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Africa Cup of Nations Final

Mohamed Gedo celebrates winning goal

Sunday January 31st

The Pharaohs of Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations for an unprecedented 3rd time in a row with a 1-0 win over an energetic young Ghana team in the heat of Angola. The experienced Egyptians kept the Black Stars of Ghana at bay allowing them very few openings and with 20 minutes left Hassan Shehata sent on super sub and top goal scorer Mohamed Gedo who in the 85th minute played a one-two with Zidan and curled the ball into the far corner past the diving Kingson in the Ghana goal to win the match and tournament for Egypt. (Egypt 1 Ghana 0)

Read 3rd match play off and all other match reports from the Africa Cup of Nations 2010

Galas scores amidst Irish appeals for handball

France handed World Cup place

France 0 Republic of Ireland 1 (1-1 aet) World Cup play-off (Paris 18 November 2009)
A valiant display by the Republic of Ireland gave them a 1-0 win in Paris to take the match to extra time, but they lost out to a controversial goal helped on by the hand of Henry. Ireland took the lead in the 33rd minute when Duff pulled the ball back from the by-line for Keane to slot home, and could have sealed the match just past the hour-mark when Duff burst forward with Bacary Sanga hot in his pursuit but Lloris dived to his right to deny the Irishman and keep French hopes alive. Robbie Keane got past the French keeper in the 73rd minute but overran the ball, and with France failing to trouble Given in the Ireland goal the two teams ended the 90 minutes equal on aggregate and needed extra time to decide the outcome of the match. With 13 minutes of the first period gone, Thierry Henry controlled the ball with his hand before poking it across the face of goal for Gallas to head over the line and send France to the World Cup finals.
Reports from other matches on the same day

Kaka a handful for England

Brazil too hot for England

Brazil 1 England 0 Friendly (Doha 14 November 2009)
A single goal from Nilmar in the heat of Qatar condemned a reshaped England to defeat against Brazil. England started positively but Brazil gained control and 2 minutes after the interval Elano floated the ball into the box for Nilmar to find the corner of the net with a looping header past the diving Foster who was lucky to stay on the pitch when he brought Nilmar down in the box after Wes Brown chested the ball back into the path of the Brazilian in the 54th minute. England escaped further punishment when Luis Fabiano lofted the spot kick over the bar. Lucio struck the upright with a 25-yard scorcher in the 78th minute and with England only able to create half-chances in the closing stages of he match Brazil held on to a 1-0 win.
Reports from other matches on the same day

German keeper Nadine Angerer flying high against England

German girls finish off England

Germany 6 England 2 Women's Euro final (Helsinki 10 September 2009)
Germany continued their domination of women's football by thrashing England 6-2 in the final of Euro 2099 in Finland. Grings laid the ball on for Prinz to roll past Brown in the 19th minute and 3 minutes later Melanie Behringer let fly from 41 yards to double the German lead, but within 2 minute England pulled a goal back when Kelly Smith ran onto a long ball in the box and dribbled her way along the by-line to present Karen Carney with a tap-in. Five minutes into the 2nd half Krahn's volley came off the post and Kim Kulig knocked the rebound into the roof of the net, but 5 minutes later Kelly Smith skilfully beat a German defender in the box to fire past Angerer in the German goal. Inka Grings restored Germany's 2 goal lead with a firm header in the 62nd minute and caught England's defence flat-footed on the counter attack to cue the ball up for a shot past Brown in the 73rd minute. Birgit Prinz lashed in the 6th a few minutes later to cap a magnificent victory for Germany.
How they reached the final

2009 Community Shield
August 9 Wembley

Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Carvalho and Cole collecting the Community Shield

Chelsea win Community Shield

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 2 (Chelsea win on penalties)
A penalty shootout was needed to separate Manchester United and Chelsea on a warm sunny day at Wembley.
Chelsea came close in the 5th minute when an in-swinging corner was met by Ivanovic whose effort was headed off the line and onto the bar by Evra, but in the 10th minute Nani picked the ball up outside the area, found space and swept it past Cech to give Manchester United the lead. In the 56th minute Malouda lifted the ball into the 6 yard box, but Foster could only punch the ball into the path of Carvalho who equalised with a diving header. With 20 minutes remaining Lampard's shot was to powerful for Foster to handle and the ball crossed the line via the post. Foster had to get down quickly 6 minutes later to hold onto a shot from Drogba, and with Rooney running into the box and dinking the ball past Cech in stoppage time, the fate of the 2009 Community Shield had to be decided on penalty kicks. After Petr Cech had saved an inaccurate penalty from Giggs and a weak spot-kick from Evra, Salomon Kalou dispatched the deciding penalty into the top corner to win Carlo Ancelotti silverware in his first official match as Chelsea manager.

UEFA under 21 Final
29 June 2009 in Sweden

Young Germans lift 2009 trophy

Young Germans rule Europe
(Don't mention the four)
(Germany 4 England 0)
Germany swept England aside in the final to win the UEFA under 21 championships. England started well, but in the 23rd minute Özil delivered a well-timed pass to Castro, who poked it past Loach, and 3 minutes after the break a speculative free-kick from Mesut Özil sent Loach the wrong way with the young keeper only managing to get a trailing hand to the ball and allowing it to roll over the line. Cattermole saw his glancing header cleared off the German line in the 70th minute, and Wagner failed to connect to Özil's low cross in front of the England goal in the 76th minute, but 3 minutes later Özil fed Wagner who slotted the ball in through the legs of Scott Loach, and with 6 minutes left Wagner curled the ball beautifully past the diving Loach to cap a glorious night for the young Germans.

Full report from all the other 2009 under 21 matches

Lucio header wins the final for Brazil

Confederations Cup Final
28 June 2009 - South Africa

Brazil end the American dream
(Brazil 3 USA 2)
Brazil came from 2 goals down to win the Confederations Cup with 3 goals in the 2nd half against the USA. Clint Dempsey helped a Jonathan Spector cross past Julio Cesar in the 10th minute, and when Charlie Davies raced towards goal on the counter-attack and passed the ball to Landon Donavan, the American striker beat his marker with one swift move and dispatched the ball into the bottom corner to make another shock result a distinct possibility, but Brazil came out in the 2nd half with all guns blazing, and within a minute Luis Fabiano had turned the ball past Tim Howard to reduce the deficit. Brazil were unlucky not to be level on the hour-mark when Howard pushed a downward header by Kaka onto the underside of the bar from what looked to be behind the goal line, but in the 74th minute Kaka ran down the left side and fed Robinho whose shot came off the underside of the bar for Luis Fabiano to nod past the despairing Howard. With 6 minutes remaining Brazilian captain, Lucio, rose to meet a corner-kick with a decisive header which he steered in off the upright to give Brazil the 2009 Confederations Cup. Confederations Cup full match reports and pictures

Guus Hiddink leads Chelsea to FA Cup glory

Guus leaves Chelsea with cup

Chelsea 2 Everton 1 (FA Cup final Wembley 30 May 2009)
Chelsea overcame the quickest goal in the history of the FA Cup with a goal in each half to win silverware for Guus Hiddink in his last match in charge of the club. Everton got off to a flying start when Fellaini won a header in the box with the ball falling to Saha who volleyed past Petr Cech after only 25 seconds. Didier Drogba rose in the 21st minute to pick the corner of the net with an emphatic header and level the score for Chelsea. Malouda released Anelka on the hour-mark but the Frenchman lifted the ball over the keeper and the crossbar. Seven minutes later a Saha header flew over the bar at the other end for Everton. Frank Lampard let fly in the 72nd minute to win the match for the Londoners. Malouda came close to increasing the deficit but lifted the ball over the bar from close range in the 75th minute, and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet 3 minutes later when he struck a tremendous shot which came off the underside of the crossbar and was adjudged not to have crossed the goal-line. The victory for Chelsea handed Ashley Cole a record 5th FA Cup winners' medal.

Messi header seals European glory for Barca

Barcelona the best in Europe

Barcelona 2 Manchester United 0 (Campions League final Rome 27 May 2009)
In the much awaited battle for European club supremacy, Manchester United started brightly with trigger-happy Ronaldo threatening Barcelona in the early stages but the Catalan side scored with their first attack of the match in the 10th minute when Samuel Eto'o cut inside Vidic and beat van der Sar at the near post. Thierry Henry got into the box in the 50th minute but saw his effort blocked by the legs of van der Sar. Four minutes later Xavi hit the base of the United post from a free-kick but with 20 minutes remaining his cross was met by little Lionel Messi's leaping header who found the corner of the net with the side of his head to secure the cup for Barcelona

Elliott strike gives Burnley Premier spot

Burnley join big boys

Burnley 1 Sheffield United 0 (Wembley 25 May 2009)
With Wolves and Birmingham having already gained promotion to the Premier League, Sheffield Untied and Burnley met at Wembley for the final place in the highest tier of English football. Wade Elliott received the ball back after a long run and curled it over and beyond Kenny in the United goal to give Burnley a 13th minute lead. Ten minutes into the second half a cross to the far post was headed back across the goal for Gudjonsson to knock in from close range, but Montgomery got in the way to deny Burnley a second. Thompson broke free in the 66th minute and squared the ball to Robbie Blake who was about to pull the trigger when the speedy Kyle Walker made a brilliant last ditch tackle to keep the game alive. Sheffield United made matters harder for themselves when substitute Jamie Ward was dismissed after picking up a 2nd yellow in 4 minutes for a deliberate handball in front of the Burnley goal with 11 minutes remaining. The final whistle signalled the end of Burnley's 33-year wait for a return to the top flight of English football.

Di Maria strikes gold in Beijing Argentina retain Olympic gold Saturday August 23rd Argentina 1 Nigeria 0 (2008 Olympics Final in Beijing) A single goal against Nigeria in the final was enough to give Argentina gold in the scorching Beijing heat. A through ball from Messi in the 58th minute fed Angel di Maria who lifted the ball past Nigeria keeper Ambruse Vanzekin to decide the match. Nigeria created very few chances and had to settle for silver as the midday sun took its toll. Brazil had won bronze a day earlier with a convencing but somewhat flattering 3-0 win over Belgium. In the women's final Carli Lloyd struck a powerful low shot past Brazilian keeper Barbara 6 minutes into extra time to win the USA another gold. Bajramaj scored both goals as Germany defeated Japan 2-0 for the bronze. More .... Spain win Euro 2008 Sunday June 29th Spain 1 Germany 0 (Euro 2008 Final in Vienna) Spain Reign in Europe A stylish Spanish side were crowned champions of Europe after beating Germany in the final of Euro 2008. Lehmann reacted well to save Metzelder from an own goal as he intercepted a low cross in the 14th minute and had to rely on luck in the 23rd minute as a header from Torres came off the inside of the post. Ten minutes later Fernando Torres showed strength, pace and accuracy to shrug off Lahm and dink the ball past Lehmann into the far corner of the goal. Ballack came close for Germany with a shot on the hour-mark, but Spain continued to create chances and Lehmann was forced to make a brilliant reflex save to push a free header from Ramos over the bar in the 67th minute with Frings clearing off the line to keep out Iniesta's shot from the ensuing corner. A cross in the 81st minute was headed back across the face of the German goal by Guiza, but the sliding Senna failed to connect. The final whistle marked Spain's biggest achievement since 1964. German women win World Cup again Germany queens of the world Germany 2 Brazil 0 ( Women's World Cup Final ) China September 30 Germany successfully defended their title beating the flamboyant Brazil 2-0 in the final. Brazil who failed to capitalize on their first half territorial supremacy, were punished in the second half when the deadly Birgit Prinz struck in the 52nd minute. Brazil were handed a lifeline but Marta saw her spot kick saved by the invincible Angerer. Simone Lauder put the cup beyond the reach of Brazil with a header in the 86th minute. Germany win the World Cup without conceding a goal in the entire tournament. USA 4 Norway 1 ( Third place play-off ) - USA claimed 3rd place in the world with a convincing 4-1 win over Norway. Abby Wambach deflected a Chalupny shot to wrong-foot the Norwegian keeper in the 30th minute and forced the ball over the line after it had come off the post at the start of the second half. Lori Chalupny (58) and Heather O'Reilly (59) put the match to bed before Ragnhild Gulbrandsen scored a consolation goal with a looping header in the 63rd minute. Asian Cup 2007 (Final) Iraq Conquer Asia Younes Mahmoud heads in Asian Cup winner for Iraq Sunday 29 July 2007 Indonesia Iraq 1-0 Saudi Arabia War-stricken Iraq showed unity and determination to win the 2007 Asian Cup, beating Saudi Arabia in the final. Iraq were worthy winners of this match allowing Saudi Arabia very few chances. Taiseer Al Jassam came closest for Saudi Arabia on the hour-mark forcing Noor Sabri into a flying save, but 2 minutes later Al Mosailem in the Saudi goal had to make 2 saves in quick succession to deny Younes Mahmoud and Nashat Akram. Younes Mahmoud scored the winner for Iraq beating the Saudi Keeper with a header at the far post from a well delivered corner in the 71st minute and could have netted another 5 minutes later, but failed to run the ball past the advancing Al Mosailem. In the remaining minutes Saudi Arabia could not pose any serious threats and the final whistle sealed a fairytale triumph for Iraq who lifted their first ever major trophy by winning the 2007 Asian Cup. Copa America 2007 (Final) Brazil lift the cup Brazil win Copa America 2007 Sunday 15 July 2007 Venezuela Brazil 3-0 Argentina Brazil retained the Copa America by beating Argentina in the final as they did 3 years ago. Baptista stunned Argentina in the 4th minute when he curled the ball into the top corner of the net. Four minutes later Veron set up Riquelme with a cushioned header, but he smashed the ball against the post. In the 35th minute Doni made a superb save diving to his left to deny Riquelme. With 5 minutes of the first half remaining, Ayala slid in to block a low cross and inadvertently turned the ball into his own net giving Brazil a two-goal lead at half time. Argentina failed to threaten Brazil's hold on the cup in the second half, and when Vagner Love slipped the ball into the path of Alvez he secured the result with a clinical finish in the 69th minute. Copyright © 2007 by Ziaian All rights reserved. Archive of Match Reports Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Confederaions Cup 2009 Africa 2008 International and national matches Women 2007 Copa America 2007 Asian Cup 2007 2007 UEFA under 21 World Cup 2006 Africa 2006 Euro 2004 . . .