Goats of the day
Abdelkader Ghezzal, Algeria
Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Serbia
At either end of the field, Ghezzal and Kuzmanovic stuck their arms out for needless handballs that proved costly. Thankfully, both were caught and punished, unlike Thierry Henry. Ghezzal’s arm earned him a second yellow, leaving the Algerians with 10 men, and six minutes later the Slovenians got the only goal they needed for a win. But Kuzmanovic had a more direct impact. His bonehead move gifted Ghana with a penalty kick with six minutes left in regulation, leading to a continental victory that won’t soon be forgotten.
Goal of the day
The crisp passing and sharp runs that produced Germany’s first goal against Australia were the epitome of beautiful team soccer. Barely eight minutes in, Mesut Ozil started off the sequence with a perfectly placed pass through the right side of the Australian defense to Thomas Muller, who knifed through the back line and sent the ball back across the goal to Lukas Podolski. The 2006 World Cup’s best young player finished off the play with a swerving left-footed strike that goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had no chance to save.
