exciting young strikers in world football that caused problems for the Korean defense, breaking the deadlock in the 8th minute, when the striker capitalized on some woeful marking to tap in a whipped in Diego Forlan low cross, which was misjudged by the South Korean keeper.
South Korea got back into the game in the second half passing the ball around well but without creating many dangerous openings, until they grabbed an equalising goal in the 68th minute when Lee Chung-Yong headed home from close range to square the game one a piece. However, the winning goal came from a stunning strike, as Uruguay striker Suarez grabbed his second goal of the game curling an effort in off the post in the 80th minute to seal a deserved victory and a place in the quarters.
World Cup Game 48 –USA 1 vs. 2 Ghana (extra time)
The second game of the last 16 took us to the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg, where the USA played out a hard fought encounter against a young Ghana side full of confidence. With Ghana the only African side left in the tournament, it was the Black Cats that took an early shock lead scoring in the 5th minute of the match when midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng charged through firing in a low 18 yard strike to beat American keeper Tim Howard at his near post.
With both sides playing attack minded football, it was the USA who eventually found there breakthrough in the 62nd minute, when Landon Donovan converted a second half penalty after Ghana defender Mensah appeared to have fouled Clint Dempsey in the box. As the match played out to a 1-1 draw, extra time was fast approaching with both sides still searching for that late winner.
The winning goal was finally found in the early first half of extra time as Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan used his upper body strength to hold off USA defender Bocanegra smashing home an unstoppable shot over the head of Tim Howard and setting up with a quarter final encounter against Uruguay.
World Cup Game 49 –Germany 4 vs. 1 England
England were knocked out of the World Cup in humiliating fashion as Germany comfortably beat them 4-1 in a game which was blighted with controversy. It was the Germans who got the game off to a flyer piling on the pressure in the early first quarter of the game with strikes from Metsut Ozil and Miroslav Klose.
The deadlock was broken in the 20th minute of the game when German striker Miroslav Klose muscled out Matthew Upson to latch onto a long through ball poking home past David James for the opening goal. The second goal of the game came soon after as Muller and Klose combined with a one-two effort before squaring it to the unmarked Podolski who fired home under David James from a tight angle to secure a comfortable 2-0 lead.
England hit back forcing a superb reflex save from the German number one as Frank Lampard went close with a header from a dangerous James Milner cross. In the 37th minute England finally got there break through when another attacking cross into the box from Steven Gerrard, was met by defender Matthew Upton as he powered home the header to pull one back.
With less than 60 seconds after the goal, the ball broke kindly to Frank Lampard as he volleyed the ball home off the underside of the bar taking the rebound over the line to send the English into celebration. However the celebrations were short lived, as the referee denied the ball had crossed the line, a decision which would later be regretted as television replays show Lampard’s goal was clearly over the line.
The second half of the match saw England fall to pieces as a dominant Germany side took full advantage wrapping up a quarter finals place, thanks to two well taken goals in the last 20 minutes from Bayern Munich attacker Thomas Muller.
World Cup Game 50 –Argentina 3 vs. 1 Mexico
A packed Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg watching a high flying Argentina side beat Mexico 3-1 to progress into the quarter final of the World Cup and set up a highly anticipated encounter against Germany.
It was the Argentines that got off to the best possible start opening the scoring in the 25th minute when Carlos Tevez controversially headed home Lionel Messi’s clever chip, which appeared to be offside. The second goal for Argentina came from striker Gonzalo Higuain as he kept his cool to round keeper Perez and slide the ball home.
Tevez scored his second of the game in the 2nd half, as the Man City striker struck a blistering 25 yard shot into the top corner, sending the Argentines into a comfortable 3-0 lead and making him a contender for goal of the tournament. Mexico pulled one back in the 71st minute as Manchester United new boy Hernandez turned defender Demichelis easily to slam the ball high past keeper Romero and into the roof of the net.