World Cup points table : Uruguay and Mexico through England and USA still not sure
The countdown to the final sixteen continues as after yesterdays games Uruguay and Mexico confirmed their place in the last 16 from group A for this year’s World Cup campaign while the 1998 Champions and 2006 runner-ups, France who had been in a constant tussle with their team management since landing in Africa alongside the hosts South Africa stood eliminated from the tournament despite the superb game that South Africa played to beat France 2 goals to 1 in yesterday last Group A match.
Uruguay defeated the Mexicans 1-0 in their final game yesterday to finish on top of the group, however Mexico still got the second spot after South Africa’s 2-1 win over France was not enough to allow them a place in the final 16 and thus becoming the first World Cup host nation that has failed to qualify for the last 16.
Now today England will be praying to God that they get on with their World Cup Campaign after a poor display so far in this year’s cup. The draw in group C to which England belongs remains wide open and thus every team has an equal chance of qualifying provided they win.
For England a win against Slovenia who currently lead the group is a must today as Slovenia just needs a draw to go through. Another possibility for the star studded English team to go through is that in case they end up with a draw, the score is high, meaning that each team should score at least 2 to 3 goals each.
Also starting today at the same time is the other group C match between the United States and Algeria where the Americans stand a great chance of going through if they win the match and the Algerians could possibly go through as well with a victory and the eventual result of the England- Slovenia game.
One thing is for sure that the fans stand to be highly entertained as the English team although frustrated could possibly pick up their game at this crunch moment and the great players of whom the team comprises have all the skills and abilities to do so.
USA will also eagerly be eyeing a win against Algeria and in worst case scenario a draw which can also be enough to put them through if England loses today.
Also being played today are the Group D deciders. Ghana will take on Germany today while Australia will go up against Serbia.
For Germany it will be a do or die match as they meet Ghana, wanting a win to avoid the embarrassment of first-round elimination.
Germany has only ever before not gone beyond the first round back in the 1930’s as ever since they have always managed to make it to at least the quarter- finals of World Cups and in the process have lifted 3 trophies.
However in the 2010 edition of the tournament and especially after their 1-0 defeat to Serbia, Germany finds themselves in a deep hole with only a win against table topping Ghana required to save them.
Both Germany and Serbia at the moment share the 2nd spot in the Group D. However all three teams still have a chance of qualifying unless if Serbia draws their game with Australia which would mean that Germany would only need to avoid defeat as they have a better goal-difference against Serbia due to their 4-0 win over Australia.
In the end whichever team emerges as the eventual winner one thing is for sure that the soccer fields of South Africa will once again be packed to witness history as 8 teams battle it out for a place in the final 16 which would be awarded to only 4 teams by the end of the day.
Attendance so far at the World Cup has been overwhelming and according to the organizers evidently they feel that this year’s World Cup attendance will only be second to the time when the Cup was hosted by the United States as expectations are that more than three million tickets will be sold by the time the final is played and the average attendance so far has been about 5,000 fans higher than during the last World Cup in Germany.
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