JOHANNESBURG — Mesut Oezil scored on a left-footed blast from outside the area yesterday to give Germany a 1-0 win over Ghana and first place in Group D at the World Cup.
Despite the defeat, Ghana also advanced to the round of 16 — taking second place in the group with four points. Australia also finished with four points but Ghana was ahead on goal difference. Ghana will face the United States on Saturday. The Black Stars pushed the U.S. out of the tournament in 2006.
“There is no time to celebrate, the next match is very close,” said Ghana’s Serbian coach, Milan Rajevac. “We knew it would be a tough match because to try to qualify against Germany is really hard. We played quite well, we resisted well, we had some chances but they had to win and they showed that they are among the best teams in the world.”
Once the scoreboard had flashed the result of Australia’s match with Serbia — a 2-1 Aussie win — Ghana players hugged each other, waved their country’s flag and ran to the corner where their supporters were cheering and dancing.
Ghana is the first of the six African teams in the tournament to make it to the knockout phase and it could be the last. Only Ivory Coast still has a chance to join the final 16.— AP, with Reuters
Australia 2, Serbia 1
The Aussies ended Serbia’s quest for the last 16 at the World Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in Nelspruit, but it was not enough to take them into the knockout round at the Mbombela Stadium.
The Socceroos hit back magnificently in the second half, rocking the Europeans with two goals in four minutes and shredding their highly rated defense in their best performance of the tournament.