Group D of the World Cup has been thrown wide open after one of the tournament favourites, Germany, were defeated by Serbia in a surprise result. Ghana and Germany are now at the top of the group, separated only by goal difference. Ghana, who have played a game less than Germany, now take on Australia in their 2nd group game. Australia were on the wrong side of a 4 nil score line against Germany in the first match, and also lost their most influential player Tim Cahill to an unfortunate red card which many believe was quite unjust, while Ghana fought hard to earn a one nil win against Serbia in their first match. And this game has immense significance as far as progression to the next round is concerned; if Australia manage to win the match, they will join Germany and Ghana with 3 points, with the final round of fixtures effectively becoming something like the old fashioned shootouts. A win for Ghana, on the other hand, will all but surely ensure progression into the next round for the Africans.
Ghana showed immense grit and determination in their first match against Serbia, where two contrasting styles of play almost cancelled each other out: Serbia, with a well organized defence led by Nemanja Vidic, were typically hard to break down in defence, while Ghana put on display some beautiful flair football that their team is famous for. Although short handed by an injury to their most important player and captain, Michael Essien, Ghana have enough firepower in them to match any big team in the World Cup on any given day. The two teams looked set to end the match on level terms, but just minutes before the final whistle, Gyan scored from a penalty kick, which was awarded after Zdravko had a moment of insanity when he handled the ball inside the box.
While in the overall game, the African side was the more dominant force, especially in the midfield, where there was enough creativity to score at least 2 or 3 more goals, only to be denied by the resolute Serbian defence, who in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign had the best defensive record.
The performance by Ghana against Serbia can be considered even better than it was, just for the fact that they had several key players not available, the big one of course being the captain Essien who has not travelled with the team. Sulley Muntari was also a big miss, and Kevin Prince Boateng stepped in for only his 2nd international appearance, but did prove his worth in the centre of midfield. The star, however, was Gyan who was a constant threat to the Serbian defence, an eventually was the only goal scorer of the game (from the penalty spot).
Looking at Australia, they will certainly be missing Cahill, who will serve a one match suspension after getting a straight red in the first game against Germany. Midfield for them was a big problem in the first game, as Germany ran all over them dominating the game in middle of the park, and effectively controlling the whole game. Lucas Neill was the only man to stand his own in the first match. The midfielder, who has been part of Blackburn Rovers in English football for years now, was instrumental, but had little support from his teammates. However, he may have more help from his colleagues in the match against Ghana.
The experienced keeper Mark Schwarzer will be a key player in the match; even though he let four through in the first game, but at least 3 of the 4 were quite unstoppable, and the Fulham man should not be judged purely on that one performance.
Considering all the permutations, it is expected to be a good game, and with so much riding on the match, both teams are sure to give it their all. Australia may have the edge over their African rivals, however, and the group may be interestingly poised after the end of the match, with Ghana, Australia and Germany all on 3 points after 3 matches.
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