Heading home: Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. Marcio Jose Sanchez
Marcio Jose Sanchez
On day 15…
THE LAST FOUR Teams booked their spots in the knockout stages yesterday, meaning we now know how the last 16 fixtures look.
It was all to play for in Group G as the four sides went into the final set of games with a chance of progressing. US manager Jurgen Klinsmann faced his native Germany and former assistant Joachim Löw only needing a draw to clinch second place.
And although Thomas Müller’s fourth goal of the tournament, which sees him go level with Lionel Messi and Neymar as the current top scorers, handed the Germans a 1-0 victory, a 2-1 win for Portugal over Ghana ensured the US of qualification.
The Algerian players at the final whistle. Martin Meissner
Martin Meissner
Algeria boss Vahid Halilhodžić was heavily criticised after their opening defeat at the hands of Belgium but the Africans bounced back to see off South Korea 4-2 before claiming a vital point against Russia last night.
The Bosnian led the Ivory Coast to the 2010 finals but was sacked before it after a poor showing at the African Cup of Nations earlier that year. Now the 61-year-old will get the chance to pit his wits against the mighty Germans on Monday.
Loser – Fabio Capello
Michael Sohn
Michael Sohn
He ranted about the referee at the final whistle but the Russian manager must accept much of the blame after his team fell at the first hurdle.
They will have expected to pick up more than two point from a possible nine when they were drawn in one of the weaker-looking groups and the performances left a lot to be desired especially when you consider the Italian is on a salary of around €8million-a-year.
Joga Bonito
The wonderful outside-of-the-boot cross from Kwadwo Asamoah for Asamoah Gyan’s goal was a thing of real beauty.
https://vine.co/v/MtQlld2Onex
What we’ve got to look forward to today
Sadly, it’s the first day in a fortnight that there are no live games. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to go cold turkey for too long as we’re back up and running with the second round on Saturday.
And there are some mouth-watering ties among them:
Breakfast at Bebeto’s: All you need to know from last night’s World Cup action
On day 15…
THE LAST FOUR Teams booked their spots in the knockout stages yesterday, meaning we now know how the last 16 fixtures look.
It was all to play for in Group G as the four sides went into the final set of games with a chance of progressing. US manager Jurgen Klinsmann faced his native Germany and former assistant Joachim Löw only needing a draw to clinch second place.
And although Thomas Müller’s fourth goal of the tournament, which sees him go level with Lionel Messi and Neymar as the current top scorers, handed the Germans a 1-0 victory, a 2-1 win for Portugal over Ghana ensured the US of qualification.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a bag of chances before popping up with the winner and his first goal of these finals — but it couldn’t prevent elimination for the Iberians.
Later last night, Algeria made it to the second round for the first time in their history thanks to a 1-1 draw against Russia. Alexander Kokorin put Fabio Capello’s men ahead with a powerful header on seven minutes but Islam Slimani proved the hero for the Desert Foxes – heading past Igor Akinfeev with a half hour on the clock.
Despite having Steven Defour sent off for a reckless challenge at the end of the first half, Belgium claimed top spot with a 1-0 win over South Korea. Skipper Jan Vertonghen grabbed the only goal of the game on 77 minutes.
Winner - Vahid Halilhodžić
Algeria boss Vahid Halilhodžić was heavily criticised after their opening defeat at the hands of Belgium but the Africans bounced back to see off South Korea 4-2 before claiming a vital point against Russia last night.
The Bosnian led the Ivory Coast to the 2010 finals but was sacked before it after a poor showing at the African Cup of Nations earlier that year. Now the 61-year-old will get the chance to pit his wits against the mighty Germans on Monday.
Loser – Fabio Capello
He ranted about the referee at the final whistle but the Russian manager must accept much of the blame after his team fell at the first hurdle.
They will have expected to pick up more than two point from a possible nine when they were drawn in one of the weaker-looking groups and the performances left a lot to be desired especially when you consider the Italian is on a salary of around €8million-a-year.
Joga Bonito
The wonderful outside-of-the-boot cross from Kwadwo Asamoah for Asamoah Gyan’s goal was a thing of real beauty.
https://vine.co/v/MtQlld2Onex
What we’ve got to look forward to today
Sadly, it’s the first day in a fortnight that there are no live games. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to go cold turkey for too long as we’re back up and running with the second round on Saturday.
And there are some mouth-watering ties among them:
Slimani heads Algeria to historic World Cup last sixteen qualification
10-man Belgium clinch top spot in Group H and send South Korea packing
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breakfast at bebeto's day 15 Football Belgium Germany United States World Cup 2014