A look at Wednesday’s World Cup matches
Group C: UNITED STATES VS. ALGERIA
Where: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria. Time: 7 a.m. PDT.
TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5 and KDLD-FM 103.1.
The buzz: When the U.S. was knocked out of Germany ‘06, it was an African team, Ghana, that did the damage. Algeria will try to duplicate the feat, but Algeria is a few rungs lower on the FIFA rankings than Ghana was four years ago. Even so, the game appears to be a tossup. A single mistake or a single great play could be the difference. Algeria is having trouble scoring; the U.S. has not shut out any of its eight opponents this year. Algeria forward Karim Matmour, a teammate of U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley at Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany, said his team can win if it holds its nerve. “If Algeria plays to its potential, we don’t need to worry about our opponents,” he said. “If we play our style of football, we can beat anyone.”
— Grahame L. Jones
Group C: ENGLAND VS. SLOVENIA
Where: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth.
Time: 7 a.m. PDT. TV: ESPN2 and TeleFutura. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5 and KDLD-FM 103.1.
The buzz: English backs are against the wall, and that is not good news for Slovenia. Coach Matjaz Kek’s team needs only a tie to advance to the round of 16, but it knows the gulf in class it has to overcome if underachieving England clicks into gear. England’s midfielder Frank Lampard said they must adopt their Premier League style. “We play in the best league in the world and we have to play with that pace and passion that we have every week at home,” he said. “We have to press teams and to play with a lot of energy and be very direct.” England Coach Fabio Capello, having shot down a complaining John Terry, is likely to start Joe Cole and move Steven Gerrard into a more attacking position. England, tied by the U.S. and Algeria, has to win or go home. Said Slovenia captain Robert Koren: “They didn’t show the type of football we expect of them. It gives us some hope.”
— Grahame L. Jones
Group D: GERMANY VS. GHANA
Where: Johannesburg. Time: 11:30 a.m. PDT.
TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1.
The buzz: Ghana is the latest World Cup team to face a player insurrection, but team officials insist everything is good now. Midfielder Sulley Muntari reacted angrily after the team’s 1-1 draw with Australia and was reprimanded but officials say he was not ordered to leave, as was reported. That’s good for Ghana, the best African hope to advance to the round of 16. It leads the group and can assure itself a berth in the second round with a win or a tie here. Germany, the pre-tournament pick to dominate this group, is in more desperate straits after losing to Serbia. It needs a win or a Serbia loss to move on. Germany has never gone home after the group stage. Also, Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng is facing his half-brother, Germany’s Jerome Boateng. Ghana’s Boateng knocked German captain Michael Ballack out of the World Cup with a hard tackle in the FA Cup final but German General Manager Oliver Bierhoff promised this is not the place for payback. “We are playing Ghana and not Kevin-Prince Boateng,” he said.
— Kevin Baxter
Group D: AUSTRALIA VS. SERBIA
Where: Nelspruit. Time: 11:30 a.m. PDT.
TV: ESPN 2, Telefutura. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1.
The buzz: Serbia gets a key player back in defender Aleksandar Lukovic, who was suspended for a game after earning a red card in his team’s opener. Australia also gets a key player, forward Tim Cahill, back from suspension, but it will be without two others — forward Harry Kewell, out because of a red card, and defender Craig Moore, who received two yellow cards. With only a point and a goal differential of -4 through two games, Australia faces nearly impossible odds of getting out of group play. But the equation is much simpler for the Serbs: win and hope Germany doesn’t, or tie and hope Germany loses. Serbia put itself on the brink of advancing with its first win over Germany in 37 years, a gutty 1-0 victory last week. “It’s all in our hands now,” captain Dejan Stankovic said.
— Kevin Baxter
