Wednesday June 23rd

Group C

Defoe goal does it for England

England 1 Slovenia 0 (Port Elizabeth)
England got the goal they needed to win and stay in the World Cup. Lampard tested Handanovic with a long-rang shot in the 14th minute and James showed his alertness to get behind a deflected shot from Jokic 7 minutes later, but in the 23rd minute Milner delivered a cross into the 6 yard area which Defoe knocked in the take the pressure off England who began to play with more confidence. Another cross from Milner 3 minutes after the goal was pushed away by the keeper but Lampard hit the rebound over the bar and the Slovenian keeper was brought into action again on the half-hour mark when he blocked a shot from Defoe and dived down to his left to keep out the follow-up from Gerrard. England started dangerously in the second half and within a minute the keeper punched a corner to Lampard who headed it back to Defoe who failed to make the most of it. Handanovic saved a header from Terry at the far post in the 57th minute and a minute later Rooney got through on goal but hit the post with the slight help of the keeper's fingertips. England defended well in the 68th minute blocking shots by Novakovic and Dedic before Koran hit the follow-up wide, but most of the play was in the Slovenian half and England celebrated their first win in this World Cup.

Group C

Late goal changes American fate

USA 1 Algeria 0 (Rustenburg)

A goal in stoppage time against Algeria put the USA thorough as group leaders knocking Slovenia out of the World Cup. A long ball in the 6th minute fell to Djebbour who volleyed it off the American bar but within a minute Gomez brought a save out of M'Bolhi at the other end. In the 35th minute Donovan played in Dempsey who was put off by a defender as the keeper came to the rescue and a minute later Donovan dinked the keeper but Altidore whacked the ball over the bar. Dempsey curled his shot against the inside of the post and failed to hit the open goal in the 56th and The Algerian keeper fisted away a Bradley free-kick with 10 minutes to go, but the Americans finally broke Algerian resistance in stoppage time when M'Bolhi blocked Altidore but Landon Donovan pounced on the rebound to make the conversion. Yahia was mistakenly sent off for dissent just before the final whistle.

Group D

Serbia dragged down under

Australia 2 Serbia 1 (Nelspruit)

Australia struck twice in the second half to end the hopes of Serbia. The Serbs who needed a draw to go through created some good chances in the first 45 minutes and should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Krasic rounded the keeper but missed the target. Schwarzer got a strong hand to a close-range effort by Ivanovic in the 23rd minute, but Australia looked lively after the break and Stojkovic had to get down quickly to block a shot from Bresciano in the 64th minute. Five minutes later the Serbian keeper was beaten when Tim Cahill rose to head into the corner of the net, and in the 78th minute an accurate shot by Holman from outside the box took a bounce before resting in the bottom left corner. In the 84th minute when Schwarzer failed to hold on to a shot from Tosic, Pantelic was on hand to reduce the deficit. This result sends both teams home with Serbia finishing bottom of the group.

Group D

Özil goal gives Germans top spot

Germany 1 Ghana 0 (Johannesburg)

Germany win their group with a victory over Ghana that sees the both teams through to the next round. Kingson had to be alert to keep out a defensive deflection in the 10th minute, and after Ghana had twice split the German defence without being able to get a shot in, Özil broke through in the 24th minute but could not get past Kingson. Two minutes later Neuer was beaten by a Gyan header from a corner-kick but Lahm cleared off the line. Schweinsteiger's free-kick 4 minutes from the interval evaded the players in the box and Kingson had to react quickly to push the ball away while 5 minutes after the break it was Neuer who had to make a save when he came face to face with Asamoah. Germany scored after an hour when a strike by Özil from 20 yards flew past Kingson, and 6 minutes later a clever back-heel from Gyan presented Ayew with an opportunity but his shot was deflected over the bar by Lahm. The result set up a meeting between Germany and England in the next round.