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goals have now been scored by England in FIFA World Cup matches. Their first strike in their opening match in the 2006 edition also arrived early - Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra putting through his own net in the third minute. Their opening goal in the 1982 tournament, scored by captain Bryan Robson in a 3-1 win over France, was one of the quickest goals in FIFA World Cup history, timed at just 28 seconds.
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times Argentina have led 1-0 at half-time in FIFA World Cup matches; on all 14 occasions, they have gone on to win the game.
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out of 114, almost ten per cent, of Argentina's goals at a FIFA World Cup have been scored in the first ten minutes.
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goals have now been scored in FIFA World Cup matches since a striker last found the net. Nuno Gomes grabbed the consolation effort for Portugal in Germany 2006's play-off for third place - a 3-1 defeat against Germany - and since then every goal, starting with the two in the 2006 final by Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi, have been scored by midfielders or defenders.
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minutes gone is normally the time Greece start contemplating another FIFA World Cup defeat because they have conceded by that stage in three of their four matches. Before today, the early goals came against Argentina and Bulgaria (USA 1994, second and fifth minutes respectively).
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of the shots in the Port Elizabeth game came from Greece players. Eighteen, in contrast, came from Korea Republic, meaning Greece accounted for only 25 per cent of the game's attempts on goal.
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games at FIFA World Cups have brought Argentina face to face with African sides and each time it has been settled by the odd goal. After losing the first encounter, 1-0 to Cameroon in 1990, the South Americans went on to beat Nigeria 2-1 in 1994 and then 1-0 in 2002, before edging out Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 in 2006.
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FIFA World Cup matches have now been played by Greece and they still await their first goal. If they fail to register a score in their next match at South Africa 2010 - they play Nigeria in Bloemfontein on Thursday - they will equal the record of Bolivia, who played five FIFA World Cup games before they found the net, a drought totalling 517 minutes in all.
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of Argentina's last four FIFA World Cup goals have followed a right-sided corner kick. The scorers before today were Hernan Crespo and Roberto Ayala (respectively against Mexico in the Round of 16 and then Germany in the quarter-finals at Germany 2006). The "odd one out" in the sequence was Maxi Rodriguez's stunning shot to secure the victory over Mexico. |
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Seven players eligible for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award could have featured on Day 2 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. And although Argentinian Javier Pastore, Sotiris Ninis of Greece and Korea Republic's Kim Bo-Kyung were confined to the bench, and another Korean, Lee Seung-Yeoul, had little time to impress, a trio of young guns did feature. FIFA.com looks at how they fared.
Ki Sung-Yueng: The Celtic midfielder may not have headlined Korea Republic's 2-0 victory over Greece – a distinction that belonged to Park Ji-Sung – but he nevertheless produced a competent display. Ki completed 34 of 44 attempted passes, and covered plenty of ground until his 74th-minute withdrawal. The 21-year-old’s best moment came after seven minutes, when his pinpoint free-kick from near the corner flag set up Lee Jung-Soo's volleyed opener.
Lukman Haruna: The holding midfielder faced a baptism of fire against Argentina's attacking wizards and although he was deceived by Lionel Messi on a couple of occasions, and collected a yellow card in Nigeria's 1-0 defeat, the Monaco player can nevertheless reflect on some positives: reading of the game that belied his inexperience, a fine tackle on an advancing Angel Di Maria, and good delivery from his set-pieces.
Jozy Altidore: The muscular striker was heavily involved in USA's 1-1 draw with England, the country where he spent last term on loan at Hull City. On 20 minutes he outjumped his marker inside the six-yard box to meet a Landon Donovan cross, but headed wide when he should have scored. Altidore got himself in another good position 12 minutes later, only to drag his shot wide from the edge of the box. The 20-year-old created another chance for himself midway through the second half when, after collecting possession on the left touchline, he brushed past Jamie Carragher and sprinted towards goal, before his ensuing shot was pushed on to the post by Robert Green. Overall he can be pleased with how he employed power and pace to trouble England, if dissatisfied with some limp finishing. |
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The FIFA World Cup™ has, for the first time, six African representatives. FIFA.com wants to know which one of them you think will go the furthest.
So, will it be Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria or South Africa?
Simply click ‘Add your comment’ to join the discussion, remembering to keep your comments clean, respectful, on-topic and in English. |
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Day 2 at South Africa 2010 was not a day for arriving at the ground late. All three matches brought an early goal but while Korea Republic and Argentina profited to claim victories – Diego Maradona securing his first FIFA World Cup™ win as a coach in the process – England were pegged back in a draw with USA in the late game in Rustenburg.
First of the early birds was Lee Jung-Soo with a far-post volley from a set-piece seven minutes into the South Koreans' eventual 2-0 victory over Group B rivals Greece. If that was a Greek-style goal, Park Ji-Sung's quick feet added a more typical second as Korea Republic became the first team to win a game at these finals – and boost their chances of reaching the last 16 for the first time on foreign soil.
The focus then switched to Ellis Park where Maradona enjoyed a winning debut in the dugout. Argentina's rich pool of attacking talents has made them one of South Africa's fancied teams yet – fittingly for a tournament yet to see a striker score – they owed their victory to a sixth-minute goal by defender Gabriel Heinze, who profited from slack defending with a flying header from a corner.
This was South Africa's first glimpse of Lionel Messi, one of the predicted stars of the tournament, and on another day he might have had a hat-trick. The Barcelona man had eight goal attempts but was foiled by several fine saves by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who stood between the Super Eagles and a drubbing. Kalu Uche blazed over Nigeria's best opportunity as Lars Lagerback’s men sprang to life in the second period, albeit too late to prevent a hat-trick of FIFA World Cup losses to Argentina.
Goalkeepers were prominent in Rustenburg too. If the ghosts of Belo Horizonte had dominated the build-up to the showdown between Group C rivals England and USA, there will be new demons stalking England goalkeeper Robert Green after the error that allowed the Americans to claim a point. When Steven Gerrard scored after just four minutes England looked set to avenge the Americans' shock 1950 triumph, but Green then let Clint Dempsey's shot slip beneath his body. Both sides might have grabbed a second-half winner – Tim Howard foiled Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips, while Green turned Jozy Altidore's shot against a post – but had to settle for the first draw between these transatlantic cousins.
Results |
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Having lined up against eventual champions Italy and perennial giants Brazil in only their second FIFA World Cup™ four years ago, captain Lucas Neill considers Australia’s South Africa 2010 opener in Durban to be the Socceroos’ toughest test to date on the world stage.
“Germany will be the most difficult opponent we've played in our short history at the World Cup,” said the Turkey-based defender on the eve of the Group D opener in Durban. “We had some very tough games four years ago, but this is the tournament opener and things become very difficult if you don’t get a result,” added Neill, a member of the side that began their sophomore world finals on German soil in 2006 with a 3-1 win over Japan.
“If you want to reach the second round, the quarters, or even further, you have to get past the best teams in the world, and Germany are obviously among the elite,” continued the 32-year-old Galatasaray player, speaking to FIFA.com. “It doesn’t get much bigger than the Germans, who are probably the most consistent team in World Cup history.”
A glimpse back in time confirms Neill’s thesis. While the Aussies are playing in only their third world finals (the last two were both on German soil coincidentally), the mighty Nationalmannschaft have a pedigree rivalled by few. Champions on three occasions, most recently at Italy 1990, they have reached the Final seven times, a record they share with Brazil, and have reached the semi-finals on an additional four occasions. “They’re the best tournament team,” says Neill, who captains an Aussie squad with 14 survivors of the run to the Round of 16 four years ago. “There’s no good time to meet Germany. We are the underdogs here.”
We’ll have to go out there and do what we do best, which is fight for everything, fight from the first minute to the last.
Australia captain Lucas Neill ahead of the opener with Germany
The starting XI for the clash with Germany is likely to wholly comprise players who suffered the pain of elimination at the hands of Italy in Kaiserslautern four years ago. The loss was a devastating one for Oz – then coached by Guus Hiddink – coming by way of a hotly-disputed penalty five minutes into second-half stoppage time. “We’re just glad that now we have the chance to be back in a World Cup and pick up where we left off,” Neill admitted. “The worst pain was that we weren’t able to start back up and try to get that goal back. Now we are back and we can start again.” |
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During his time playing in England, Howard has seen the 30-year-old’s career blossom for Norwich City and West Ham United to ultimately become England's first-choice goalkeeper here at South Africa 2010. However, just as David Seaman and David James made high-profile mistakes between the sticks for the Three Lions, so did Green on his debut appearance in the FIFA World Cup™ finals.
The Everton goalkeeper admitted that he had "mixed emotions" when he saw Clint Dempsey's 40th-minute strike hit the back of the net, as he knew how his fellow custodian would be feeling. "He'll bounce back from that, he's good enough," he said. "I really felt for him tonight and I did have mixed emotions when the goal went in. It's never good to see and there's nothing you can say or do to make him feel better.
"But he's got broad shoulders, you have to as a goalkeeper. You've got to understand the criticism and the highs and lows and I think he'll be fine. Aside from the mistake, he played well, pulled off a really big save from Jozy [Altidore]. I thought that was going to be the goal that put us over the edge."
I really felt for him tonight and I did have mixed emotions when the goal went in. It’s never good to see and there’s nothing you can say or do to make him feel better.
USA keeper Tim Howard on Robert Green's howler
Howard admitted that meeting the England in Rustenburg was "special" but took more pleasure in the point and the performance than the occasion. "It was a very good start to the World Cup for us," he smiled. "The draw sets us up well to go through the group. But we've still got two big games ahead of us. I thought we played well. We were resilient and stuck to our guns. We didn't like giving up the early goal, but we fought, scrapped and clawed our way back into the game. In the first ten minutes we weren't very good. We were jittery, we were nervous and it showed in our play – in the balls we gave away and in the goal we gave away. Once we calmed down we were much better."
Howard almost had to leave the field following a clash with Emile Heskey, which left USA's No1 needing a spell of prolonged treatment. At present, it is unclear whether he is a doubt for the Stars and Stripes' next game against Slovenia at Ellis Park, but knowing the New Jersey native, if there is a chance to play, he will surely grasp it with both hands. |
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In the other match in the pool Ghana will put their ability to overcome the absence of Michael Essien to the test against Serbia, who topped their qualification group ahead of France and have a solid core of experienced players to call on.
In the first match of the day Algeria and Slovenia go head to head in a game neither can afford to lose, especially with meetings against Group C favourites England and USA to come. Slovenia are making their second appearance at the finals, having disposed of Russia in the play-offs, while the Desert Foxes clinched their place at South Africa 2010 in a one-off decider against old foes Egypt.
The matches
Algeria-Slovenia, Group C, Polokwane 13.30
Germany-Australia, Group D, Durban, 20.30
Serbia-Ghana, Group D, Tshwane/Pretoria, 16.00
The big game
Germany-Australia
Germany have won all their opening matches in their last five FIFA World Cup™ appearances, a record that will surely be tested by the combative Australians.
German preparations for South Africa 2010 have been dogged by injury problems. Captain Michael Ballack, goalkeeper Rene Adler, defender Heiko Westermann and midfielder Simon Rolfes all missed out on places in the squad. And with old hands Jens Lehmann, Torsten Frings, Kevin Kuranyi and Christoph Metzelder having all fallen out of favour since UEFA EURO 2008, Joachim Low’s relatively inexperienced squad has a youthful look about it.
That lack of international know-how did not stop Low’s young guns from racking up nine goals in their three warm-up wins, though their achilles heel could be in central defence, where Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich will be teaming up for the first time.
In contrast Australia have made few to the well-knit unit that clinched a surprise place in the Round of 16 four years ago. The duel between the towering Joshua Kennedy and the German defence will prove crucial to Socceroo hopes of a notable result in Durban. |
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Stiri Cupa Mondiala 
