Ghana v Australia, Saturday 19th June, 3pm
The Black Stars were the better team against Serbia throughout Sunday’s match, although the bookies had them as the In-Play outsiders right until the moment when that late penalty was awarded and Asamoah Gyan despatched his spot kick with aplomb. The Rennes striker will be looking forward to lining up against a team that shipped four in their last game and you can back him at 6/1 (Stan James) to score first and a tempting 2/1 (Paddy Power) to score at any stage of the game.
Indeed, the Ghanaians didn’t look like a team that were missing Michael Essien at Loftus Verfeld in Pretoria, with Milovan Rajevac certainly managing to get a confident performance from his troops. The energy and workrate from players such as Kevin-Prince Boateng (14/1 Paddy Power) and Prince Tagoe (7/1 Boylesports) helped them to land the three points and they are strong favourites at 10/11 (bet365) to beat the Australians and look forward to a renewed participation in this competition.
Australia might need to go for broke in this match, especially as Germany’s goal difference is so big after the hammering they dished out on Sunday. Boylesports offer 7/2 that the Socceroos manage three points and we should expect a reaction from the Aussies after the humbling experience in Durban. Yes, they might be missing the suspended Tim Cahill, although manager Pim Verbeek has hinted that it could be time for Harry Kewell to step up to the plate.
It was a surprise not to see the Galatasaray forward play any part against Germany and he’s 12/1 (bet365) to haul his country right back into World Cup contention with the opening goal. However, if you think that morale is now low and that the African side can be buoyed on by a passionate crowd, Ghana are 13/5 (Sporting Bet) to lead at half-time and full-time.
