The 2014 World Cup has already produced some quite brilliant football - absolutely none of which has involved England, admittedly. But, arguably, on Day Ten, we had what is likely to be the game which will be most remembered in years to come. Miroslav Klose became the joint record scorer in World Cup history after his fifteenth goal in finals rescued a point for Germany in what was, frankly, a twenty four carat thriller against Ghana. Mario Götze headed Joachim Löw's side into the lead from close range before two goals in nine second half minutes turned the game in Fortaleza on its head. André Ayew headed the equaliser from ten yards and then Asamoah Gyan's composed finish put the Africans ahead. But substitute Klose stabbed home the equaliser just seconds after coming on. With twelve thousand German supporters present and the locals rooting for Ghana there was a raucous, rocking atmosphere inside Estádio Castelão and an intensity to match on the pitch. Particularly from The Black Stars. 
The validity of Kevin-Prince Boateng’s claim that Germany lack leaders when the pressure is on will be revealed in time. But, in the searing heat of Fortaleza they lacked the incisiveness and steel that shaped their destruction of Portugal, though not the time-honoured precision of Miroslav Klose. The thirty six-year-old Lazio striker scored with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as the Germans came from behind to snatch a draw. The goal, scored from a yard out, means that Klose is now level with former Brazil striker Ronaldo on fifteen goals. Germany, however, were probably fortunate to escape with a point. Having taken a fortuitous lead through Götze, Ghana came roaring back to score twice in nine minutes to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd. The Germany coach, turned to the experience of Klose and the veteran did not disappoint as he prodded in to keep his side top of Group G. The result means Germany, who now have four points, have still only won their second game of a World Cup once since 1994. At Euro 2008 and at the 2010 World Cup, they followed up opening wins with defeats. Ghana keep alive their chances of qualification for the last sixteen but will have to beat Portugal in their final game to have any chance. With temperatures in excess of thirty degrees at the start, the tempo was understandably slow for much of the first half. A series of pinball passing movements between Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and Mario Götze threatened to create an opening for Germany. Özil's vision engineered several openings for Germany but the central defender John Boye read their intentions instinctively in the first half. A flowing move down the Ghana left saw Özil cross for Müller who rolled the ball behind him for the unmarked Toni Kroos. Boye threw himself into a vital block and later produced a sublime tackle on Müller as the striker looked certain to capitalise on another well-worked attack down Germany's right. Jérôme Boateng sent Götze clear with a fine ball down the line, Götze centred into the six-yard box and Müller must have sensed his fourth goal of the World Cup. Boye's boot arrived first to keep the striker level with Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Karim Benzema and Enner Valencia on three. 
In the stifling heat of Fortaleza, Ghana restricted their most celebrated opponents to half chances and blocked shots in an underwhelming opening forty five minutes. Ghana had won over the neutrals by the interval by creating arguably the best chances but, within six minutes of the re-start, Germany were in front. Müller found a yard of space, looked up and picked out Götze's run. The Bayern München forward did not make clean contact, heading the ball on to his own knee, but it then deflected beyond Ghana goalkeeper Fatau Dauda. Jérôme Boateng had been replaced by the late call-up Shkodran Mustafi at half-time and Kevin-Prince made way for Jordan Ayew moments later. The removal of the Boateng brothers' sub-plot merely improved the tale as Harrison Afful delivered a glorious cross from the right and André Ayew rose above Mustafi to steer a stunning header into the bottom corner of Manuel Neuer's goal. Africa has a tale of World Cup redemption in Brazil at last, though Ghana know they could have had much more. They led impressively, deservedly with nineteen minutes remaining and Germany running short of options. Ghana dramatically went ahead with a goal that stemmed from a rare mistake by Philipp Lahm. Sully Muntari pounced on the loose ball and slipped an inch-perfect ball through for Gyan, who fired firmly beyond goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Germany turned to the experience of Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger to stem the flow, with Ghana sensing an upset. It was a move that paid off almost immediately as Klose scored with his first touch to equal the World Cup scoring record and bring Germany level. Benedikt Höwedes headed a corner towards the net and, just as it was about to cross the line, Klose prodded in to breathe life into Germany's hopes. Ghana began to tire as Germany pushed on. Toni Kroos found Müller but a brave block by Ayew denied him. Jonathan Mensah threw his body on the line soon after as Germany poured forward but Ghana went close themselves through Christian Atsu and Gyan. A frustrating day for Germany took a turn for the worse in the final moment when Müller suffered what appeared to be a gruesome head injury after contesting a header with John Boye and taking a shoulder to the face.
Lionel Messi scored a ninety first-minute winner to deny Iran a surprise draw against strongly fancied Argentina in Belo Horizonte. Two-time world champions Argentina were frustrated for long periods by the plucky Iranians, while Sergio Aguero was thwarted by a great Alireza Haghighi save. Iran could have even have won it but for a brilliant Sergio Romero save from Ashkan Dejagah's header. But Messi sent Argentina through with a fabulous late strike. Iran spent much of the first half under pressure but more than once threatened to inflict what would have been a huge upset. Argentina's celebrations at the final whistle were wild and prolonged, while the sight of coach Alejandro Sabella embracing Messi in the tunnel gave an indication of what this meant to the two-time champions. The build-up was dominated by talk of a rift between Messi and Sabella, the captain having expressed his displeasure at the five-three-two formation used in the first half against Bosnia-Hercegovina when Messi also scored the decisive goal. Sabella duly reverted to the Barcelona forward's preferred four-three-three and was rewarded by his star man at the last. Iran looked properly devastated at the end but must take immense confidence from a performance which combined defensive resilience with attacking adventure - and from the knowledge they could still qualify. Carlos Queiroz's men actually created the first meaningful chance when Jala Hosseini headed wide from Ashkan Dejagah's free-kick, although Argentina then assumed control.
Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago provided a solid base for Angel Di Maria and full-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo to support Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi displayed superb reflexes to foil Higuain and save one-handed from Aguero. Rojo then headed narrowly wide, Messi was off target with a free-kick and Ezequiel Garay nodded inches over the bar. Argentina were meeting a wall of resistance every time they attacked but Iran's impressive defending ought to have been no surprise - they kept more clean sheets in qualifying than any team at the tournament. And when not thwarting the South Americans' forwards, Queiroz's team again came close to a goal of their own with another Hosseini header. Iran's preparations for the competition had been hampered by political sanctions which affected their funding and ability to organise friendlies, but they looked fully prepared and again came close to taking a shock lead through Reza Ghoochannejhad. Masoud Shojaei surged forward and fed Pejman Montazeri to cross for the Charlton Athletic striker, who would have scored had his header been aimed anywhere other than straight at Argentine keeper Sergio Romero. But the chance served to further bolster Iran's self-belief and after Dejagah had a strong penalty claim rejected by referee Milorad Mazic, the Fulham man was thwarted by Romero's fingertips as he met another Montazeri cross with a powerful header. Messi worked hard to swing the momentum back in Argentina's favour, slotting wide after a quick break and sending a free-kick into the side-netting, while Sabella introduced Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi in place of Aguero and Higuain as his side pushed hard for a winner.
Still chances came for Iran, however, Ghoochannejhad nearly stealing the win, only for Romero to make a diving stop - and that miss proved costly when captain Messi stepped up with a wonderful finish into the far corner to send Argentina through with a game to spare.
Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal to give Nigeria a victory that means World Cup débutants Bosnia-Hercegovina will not progress from Group F. The Dirty Stoke player struck in the first half to give Nigeria their first win at a World Cup finals since 1998. The goal came just seven minutes after Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside. So, that was jolly unlucky. Nigeria will reach the knock-out stages if - and it's a big if - they get a point against Argentina, or if Iran fail to beat Bosnia. Odemwingie's decisive strike came just a month after he returned to the Nigeria squad following a two-year absence caused by a dispute with coach Stephen Keshi. Knowing they needed a win to stay in their first World Cup finals, Bosnia attacked from the start but were vulnerable in defence, with Odemwingie, John Mikel Obi and Michael Babatunde all squandering early chances for Nigeria. Bosnia briefly thought they had taken the lead when Dzeko latched onto a pass from Miralem Pjanic, but the Sheikh Yer Man City forward was denied by an offside flag, though replays suggested he had timed his run well. The Super Eagles made the most of the let-off as Emmanuel Emenike powered past Emir Spahic on the right before finding Odemwingie, who shot through the legs of his Stoke team-mate Asmir Begovic to score. Bosnia continued to press, but substitute Vedad Ibisevic, who came off the bench to score in the defeat by Argentina, wasted a chance to equalise when he bundled a cross wide despite finding space in the area. And, with seconds of injury time remaining, Dzeko scuffed a shot which Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama deflected onto the post and away to safety.
Wayne Rooney has apologised to English supporters following England's early exit from the World Cup. Apology not accepted. Next ...
The validity of Kevin-Prince Boateng’s claim that Germany lack leaders when the pressure is on will be revealed in time. But, in the searing heat of Fortaleza they lacked the incisiveness and steel that shaped their destruction of Portugal, though not the time-honoured precision of Miroslav Klose. The thirty six-year-old Lazio striker scored with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as the Germans came from behind to snatch a draw. The goal, scored from a yard out, means that Klose is now level with former Brazil striker Ronaldo on fifteen goals. Germany, however, were probably fortunate to escape with a point. Having taken a fortuitous lead through Götze, Ghana came roaring back to score twice in nine minutes to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd. The Germany coach, turned to the experience of Klose and the veteran did not disappoint as he prodded in to keep his side top of Group G. The result means Germany, who now have four points, have still only won their second game of a World Cup once since 1994. At Euro 2008 and at the 2010 World Cup, they followed up opening wins with defeats. Ghana keep alive their chances of qualification for the last sixteen but will have to beat Portugal in their final game to have any chance. With temperatures in excess of thirty degrees at the start, the tempo was understandably slow for much of the first half. A series of pinball passing movements between Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and Mario Götze threatened to create an opening for Germany. Özil's vision engineered several openings for Germany but the central defender John Boye read their intentions instinctively in the first half. A flowing move down the Ghana left saw Özil cross for Müller who rolled the ball behind him for the unmarked Toni Kroos. Boye threw himself into a vital block and later produced a sublime tackle on Müller as the striker looked certain to capitalise on another well-worked attack down Germany's right. Jérôme Boateng sent Götze clear with a fine ball down the line, Götze centred into the six-yard box and Müller must have sensed his fourth goal of the World Cup. Boye's boot arrived first to keep the striker level with Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Karim Benzema and Enner Valencia on three. In the stifling heat of Fortaleza, Ghana restricted their most celebrated opponents to half chances and blocked shots in an underwhelming opening forty five minutes. Ghana had won over the neutrals by the interval by creating arguably the best chances but, within six minutes of the re-start, Germany were in front. Müller found a yard of space, looked up and picked out Götze's run. The Bayern München forward did not make clean contact, heading the ball on to his own knee, but it then deflected beyond Ghana goalkeeper Fatau Dauda. Jérôme Boateng had been replaced by the late call-up Shkodran Mustafi at half-time and Kevin-Prince made way for Jordan Ayew moments later. The removal of the Boateng brothers' sub-plot merely improved the tale as Harrison Afful delivered a glorious cross from the right and André Ayew rose above Mustafi to steer a stunning header into the bottom corner of Manuel Neuer's goal. Africa has a tale of World Cup redemption in Brazil at last, though Ghana know they could have had much more. They led impressively, deservedly with nineteen minutes remaining and Germany running short of options. Ghana dramatically went ahead with a goal that stemmed from a rare mistake by Philipp Lahm. Sully Muntari pounced on the loose ball and slipped an inch-perfect ball through for Gyan, who fired firmly beyond goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Germany turned to the experience of Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger to stem the flow, with Ghana sensing an upset. It was a move that paid off almost immediately as Klose scored with his first touch to equal the World Cup scoring record and bring Germany level. Benedikt Höwedes headed a corner towards the net and, just as it was about to cross the line, Klose prodded in to breathe life into Germany's hopes. Ghana began to tire as Germany pushed on. Toni Kroos found Müller but a brave block by Ayew denied him. Jonathan Mensah threw his body on the line soon after as Germany poured forward but Ghana went close themselves through Christian Atsu and Gyan. A frustrating day for Germany took a turn for the worse in the final moment when Müller suffered what appeared to be a gruesome head injury after contesting a header with John Boye and taking a shoulder to the face. Lionel Messi scored a ninety first-minute winner to deny Iran a surprise draw against strongly fancied Argentina in Belo Horizonte. Two-time world champions Argentina were frustrated for long periods by the plucky Iranians, while Sergio Aguero was thwarted by a great Alireza Haghighi save. Iran could have even have won it but for a brilliant Sergio Romero save from Ashkan Dejagah's header. But Messi sent Argentina through with a fabulous late strike. Iran spent much of the first half under pressure but more than once threatened to inflict what would have been a huge upset. Argentina's celebrations at the final whistle were wild and prolonged, while the sight of coach Alejandro Sabella embracing Messi in the tunnel gave an indication of what this meant to the two-time champions. The build-up was dominated by talk of a rift between Messi and Sabella, the captain having expressed his displeasure at the five-three-two formation used in the first half against Bosnia-Hercegovina when Messi also scored the decisive goal. Sabella duly reverted to the Barcelona forward's preferred four-three-three and was rewarded by his star man at the last. Iran looked properly devastated at the end but must take immense confidence from a performance which combined defensive resilience with attacking adventure - and from the knowledge they could still qualify. Carlos Queiroz's men actually created the first meaningful chance when Jala Hosseini headed wide from Ashkan Dejagah's free-kick, although Argentina then assumed control.
Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago provided a solid base for Angel Di Maria and full-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo to support Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi displayed superb reflexes to foil Higuain and save one-handed from Aguero. Rojo then headed narrowly wide, Messi was off target with a free-kick and Ezequiel Garay nodded inches over the bar. Argentina were meeting a wall of resistance every time they attacked but Iran's impressive defending ought to have been no surprise - they kept more clean sheets in qualifying than any team at the tournament. And when not thwarting the South Americans' forwards, Queiroz's team again came close to a goal of their own with another Hosseini header. Iran's preparations for the competition had been hampered by political sanctions which affected their funding and ability to organise friendlies, but they looked fully prepared and again came close to taking a shock lead through Reza Ghoochannejhad. Masoud Shojaei surged forward and fed Pejman Montazeri to cross for the Charlton Athletic striker, who would have scored had his header been aimed anywhere other than straight at Argentine keeper Sergio Romero. But the chance served to further bolster Iran's self-belief and after Dejagah had a strong penalty claim rejected by referee Milorad Mazic, the Fulham man was thwarted by Romero's fingertips as he met another Montazeri cross with a powerful header. Messi worked hard to swing the momentum back in Argentina's favour, slotting wide after a quick break and sending a free-kick into the side-netting, while Sabella introduced Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi in place of Aguero and Higuain as his side pushed hard for a winner.
Still chances came for Iran, however, Ghoochannejhad nearly stealing the win, only for Romero to make a diving stop - and that miss proved costly when captain Messi stepped up with a wonderful finish into the far corner to send Argentina through with a game to spare. Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal to give Nigeria a victory that means World Cup débutants Bosnia-Hercegovina will not progress from Group F. The Dirty Stoke player struck in the first half to give Nigeria their first win at a World Cup finals since 1998. The goal came just seven minutes after Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside. So, that was jolly unlucky. Nigeria will reach the knock-out stages if - and it's a big if - they get a point against Argentina, or if Iran fail to beat Bosnia. Odemwingie's decisive strike came just a month after he returned to the Nigeria squad following a two-year absence caused by a dispute with coach Stephen Keshi. Knowing they needed a win to stay in their first World Cup finals, Bosnia attacked from the start but were vulnerable in defence, with Odemwingie, John Mikel Obi and Michael Babatunde all squandering early chances for Nigeria. Bosnia briefly thought they had taken the lead when Dzeko latched onto a pass from Miralem Pjanic, but the Sheikh Yer Man City forward was denied by an offside flag, though replays suggested he had timed his run well. The Super Eagles made the most of the let-off as Emmanuel Emenike powered past Emir Spahic on the right before finding Odemwingie, who shot through the legs of his Stoke team-mate Asmir Begovic to score. Bosnia continued to press, but substitute Vedad Ibisevic, who came off the bench to score in the defeat by Argentina, wasted a chance to equalise when he bundled a cross wide despite finding space in the area. And, with seconds of injury time remaining, Dzeko scuffed a shot which Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama deflected onto the post and away to safety.
Wayne Rooney has apologised to English supporters following England's early exit from the World Cup. Apology not accepted. Next ...
