Germany beat Ghana, but both advance

JOHANNESBURG (AP):

Germany beat Ghana 1-0 after a second-half goal from Mesut Oezil to win Group D and set up a second-round World Cup clash with traditional rivals England.

Ghana also advanced despite yesterday's loss at Soccer City and became the first African team to make the round of 16 at the first World Cup held on the continent.

"It was a tense game. We could have made more out of our opportunities," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We were not very precise up front. But I can't blame my young players, there was a lot of pressure, we had to win. And now we are really looking forward to England.

"It's going to be a special game, there is so much history between us. It's a team with many excellent players and a lot of experience. (Wayne) Rooney can explode any time, we'll have a tough job."

Group winners

Germany won the group with six points and Ghana were second with four, going through on goal difference, thanks to Australia's 2-1 victory over Serbia in the other match.

Oezil rifled a left-footed shot from outside the area into the left corner of the net to break the deadlock in the 60th minute after both teams had wasted a number of chances.

"I simply shot the ball, but I should have scored in the first half too," said Oezil, who was voted Man of the Match. "I had a lot of support from my teammates. It doesn't matter whom we play next, we have to keep winning.

"I am very relieved to have scored because I had missed many chances in the tournament," Oezil said.

Once the scoreboard had flashed the result of the other match, Ghana players celebrated their progress, waving the country's flag and running to the corner where their supporters were.

The Black Stars went through, thanks to their 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Australia.

"It was a very difficult match but we fought and it was enough to get us through," said Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew. "We had opportunities but the important thing is that we went through."

England second in group c

England finished second in Group C behind the United States and will now face the Germans in Bloemfontein on Sunday. Ghana will play the United States on Saturday in Rustenburg.

"There is no time to celebrate,

the next match is very close," Ghana's Serbian coach Milan Rajevac said. "We knew it would be a tough match because to try to qualify against Germany is really hard. We played quite well, we resisted well, we had some chances but they had to win and they showed that they are among the best teams in the world."

Rajevac said he hoped the South Africans, whose team was eliminated, would throw their support behind his team.