Germany, Ghana battle for Group D supremacy

Soccer Betting Lines

06/22/2010 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany has qualified for the knockout stage of the last 14 FIFA World Cups, but enters Wednesday's Group D finale against Ghana in need of a victory to secure advancement.

Germany dropped its first group-stage match since 1986 on Friday, 1-0 against Serbia, and could be eliminated prior to the knockout round for the first time in its storied history with a loss or draw at Soccer City Stadium.

"It's do-or-die for us, so we have to go out and win," said Germany striker Lukas Podolski, who missed a penalty kick in the loss to Serbia.

The Germans streak started in 1954, when they captured their first title, and includes seven finals appearances and three titles in the last 14 tournaments.

Germany, which also played in the World Cup in 1934 and 1938 when there was no group stage, was in control of Group D after a 4-0 victory over Australia, but is in second place entering the final day of group play.

Ghana leads the group with four points and a draw is enough to get the African nation through to the knockout round. Germany could still advance with a draw, but only if Serbia ties or loses to Australia on Wednesday.

Germany played with 10 men against Serbia after Miroslav Klose was sent off in the first half for two yellow cards, and never answered Milan Jovanovic's goal one minute after the questionable sending off by referee Alberto Undiano.

Podolski also missed numerous solid chances in the run of play, Sami Khedira hit the crossbar, and Germany survived two Serbian shots off the frame. Still, German coach Joachim Loew believes his side can still advance.

"It was a big setback, going a man down and then letting in the goal straight afterwards," Loew said. "In the second half, my team tried everything and put in an unbelievable amount of work.

"We won't let our heads go down now. Our fate's still in our own hands, and the team's very determined, so I believe we'll go through."

Klose will serve his one-match suspension against Ghana, and Cacau will likely get his first start of the World Cup in his place.

Ghana may have an entire continent's hopes on its shoulders, as it may be the only African country with a chance to make the knockout stage. Ghana's offense has been non-existent, with Asamoah Gyan's penalty kicks in a 1-0 win over Serbia and 1-1 draw against 10-man Australia the team's only goals.

"What was important was not to lose. But we were playing ten against 11 for a long time and when it's in a competition like this, you have to do better. We should have capitalized but we need to forget about this," Ghana's Andre Ayew said. "We need to focus on Germany."

Ghana will have center backs John Mensah and Isaac Vorsah back after they were forced to sit out the Australia match through injury, and coach Milovan Rajevac is certainly glad the duo will return for the key match against the Germans.

"It's going to be an important game," Ayew said.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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