Just in
time, England appeared at the World Cup.
Jermain Defoe knocked in
a goal for the revived Three Lions as they beat Slovenia 1-0 on
Wednesday in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, advancing to the tournament's
second round. It was a narrow but welcome escape for England, a pretournament favorite that was fighting off talk of internal strife after disappointing ties against the United States and Algeria.
The English needed a victory to move on, and they got it, dictating the pace for much of the game. Now they'll play Germany in the second round.
"This team, this spirit, played together and tried together," said England coach Fabio Capello. "I am really happy because I found the team I know. We now go forward. We can play against all the teams because the mind is now free."
The victory gave England second place in Group C behind the United States, which beat Algeria 1-0. Slovenia entered the day the surprise leader in the group but finished with four points to five for the U.S. and England. The U.S. earned first place based on tiebreakers.
Playing more aggressively than they did in draws with the Americans and Algerians, the English went ahead when Defoe put in James Milner's cross from 5 yards out with a right-footed shot.
"I'm lost for words to be honest," Defoe said. "What a moment. Everyone was focused before the game. We are through, that's the most important thing."
England continued to dominate fter the goal, and Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovic had to make two saves within a few seconds of each other to stop shots from Defoe and Steven Gerrard. Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Glen Johnson also had shots on goal.
At the end of the game, relieved England players — who had met with Caello to discuss what went wrong against Algeria — embraced in a group hug.
Germany 1, Ghana 0: Germany won. Ghana lost, then
won.
Mesut Oezil scored on a left-footed blast
from outside the area to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Ghana in
Johannesburg and first place in Group D at the World Cup.
Still,
Ghana had reason to party. Moments after the game was over, Ghana
learned that Australia had defeated Serbia 2-1, a
result that meant Ghana took second place in the group and also will
move on to the round of 16. "It was a very difficult match, but we fought, and it was enough to get us through," said Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew. "We had opportunities, but the important thing is that we went through."
Once the scoreboard flashed the Aussie final, Ghana players hugged each other, waved their country's flag and ran to the corner where their supporters were cheering and dancing.
The Germans, too, were saluting their fans and enjoying the moment.
"It was a tense game. We could have made more out of our opportunities," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We were not very precise up front. But I can't blame my young players, there was a lot of pressure, we had to win."
The heavily favored Germans had an upset loss to Serbia that left them needing a victory to be assured of advancing. Ghana is the first of the six African teams in the tournament to make it to the knockout phase. It could also be the last. Only Ivory Coast still has a chance to gain the final 16.
Australia 2,
Serbia 1: Tim Cahill and Brett Holman scored second-half goals in
Nelspruit, South Africa, to help Australia beat Serbia in Group D of the
World Cup. But both teams did not advance. Marko Pantelic scored for
Serbia, which finished last The Aussies got four points, the same as
Ghana, which got second place on goal differential (even to minus-3).