Germany 4 - England 1: revenge WC 1966, WCQ 2002 (2001)

Germany's latest World Cup victory over England will be remembered not for any of the brilliant goals, but for the one that didn't count.

Ask anyone — players, coaches, thousands of fans in the stadium and millions more watching on television — and there's little question that Frank Lampard put a shot in the net late in the first half that would have tied the score.

But referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on, and Germany used two second-half goals by Thomas Mueller for a 4-1 victory Sunday. The Germans are headed to the quarterfinals. The English are shaking their heads in disbelief.

"It's incredible," England coach Fabio Capello said. "We played with five referees and they can't decide if it's a goal or no goal. The game was different after this goal. It was the mistake of the linesman and I think the referee because from the bench I saw the ball go (in)."

Germany coach Joachim Loew couldn't argue that point.

"What I saw on the television, this ball was behind the line," Loew said. "It must have been given as goal."

It wasn't.

"The goal was very important," Capello said. "We could have played a different style.

"We made some mistakes when they played the counterattack. The referee made bigger mistakes."

Larrionda and assistant referee Mauricio Espinosa were not made available to comment. FIFA said in a statement that it "will not make any comments on decisions of the referee on the field of play."

Soccer's rules-making panel agreed last March not to pursue experiments with technology that could help referees judge goal-line decisions.

Germany went up on goals by Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski before England's Matthew Upson made it 2-1 in the 37th minute.

Lampard's non-goal came a minute later. After the ball landed across the line, it spun back into the arms of Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Capello initially celebrated what he thought was an equalizer by clenching his fists and shaking his arms. But his face changed when he realized the goal had not been given.

As the players headed off the field at halftime, Wayne Rooney walked over to a linesman and gestured with his hands how far he thought the ball crossed the goal line.

In 1966, England and Germany were 2-2 in extra time in the World Cup final when Geoff Hurst's shot struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and spun back into play. That time, the referee consulted his linesman, who awarded the goal.

Hurst went on to score a third goal in England's 4-2 victory at Wembley.

This time, it was Mueller getting two goals.

"We heard that the ball was behind the line, that we were fortunate," Mueller said of Lampard's shot. "Before the last two goals, the game hung in the balance, England was putting on the pressure."

The 20-year-old forward finished two quick German counterattacks within 3 minutes to sink England's hopes of beating Germany at the World Cup for the first time since that '66 final.

Germany plays the winner of Argentina-Mexico, which is later Sunday.

"In the knockout stages, Germany is always there," Podolski said. "We fought and ran a lot, just fantastic today."

Added Klose: "We were aggressive from the first minute and it was a deserved victory. Our target was to reach the semifinals and that's what we want to achieve."

It was the most lopsided England loss in a World Cup.

Mueller scored on the counterattack in the 67th minute, having started the move after a long clearance by Jerome Boateng. Mueller passed to Bastian Schweinsteiger, who patiently dribbled upfield and ran across the 18-yard line to feed the unguarded Mueller. His shot hit the hand of England goalkeeper David James and went in.

Three minutes later, Mueller struck again after a break on the left wing by Mesut Oezil.

"We played I think well at 2-1, but after the third goal it was a little bit disappointing," Capello said. "Germany is a big team. They played a good game."

Klose scored his 50th goal in 99 games for Germany — his 12th World Cup goal — by outmuscling defender Upson to a bouncing ball off a goal kick. Podolski gave the three-time champions a 2-0 lead, putting the ball through James' legs.

Upson headed in a cross from Steven Gerrard to make it 2-1, then Lampard's shot was not rewarded — a decision sure to be debated for as long as international soccer has no video replay.

"I think if you look back at the game as a whole, we've been beaten by the better team," England captain Steven Gerrard said. "At 2-1, if Frank's ball had stayed I think it would have been a nice turning point in the game."

AP

South Africa 2010 t-shirts, colours, kits

All the National squads are ready, at least his t-shirts.

Brands Standings:

Adidas: 12 National Teams

Nike: 9

Puma:7

Hummel (North Korea)

Joma (Honduras)

Brooks (Chile)

Umbro (England)

All t-shirts:

GROUP A

South Africa

México

Uruguay

France

GROUP B

Argentina

Nigeria

South Korea

Grecia

GROUP C

England

United States

Algeria

ESlovenia

GROUP D

Germany

Australia

Serbia

Ghana

GROUP E

The Netherlands

Denmak

Japan

Cameroon

GROUP F

Italy

Paraguay

New Zealand

Slovak Republic

GROUP G

Brazil

North Korea

Ivory Coast

Portugal

GROUP H

Spain

Switzerland

Honduras

Chile

Michael Ballack is out of the World Cup South Africa 2010

German captain Michael Ballack will not be able to play at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This is the result of an MRI scan performed this Monday in Munich.

The tomogram showed a torn interior ligament and a partial rupture of the syndesmosis ligament of his right ankle, which for the time being will have to be immobilized and put in a cast. Ballack will then wear a specially designed shoe for two weeks.

German team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt said, that according to today’s diagnosis, Ballack can look forward to a complete recovery, but that a minimum eight weeks will be required before the German skipper may consider returning to regular training.

Germany announces squad

Germany, one of Ghana’s Black Stars opponents at the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup have announced their provisional 27-man squad for the tournament.

Head Coach Joachim Loew named his squad on Thursday in Frankfurt with Hamburg defender Dennis Aogo and Bayern Munich youngster Holger Badstuber as the surprise names in the team whilst striker Kevin Kuranyi was left out.

The two uncapped players were included in the provisional squad after impressing with their respective clubs this season.

Information gathered by GNA Sports indicates that 19-year old midfielder Toni Kroos, the Golden Ball winner at the FIFA U-17 Championship held in Korea in 2007 has also been included in the squad.

Only eight members of the provisional team were part of the squad that played at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.

The invited players include Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg) and Michael Ballack, (Chelsea) the only foreign based player.

Die Mannschaft as the Germans are nicknamed will play warm-up games against Malta in Aachen on 13 May, Hungary in Budapest on 29 May and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Frankfurt on 3 June.

Loew will name is his final 23-man squad on June 1.

The Germans will open their campaign against Australia on June 13 in Durban, play Serbia six days later in Port Elizabeth before wrapping up the Group stage against Ghana’s Black Stars on June 23 in Johannesburg.

Germany are three times winners of the Mundial in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders: Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Dennis Aogo (Hamburg).

Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea/ENG), Sami Khedira (Stuggart), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Trasch (Stuttgart), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen).

Forwards: Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Cacau (Stuttgart), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich).

Source: GNA

Miroslav Klose strike sends Germany to South Africa 2010

Klose booked Germany their place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as his first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for the 10-man Germans over Russia in Moscow on Saturday. Klose's 34th-minute strike leaves Germany four points clear at the top of Group Four and means they can not now be caught by their main pool rivals Russia regardless of either side's remaining World Cup qualifier on Wednesday. Russia play Azerbaijan in Baku while Germany host Finland in Hamburg in their last qualification game, but Guus Hiddink's Russian side now face two-legged play-off matches if they are to reach South Africa.

Hambury defender Jerome Boateng started his first international in the cauldron of Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, but a second yellow card midway through the second-half earned him a red card as Germany finished with ten men.

Russia made a strong start and missed the opportunity to take the lead after nine minutes when Alexander Kerzhakov got in behind the German defence, but the Dinamo Moscow forward volleyed wide. Germany's best chance came when Mesut Özil made a strong run into the head of the defence and Lukas Podolski's shot was blocked by defender Vasili Berezutsky on 22 minutes.

Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler was the visitors' hero with at least four world-class saves. Adler pulled off a superb save when Russia captain Andrei Arshavin slid a perfect pass through the German defence to Zenit St Peterburg midfielder Vladimir Bystrov. Adler made a save with his legs from point-blank range and it proved to be crucial as Germany took the lead moments later when Klose netted. Despite Russia's pressure, Germany got the breakthrough when Podolski's pass found Özil down the left side of the penalty area and Klose slipped his marker long enough to flick the ball past Igor Akinfeev.

After the break, Germany defender Philipp Lahm fired wide past Akinfeev, but Adler was Germany's saviour again with two world-class saves in quick succession as his defence did him few favours. On 55 minutes Arshavin unleashed a fierce drive directly at Adler which the 24-year-old German did exceptionally well to block, before an acrobatic effort by Vladimir Bystrov landed on the roof of the net. Adler again came to Germany's rescue when he saved from Igor Semschov as Russia poured forward with time running out. Joachim Löw's side safely saw out the game and leave Moscow with the three points.

dfb.de

René Adler and Robert Enke for South Africa and Azerbaijan meetings

Bayer Leverkusen's René Adler guards the German goal in the upcoming friendly against South Africa in Leverkusen on September 5, 2009. Four days later, Hannover 96-keeper Robert Enke takes over when the DFB-team faces Azerbaijan in a game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying round, scheduled for Hanover on September 9. DFB-coach Joachim Löw announced his nominations for the next two international games today.

Löw and Andreas Köpke, the goalkeeping coach for the national team, are determined to rotate goalkeepers throughout the remainder of 2009. In case Germany avoids dropping into second place, which then would trigger a playoff, the DFB-team meets Chile on November 14 in Cologne and Egypt on November 18 in Gelsenkirchen. Bremen's Tim Wiese’s name is pencilled in for the Cologne-date, Schalke's Manuel Neuer would field the position in Gelsenkirchen.

Köpke says: “If everything proceeds according to plan, each one of our four candidates should get a fair shot playing at least one full game.” Joachim Löw adds: “The decision which goalkeeper receives the nod for the games against Russia in Moscow and Finland in Hamburg, will be on short-notice. Our target remains unchanged. We want to finish first in our group.”

Looking ahead to South Africa and Azerbaijan, Löw says: “For the first time in a year, we’ll have the team assembled for ten days. That’s a blessing, since we’ll have quality practice time over an extended period. I expect a much improved performance in Leverkusen and Hanover. We know exactly, what caused the dip in the curve recently.”

The team will meet in Cologne on Monday. On Tuesday, team physician Dr. Tim Meyer conducts a physical fitness test for the A-team and the under 21 national team, which also stays in Cologne as well, residing in the same hotel. The U 21 face San Marino in a Euro-qualifier on September 4 in Aachen. The reigning European champions will be honoured for their latest success at a diner event on Tuesday, with DFB President Dr. Theo Zwanziger, General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach and DFB Sports Director Matthias Sammer attending.

Source: DFB Official Site