Group D Serbia 0 - 1 Ghana Germany 4- 0 Australia Today’s fixtures Group E Netherlands vs Denmark 12:30 Japan vs Cameroon 15:30
Group D
Serbia 0 - 1 Ghana
Germany 4- 0 Australia
Today’s fixtures
Group E
Netherlands vs Denmark 12:30
Japan vs Cameroon 15:30
Group F
Italy vs Paraguay 19:30
GHANA snatched a late 1-0 win over 10-man Serbia in Pretoria after Asamoah Gyan scored from the penalty spot in the closing stages.
Group D’s opening game was on the whole a dour spectacle at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium and had looked to be petering out to a goalless draw.
However, things spiced up in the 74th minute when Aleksandar Lukovic was sent off for a second yellow card.
Serbia seemed to respond well to the loss, but disaster struck for the Europeans when substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic handled in the area.
Gyan stepped up to slam the ball home and give Ghana a crucial win, while Serbia will have to regroup for their next match.
The game nearly started with a bang when Marko Pantelic hit a stinging long-range shot that went narrowly wide.
Ghana then responded and Anthony Annan struck a volley at the other end, which also was not too far away from finding the net.
Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng nearly provided a telling ball into the box from the left in the 21st minute, but Asamoah Gyan could not quite get enough on his header and it flashed wide.
After the break it was Serbia who created the first half-chance, but Milan Jovanovic sliced his shot wide from inside the box on the left after a good jinking run.
Minutes later Pantelic put a great cross into the back post but Zigic, who has signed for Birmingham for a reported £6million, could not get decisive contact on it.
The final minutes were frantic and while Serbia pressed for an equaliser, the Black Stars held on for a crucial three points and Gyan hit the post in the dying seconds.
Ends