John Barnes shares his thoughts on Wednesday’s World Cup matches

Jun 24, 2010 Sports

Today (Wednesday) we saw England play quite well against Slovenia. The English always give themselves a mountain to climb but Jermaine Defoe, as he has done so often for Spurs last season, scored early and England held on for a deserved win. Wayne Rooney was back on form and looked happier, so all in all, it was a good day for the English team and supporters.
It was also an amazing day for the USA who scored in the 91st minute against a very organized Algerian side. Had Landon Donovan not scored so late, they wouldn’t have gone through, but in the end they managed to top the group. Again, the USA displayed their great qualities – desire, commitment and discipline – which sum up the American people. When they had a goal disallowed in the first half, they did not complain and carried on playing. They deserved to go through top of the group.
Similarly, Australia played very well against Serbia to win 2-1 and finish third in the group. I compare Australia to the USA in that they both play with great spirit and determination regardless of the football infrastructure in their countries or their opponents, and even though they went out of the competition today, they did themselves proud.
With Algeria now out, it’s likely Ghana will be the only African team to go through to the knock-out stages, as Cameroon need to win by at least three goals to have any chance of going through to the last sixteen. It was a great result for Ghana though who created a lot of chances against the much-fancied German side. They are a talented and disciplined team and fully deserved to progress from what was a very difficult group. They now carry the hopes of the African continent into the last sixteen.
Overall, today’s results threw up some interesting ties in the knock-out stages, with Ghana facing the USA which will be a close game but probably represents Ghana’s best chance of making the quarter finals of the tournament for the first time in their history. Similarly, the Germany and England game promises to be an enthralling and close encounter. We are all acutely aware of the footballing history between these two nations – from the 1966 World Cup Final and the 1972 European Championships, to the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championships (both of which England lost on penalties) – so Sunday’s game should be a cracker and who’s to say it won’t come down to a dreaded penalty shootout again?
Watch this space!

Latest News

John Barnes shares his thoughts on Wednesday’s World Cup matches

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Savory, Persaud show class ahead of Regional C/ships with fifties

Spectators experience and playing standards high...

Archery Guyana’s 2024 Senior Barebow Open...

Body of Chinese national who fell from new...

Athanaze posts 98 as Windies start positively in...

Youngsters seize opportunity, rubbing shoulders...

Features/Columnists

Jagdeo’s press conferences are about grievance rather than governance

Clarifying misconceptions about the Panama Canal

From ethnicity to Exxon, race to renegotiation

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

John Barnes shares his thoughts on Wednesday’s World Cup matches

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]