World Cup Preview: Group D

Australia
Nickname: The Socceroos
FIFA ranking: 20
How they got here: Cruised through, after switching from Oceania to the Asian confederation -- which meant that they no longer had to win a play-off against a South American team to qualify.
Record in previous tournaments: Knocked out at the round of 16 in 2006 -- their best-ever finish -- after a controversial game against Italy.
Manager: Pim Verbeek, previously the assistant to Magical Guus Hiddink^TM and manager of South Korea.
Players to watch: Everton's Tim Cahill, an attacking midfielder with an uncanny ability to be in the right place to thump in a header, is the team's talisman. Apart from that, players like Lucas Neill and Brett Emerton are solid but not spectacular. Harry Kewell could provide some surprises from the wing, if he doesn't fall apart halfway through the tournament.

Germany
Nickname: They're called the Fußballnationalmannschaft, which isn't really a nickname (it means "the national men's football team") but is kind of awesomely homoerotic.
FIFA ranking: 6
How they got here: A stereotypically efficient campaing, as they topped their group in Europe.
Record in previous tournaments: Have won three times (1954, 1974 and 1990). Runners-up to Brazil in 2002, and finished third in 2006 after an extra-time loss to Italy in the semi-finals.
Manager: Joachim Löw, who was Jürgen Klinsmann's right-hand man in 2006.
Players to watch: Veteran striker Miroslav Klose has 48 goals in 93 international caps; he'll probably be partnered with Cologne's Lukas Podolski. Erstwhile captain Michael Ballack is out of the tournament with a knee injury, which is a big loss. Philipp Lahm is a talented (albeit pocket-sized) defender, but he doesn't have quite the same presence. Bastian Schweinsteiger will step into Ballack's place in the centre; also keep an eye on midfielder Mesut Ozil, just 21 years old.

Ghana
Nickname: The Black Stars
FIFA ranking: 32
How they got here: Struggled in the first round of qualifying but eased through their final group.
Record in previous tournaments: Lost to Germany at the round of 16 in 2006, their first appearance at the tournament.
Manager: Milovan Rajevac, who was previously a coach in Serbia.
Players to watch: Asamoah Gyan will probably be the lone striker, supported by Sulley Muntari and captain Stephen Appiah in midfield. But the absence of Chelsea's Michael Essien due to a knee injury
is a massive blow (notably, he was suspended for that loss against Germany in 2006).

Serbia
Nickname: The White Eagles
FIFA ranking: 15
How they got here: Top of a qualifying group that included France and Romania.
Record in previous tournaments: This is Serbia's first World Cup as a fully independent nation. But they had a number of quarter-final appearances and one fourth-place finish (in 1962) as part of Yugoslavia.
Manager: Radomir Antic, who took over in 2008 after a variety of coaching gigs in Spain.
Players to watch: Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, who has the killer robot look that you expect from a world-class centre-back. Captain Dejan Stankovic, who's fresh from winning the Champions League with Inter, will be pulling the strings in midfield, while Milan Jovanovic is a threat on the wing.

Verdict on the group
This is a tough one to call -- especially after the injuries to Ballack and Essien, the teams could be quite evenly matched. I do expect Germany to go through, because the Germans just don't get knodked out at the group stage. They just don't. As for the second team, I was going to pick Australia, but looking at the order of their matches (starting against Germany is never a good thing), I'm going to vote for Serbia instead.

Women's World Cup: Day 5

Now that's more like it: Canada recovered from the disappointment of their opening game against Norway with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Ghana. Canada took the lead through a header from Christine Sinclair -- now Canada's top scorer at the World Cup -- in the 16th minute, and added three more goals in the second half.

In the other Group C game, a late goal from substitute Lisa De Vanna earned Australia a draw with Norway, after the Norwegians had taken an early lead with Ragnhild Gulbrandsen's second goal of the tournament, coming in the fifth minute. The draw leaves Australia still top of the group on goal difference, but tied with Norway on four points, with Canada close behind on three points. Everything comes down to the final games, with Canada and Australia facing off while Norway take on the eliminated Ghana.

Brazil continued to dominate in Group D, thumping China 4-0 with a brace each from Marta and Cristiane, including three goals in the space of six minutes on either side of half-time. Meanwhile, Denmark dominated their game against New Zealand, but it took two free kicks in the second half to earn them the win, one curled into the top corner by Katrine Pedersen and the second headed home by Cathrine Paaske Sorensen.

The Kiwis, who failed to put a single shot on target during this game, have been virtually eliminated now, but the question of which two teams will go through is still unresolved. Brazil's place in the quarter-finals is almost set, thanks to their two wins and outstanding goal differential, but they have to play Denmark, in their third game. China are level with Denmark on points and will be hoping for Brazil to help them out by beating the Danes, while they take on New Zealand in a game they should expect to win.

Group C
Canada 4-0 Ghana
Australia 1-1 Norway

Group D
Brazil 4-0 China
Denmark 2-0 New Zealand

Women's World Cup: Day 3

The Canada-Norway match was the first one I've actually been able to watch all the way through (not just highlights), because the Mothercorp in its infinite wisdom is only showing the games featuring the Canadian team during the group rounds. I realize there's probably not much of an audience for women's soccer, but come on: the matches are all at some ungodly hour of the morning. Surely they could pre-empt the cartoons for a few days.

Anyway, the 2-1 loss is a bit disappointing for Canada, but not a terrible result, as you would have expected this to be the toughest of their group games. Possession was about 60/40 in favour of Norway, but in spite of that it still felt like a pretty even game, especially in the first half. Canada had the lead at the break, with a goal from Candace Chapman after being set up by good work from Christine Sinclair, but it could have been two, had it not for Melissa Tancredi's early goal being harshly disallowed for a phantom foul on the Norwegian keeper.

Tancredi was replaced after the interval by Rhian Wilkinson, and Norway came out the stronger team in the second half. With Canada retreating into a defensive shell, Norway poured on the pressure and quickly equalized with a goal by Ragnhild Gulbrandsen. The winning goal for Norway came late in the came, scrambled into the net by Ane Stangeland Horpestad from a corner. I have to wonder if substituting Tancredi was a mistake, because her physical presence had shaken up the Norwegian defence and allowed Canada to create some good chances -- much like Gulbrandsen did for Norway. The way both teams reorganized at halftime only benefitted Norway, as they took the game to Canada, and only a few outstanding saves from goalkeeper Erin McLeod kept the score as close as it was.

Australia, surprisingly, are on top of the group after the other Group C match, beating Ghana 4-1 to earn their first ever win at a World Cup. The Matildas took an early lead through Sarah Walsh and followed that up with two more goals in the second half before Anita Amankwa scored a consolation for Ghana. It was too little, too late, though, as her team were unable to turn their share of possession into clear chances, and Australia scored again soon after to put the game out of reach.

In Group D, China and Denmark played out one of the most engrossing games so far. Denmark fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the 87th minute, but it was there was to be an even more dramatic ending to the match, as Xiaoli Song scored again for China just a minute later to secure the win. In the final match, New Zealand were comprehensively beaten by Brazil, who put five goals past them, including two from Marta. Still, at least the Kiwis managed not to capitulate as thoroughly as Argentina had in the tournament's opening game.

Group C
Norway 2-1 Canada
Ghana 1-4 Australia

Group D
New Zealand 0-5 Brazil
China 3-2 Denmark

Today's a rest day, and the second round of group games resumes tomorrow.

If you haven't seen any of the games, you should at least check out some of the highlights on the FIFA website, because there are some very good goals in there.

And a few other links:

• The Global Game has an interesting article about Marta and the state of women's soccer in Brazil
  
• The New York Times' Goal blog is covering the World Cup, albeit from an American-centric perspective
  
• Canada's Rhian Wilkinson is also blogging from China
  
• And finally, I don't believe I forgot to mention this earlier, but I have to pimp Kickster, an excellent new site covering women's football

Women's World Cup Preview: Group C

NORWAY
Nickname: Gresshoppene
Current world ranking: 4
Coach: Bjarne Berntsen, who took over in 2004 and guided the team to the final of Euro 2005.
How they qualified: Won their UEFA qualifying group, with a 7-1-0 record.
Past record: Won the 1995 World Cup and finished fourth in 1999, but were disappointingly eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2003.
Other results: Finished second at Euro 2005, and won the Olympic gold medal in 2000.
Why they could win: Berntsen has transformed the team with a more attacking style of play, and brought up new players from the U19s like Isabell Herlovsen and Stine Frantzen. However, they've suffered from a lack of consistent finishing up front.
Key players: Midfield playmaker Solveig Gulbrandsen, back after the birth of her first son, has 33 goals in 105 caps. Experienced goalkeeper Bente Nordby is one of the best in the world.
Predicted finish: Semi-finals

AUSTRALIA
Nickname: Matildas
Current world ranking: 15
Coach: Tom Sermanni, who returned to the team in 2005, having also coached them from 1994 to 1997.
How they qualified: Runners-up to China at the Asian championship in July 2006. With China qualifying automatically, Australia got the region's first qualifying spot.
Past record: Have qualified for three previous tournaments (1995, 1999 and 2003) but failed to make it past the group stage each time.
Other results: Three-time champions of Oceania before switching to the Asian confederation; also made it to the quarter-finals at the 2004 Olympics.
Why they could win: Australia has a talented, athletic team, with a mix of experience and youth. They beat China recently in two consecutive World Cup warmup matches.
Key players: Skipper and centreback Cheryl Salisbuy, with 127 caps and 30 goals, will be playing in her fourth world cup. Youngsters like Sally Shipard, Collette McCallum and Kylie Ledbrook have joined the team from the U20 squad.
Predicted finish: First-round elimination

CANADA
Nickname: Big Red (really? ugh.)
Current world ranking: 9
Coach: Norway's Even Pellerud, who's been in charge since 1999; he previously managed the Norwegian women's team that won the World Cup in 1995.
How they qualified: Runners-up to the USA at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in November 2006.
Past record: Qualified in both 1995 and 1999, when they were eliminated at the group stage; in 2003 they had a great run and finished fourth.
Other results: Second at the 2007 Gold Cup. The U19 team also won the silver medal at the 2002 world championship.
Why they could win: The Canadian team is physically strong and quick on the break. They had a relatively young squad in 2003, when they made it as far as the semi-finals, but the team is more mature now, and looking to make up for the result in the Gold Cup this year, when they were only narrowly beaten by the USA in the final. They've had some uneven results recently, though, including a so-so campaign at the Pan Am Games and a scoreless draw with Japan in a World Cup warmup.
Key players: Captain Christine Sinclair, with 56 goals from 88 caps, is Canada's top scorer. She was player of the tournament at the U19 world championship in 2002, and then scored three goals in five games at the 2003 World Cup. Fellow striker Kara Lang is coming back from a torn ACL, but has a powerful free kick and is also good in the air.
Predicted finish: Semi-finals

GHANA
Nickname: Black Queens
Current world ranking: 47
Coach: Isaac Paha, who took over in 2004. He captained Ghana as a player and also coached the men's U17 team to second place at the world championships back in 1992.
How they qualified: Runners-up behind Nigeria at the African championship in November 2006.
Past record: Qualified twice before, in 1999 and 2003, but failed to make it out of their group both times.
Other results: Three-time runners-up for the CAF title.
Why they could win: Ghana have some talented players with lots of skill on the ball, but their chances are pretty slim, to be honest.
Key players: Attacking midfielder Adjoa Bayor, the former African Women's Footballer of the Year. Striker Anita Amankwa is a new addition to the team with plenty of speed.
Predicted finish: First-round elimination

Group Predictions
Norway are the top seed and will be looking to redeem themselves after a relatively unsuccessful tournament in 2003. Winning the group could set up a European showdown with Germany in the semi-finals. I think Canada have a good chance of being the second team to qualify for the knockout rounds, but if they progress they'll likely come up against the USA in the semis. Australia have never made it out of their group before and I don't think they'll do it here either, while Ghana will just be trying for a better finish than their continental rivals Nigeria.