win, Australia failed to qualify

Australia produced a rousing second-half display to knock Serbia out of the World Cup - but it was not quite enough for the Socceroos to sensationally earn a place in the round of 16.

A Tim Cahill header and a searing long-range strike from substitute Brett Holman ensured that at one point Pim Verbeek's side were two goals away from snatching second place in Group D.
However, that berth was ultimately claimed by Ghana, who lost 1-0 to Germany to finish level on Australia with four points but who go through by virtue of their superior goal difference.

As the clock ticked down it seemed as though the momentum of the contest had swung firmly in the favour of the green and gold but their hopes of emulating their exploits in 2006 by progressing from their group were effectively ended when substitute Marko Pantelic pulled a goal back for Serbia after 84 minutes.
In the end it was a disappointing night for both sides, with the Socceroos left to rue the damage done to their campaign by the 4-0 thrashing they sustained in their opening game against Germany.
And in many ways it was even more agonising for Serbia, who finished the match one goal away from snatching second place away from Ghana.
A draw would have taken Serbia on to four points and above Ghana on goals scored.
That almost happened in the dying seconds of what ended up as an absorbing end-to-end contest but Pantelic smashed a cross from the right wide of the target.
Many people had tipped Serbia to be a surprise package in the tournament - a school of thought given further weight after they defeated Germany in their second game.
And in the first half at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit there seemed little doubt that they would win the contest after producing a performance of attacking intent against an off-colour Australia.
Milos Krasic operated on the right flank, directly in front of the bulk of the Australia supporters during an opening 45 minutes that saw them boo him every time he touched the ball.
They were incensed by what they thought was a blatant attempt to win an early penalty after the CSKA Moscow player went down in the Socceroos area as he tussled with Carl Valeri.
But it had little impact on Krasic's performance as Serbia, with swift, precise passing, kept their dogged opponents on the back foot.
Mark Schwarzer was clearly Australia's best player as he palmed an early Krasic strike around the post and made a sensational one-handed save to thwart Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.
Raddy Antic's side occasionally had only themselves to blame for not taking the lead, as Krasic really should have found the net after collecting an inch-perfect threaded pass from Zdravko Kuzmanovic and rounding Schwarzer, but he shot over.
Australia, with their tall target man Josh Kennedy a peripheral figure, created precious little in the opening half; Cahill, returning after suspension, headed wide while Kennedy at least drew a save from Vladimir Stojkovic with a weak effort.
It looked as though Verbeek's tenure as Australia boss was going to end tamely but his side showed great spirit after the interval, even if opportunities initially remained at a premium.
Jason Culina shot wide from long range, while Marco Bresciano drew two saves from Stojkovic, the second of them a rasping effort from 20 yards.
However, the complexion of the contest changed irreversibly when Cahill brilliantly headed Australia in front from a right-wing cross.
Germany had taken the lead against Ghana by that stage - and when Holman's sensational long-range strike defeated Stojkovic the atmosphere generated by the considerable Australia following was sensational.
Serbia, who failed to reproduce their first-half form, pulled a goal back through Pantelic after a rare error from Schwarzer, who spilled a long-range strike from Zoran Tosic.
Antic's team wanted a penalty for a handball against Cahill but they only had themselves to blame for failing to score a second when Pantelic missed.

Australia	2-1	Serbia	FT
Cahill, 69 Holman, 73	(HT 0-0)	Pantelic, 84
Team
Australia 01 Schwarzer 02 Neill 06 Beauchamp 07 Emerton 21 Carney 04 Cahill 05 Culina 08 Wilkshire (19 Garcia, 82) 16 Valeri (14 Holman, 65) 23 Bresciano (11 Chipperfield, 66) 09 Kennedy		Serbia 01 Stojkovic 05 Vidic 06 Ivanovic 13 Lukovic 16 Obradovic 10 Stankovic 14 Jovanovic 17 Krasic (07 Tosic, 62) 18 Ninkovic 22 Kuzmanovic (08 Lazovic, 77) 15 Zigic (09 Pantelic, 67)
12 Federici, 18 Galekovic, 11 Chipperfield, 20 Milligan, 15 Jedinak, 19 Garcia, 14 Holman, 17 Rukavytsya		Substitutes: 12 Isailovic, 23 Djuricic, 02 Rukavina, 03 Kolarov, 20 Subotic, 04 Kacar, 07 Tosic, 11 Milijas, 19 Petrovic, 08 Lazovic, 09 Pantelic, 21 Mrdja
Venue: Mbombela Stadium Referee: J Larrionda Attendance: 38,836

Read the full story

Mesut Ozil single goal, Germany Pass

Germany set up a World Cup last-16 contest with England as Mesut Ozil's stunning strike proved enough to earn victory over Ghana, who also qualified from Group D.

Ozil settled an entertaining affair in the second half with a wonderful, dipping volley from outside the box to ensure it would be the Germans who face Fabio Capello's men in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
In a game that swung from end-to-end, at breakneck speed at times, Ghana wasted some fine chances, but the African side go through as group runners-up, thanks to Australia's surprise victory over Serbia, and they will now face USA in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Going into the game Ghana only needed a point to be sure of progressing, but they came up against a German team desperate to put their shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Serbia in their last match behind them.
Knowing a win would set up a clash with old rivals England, Germany played with great tempo and after Cacau shot at Richard Kingson, Lucas Podolski went close with a deflected volley that flew narrowly wide of the target.
But Ghana weathered the early storm and eventually asserted their own style on proceedings. They were content to let Germany have a lot of the ball and hit them on the break when they won it back and their pace soon began to cause problems.
Asamoah Gyan should have done better with a shot that was superbly blocked by the tireless Bastain Schweinsteiger before Kevin-Prince Boateng played in Gyan, only for the striker's touch to let him down at the crucial moment.
After Ozil rolled a tame shot at Kingson from the right-hand side of the Ghana box it was the Africans who twice went close again when Gyan's goal-bound header from a corner was cleared off the line by Philipp Lahm and then Boateng glanced across the face of goal from Andre Ayew's centre.
Germany knew raced out of the blocks after the interval, aware that Serbia and Australia were goalless at the break and a Serbia goal could send Germany out.
After Asamoah spurned a rare Ghana break into the Germany half by shooting at Manuel Neuer, Ozil produced his match-winning moment.
The gifted playmaker had endured a frustrating evening up to that point, but when the ball fell to him just outside the penalty area, he set himself up and then crashed a glorious left-footed effort past Kingson's fruitless dive.
Now Ghana had most to lose and they tried to hit back immediately as Prince Tagoe's goalbound header at the far post drew a superb block from Jerome Boateng - the German defender who was playing against his brother, Kevin, in a first for the World Cup.
Ghana continued to press and Gyan's backheel exquisitely set up Ayew only for Lahm to get in a last-ditch goal-saving challenge, and Germany eased through the closing stages without looking unduly troubled.
Even after the final whistle blew, there were some nervous moments for Ghana as they waited for the result from Nelspruit, but in the end they had done enough to secure Africa's first place in the next round.

Ghana	0-1	Germany	FT
	(HT 0-0)	Ozil, 60
Team
Ghana 22 Kingson 02 Sarpei 04 Pantsil 05 John Mensah 08 Jonathan Mensah 06 Annan 13 Ayew (18 Adiya, 90+2) 23 Boateng 03 Gyan (14 Amoah, 81) 12 Tagoe (11 Muntari, 64) 21 Asamoah		Germany 01 Neuer 03 Friedrich 16 Lahm 17 Mertesacker 20 Boateng (02 Jansen, 72) 06 Khedira 07 Schweinsteiger (18 Kroos, 81) 08 Ozil 10 Podolski 13 Muller (15 Trochowski, 68) 19 Cacau
01 Agyei, 16 Ahorlu, 07 Inkoom, 15 Vorsah, 19 Addy, 09 Boateng, 10 Appiah, 11 Muntari, 17 Ayew, 20 Owusu-Abeyie, 14 Amoah, 18 Adiya		Substitutes: 12 Wiese, 22 Butt, 02 Jansen, 05 Tasci, 14 Badstuber, 04 Aogo, 15 Trochowski, 18 Kroos, 21 Marin, 09 Kiessling, 23 Gomez
Venue: Soccer City Referee: C Simon Attendance: 83,391

Read the full story

Harry Kewell got red cards, Australia's narrow escape opportunities

Australia overcame the first-half dismissal of Harry Kewell to battle for a draw against Ghana that keeps their slim hopes of reaching the World Cup second round alive.

The Socceroos, hammered 4-0 by Germany in their opening Group D game, took an early lead through Brett Holman before Kewell was shown a straight red for a handball on the goal-line and Asamoah Gyan slotted home his second penalty of the tournament.

But an inexperienced Ghana side struggled against 10 men, showing limited imagination and resorting to shot after shot from long range.

And it was Australia who came closest to winning the match when Luke Wilkshire failed to beat Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingston when clean through on goal.

It was an impressive display from the Australians who had been lambasted by their national press after a meek opening performance and suffered the hammer blow of having a key man sent off for the second game in a row.

The Socceroos could still emulate their 2006 effort of reaching the second phase if they defeat Serbia in their final game on Wednesday, while Ghana need only a point against the Germans to advance.

While injuries to captain John Mensah and Isaac Vorsah forced Ghana to field an inexperienced centre-back pairing of Lee Addy and Jonathan Mensah, under-fire Australia coach Pim Verbeek made four changes to the side that lost to Germany with Kewell called in to lead the attack.

And the former Liverpool forward was immediately in the thick of the action, going down twice inside the area in the first 10 minutes but seeing both his penalty appeals turned down by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti.

The Socceroos had reason to thank the official shortly afterwards when he awarded the free-kick from which they took the lead.

Mark Bresciano's 30-yard strike bounced awkwardly in front of Kingston, but the goalkeeper should have done more than just parrying the ball straight in front of him. Holman reacted quickest to clip the loose ball into the top corner.

Kingston has played more international football than club football in the last four years and his sloppy work provided another page in the catalogue of goalkeeping gaffes at this World Cup.

Ghana, the only African team to win at the tournament so far, reacted with a series of pacy attacks and they did not have to wait long for their equaliser.

Andre Ayew showed great determination to work some space for himself on the byline and produce a measured cut-back to Mensah, whose powerful goalbound shot struck Kewell on the arm.

Kewell protested that the ball had hit his chest and implored the referee to watch the replay on the big screen but when the incident was shown again it entirely vindicated the decision to award a penalty and show the Australia frontman a red card.

Gyan sent Mark Schwarzer the wrong way from the spot.

Ghana initially made the most of their extra man, using the full width of the pitch to stretch the Australians, and they could have gone ahead shortly before half-time.

Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng worked his way into the box and unleashed a right-footed shot that was brilliantly tipped around the post by Schwarzer, who had to be at his best once again shortly after the break to claw away a curler from Gyan.

Ghana seemed to lose their way as the game wore on, running out of ideas and firing speculative shots from distance which were often embarrassingly off target.

The Africans' profligacy seemed to awaken Australia's senses to the possibility that they could still win the game and the Socceroos came close on two occasions.

First Chipperfield headed over the bar, and then Wilkshire found acres of space in the box, but his shot was smothered by Kingston, who was on hand to gather Josh Kennedy's follow-up effort.

But Ghana ended the game the stronger side with Mensah heading over from Sulley Muntari's cross and Schwarzer pulling off a one-handed save to keep out Quincy Owusu-Abeyie's long-range strike.

Ghana	1-1	Australia	FT
Gyan (pen), 25	(HT 1-1)	Holman, 11
Team
Ghana 22 Kingson 02 Sarpei 04 Pantsil 08 Jonathan Mensah 19 Addy 06 Annan 13 Ayew 23 Boateng (Amoah, 88) 03 Gyan 12 Tagoe (Owusu-Abeyie, 56) 21 Asamoah (Muntari, 77)		Australia 01 Schwarzer 02 Neill 03 Moore 07 Emerton 21 Carney 05 Culina 08 Wilkshire (Rukavytsya, 85) 16 Valeri 23 Bresciano (Chipperfield, 66) 10 Kewell 14 Holman (Kennedy, 68)
01 Agyei, 16 Ahorlu, 05 John Mensah, 07 Inkoom, 15 Vorsah, 09 Boateng, 10 Appiah, 11 Muntari, 17 Ayew, 20 Owusu-Abeyie, 14 Amoah, 18 Adiya		Substitutes: 12 Federici, 18 Galekovic, 06 Beauchamp, 11 Chipperfield, 20 Milligan, 15 Jedinak, 19 Garcia, 22 Vidosic, 09 Kennedy, 17 Rukavytsya
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium Referee: R Rosetti Attendance: 34,812

Read the full story