Thanks to Nitin who has been a fan of our show since the very beginning!! 

A second before the referee blew the final whistle Slovenia were through to the next round ..A second after.. they were ready to board their flight back home. Landon Donovan was the hero ..he was  the villain.  Scoring in the final moments of a very exciting and important tie, the American captain took his team to the Round of 16 & top of Group C with England holding on to a 1-0 lead to progress as well.

From the crazy error by Robert Green letting a simple Clint Dempsey shot pass through his hands to the even crazier decision by referee Kouman Coulibaly to disallow a fully legitimate goal, this world cup has been full of craziness for the US team, who scraped  in to the Round of 16 in the eleventh hour with the aid of their inspirational captain. The LA Galaxy Star rescued his team again by tapping in an easy ball setup by Jozy Altidore. The Algerian captain was sent off just before the final whistle but ‘The American Job ‘ had been done.

England boss Fabio Capello was under pressure from the media and the ever demanding fans to deliver. John Terry’s press conference has grown matters more out of proportion. As a result the shrewd Italian brought about  a couple of changes in the game against Slovenia with James Milner starting along the right and Jermain Defoe partnering Wayne Rooney up front. And what  a decision it proved to be. James Milner’s fantastic cross was converted by Defoe in the 23rd minute. This proved to be the only goal of the game, the goal that takes England through. Gerrard was in amazing form, making magical passes to teammates.

Slovenia tried to launch a barrage of attacks on the goal but England managed to hold on.

Slovenia go back home disappointed at only loosing one game and still not qualifying for the next round. But the team of the smallest country taking part should take heart with their performances in the group after beating minnows Algeria 1-0 and at a time holding a 2-0 lead over USA at halftime.

It remains to be seen what impact of  USA finishing first and England finishing second has on the course of the tournament, The Grand Daddy Of the Tournaments.

Hoping Slovenia and Algeria have their team in the next world cup too.

And wishing Best luck to USA and England for their next round matches.

A faithful Goalmouth fan,

Nitin Chandak.

INDIA