PSW's Daily World Cup Update: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 [VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS]

The U.S.\'s World Cup fate rests on their final Group C match against a stingy Algerian side. A win puts the Yanks through, as does a tie with a little help from the Slovenians (playing England in the other 10am match). Group D will also finish their group stage matches today, and we could see the first African side advance to the Second Round when Ghana faces off against Germany.

See below for Day 13 results and recaps (including video highlights), a preview of Day 14, news from around the tournament, group standings, and a TV schedule for the upcoming week.

Also, be sure to check out PSW guest blogger Ben Mahler\'s South African Scenes posts - thoughts and first-hand observations on the World Cup, the atmosphere, and South African culture.
Post 1: AYOBA! - vuvuzelas are everywhere and it\'s hard not to get caught up in the “Ayoba!” – a phrase translating into joy and happiness
Post 2: USA...A-O-K? - other nations\' reactions to the disallowed U.S. goal vs Slovenia

[+ Day 1]  [+ Day 2]  [+ Day 3] [+ Day 4] [+ Day 5] [+ Day 6] [+ Day 7] [+ Day 8]
[+ Day 9] [+ Day 10] [+ Day 11] [+ Day 12]
Day 13 Results and Recaps:
USA  1:0  Algeria - Well, they didn\'t make it easy, but the U.S. won Group C and advanced to the next round after beating Algeria in one of the most dramatic and exciting matches so far (hard to do after the comeback against Slovenia). The U.S. defense looked shaky in the early minutes, but held off Algeria to get their first shutout of this World Cup. Oguchi Onyewu did not start or play, but center back Jay Demerit had one of the strongest games of the squad.

The Americans had plenty of opportunities, with shots off the woodwork, missed open goals, and yet another goal (this time from Clint Dempsey) that was incorrectly disallowed by the referees. In the 21st minute, Dempsey put in the rebound off of Herculez Gomez\'s shot, only to be called offside (replay showed that he wasn\'t). Minutes away from being eliminated from the World Cup, Landon Donovan scored the game-winner in the 91st minute to put the Yanks through to the Round of 16. Donovan started the counterattack break, sending a ball to Jozy Altidore, who then crossed it in on the ground to Dempsey in the middle. The goalkeeper was able to save Dempsey\'s poke, but the rebound fell straight to Donovan who calmly slotted the ball into the net.

 
Slovenia  0:1  England - England finally got their act together and played the most aggressive they\'ve played all tournament, beating Slovenia 1-0 to secure a trip to the next round. Jermain Defoe scored the game\'s only goal in the 23rd minute off of a James Milner cross. The smallest nation in the tournament had a couple of chances, but for the most part, it was England who dominated and created the best opportunities.

Ghana  0:1  Germany - Germany won the match and Group D when Mesut Oezil hit a left-footed blast from outside the box in the 60th minute and gave the Germans a lead over Ghana they would never relinquish. The Germans still haven\'t looked as good as they did in their first match when they crushed Australia, and Ghana, the only African team left, had a lot of great chances. Even though they lost, Ghana found out minutes after they lost that they would advance to the next round because of the Aussie victory over Serbia.

Australia  2:1  Serbia - Australia didn\'t do much for their own World Cup fate, but they knocked Serbia out and gave Ghana a ticket to the next round with their one-goal victory today. Tim Cahill, back from his red card suspension, and Brett Holman both scored second-half goals. The Aussies tied Ghana in points, but lost on goal differential. Had that first game against Germany not been such a rout, they might have advanced today. Marko Pantelic had the late goal for Serbia, but it was too little, too late.

Looking Ahead to Day 14:
Groups F and E finish up their group matches on Thursday. After their impressive draw against Italy, can New Zealand pull off another upset and get points against group-leading Paraguay? Slovakia and and the disappointing defending champions Italy face off in the other early game. In Group E, Cameroon will attempt to leave the World Cup with some pride, while the Netherlands look to have a perfect three-win round. Denmark and Japan will battle for the second slot to advance.

News From Around The Cup:
* Check out this World Cup roundtable video from Comcast SportsNet with D.C. United coach Curt Onalfo and assistant coach Ben Olsen.

* In U.S. GK Tim Howard\'s World Cup diary leading up to the Algeria game, he discusses his World Cup experience so far.

* Former President Bill Clinton will be in attendance at Loftus Versfeld Stadium for the U.S. match against Algeria today.

* Their beloved Bafana Bafana are out of the World Cup, yet South African fans greeted the farewell win over France with pride and celebration.

* Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda, head of refereeing for FIFA, is "very, very satisfied with the performance of the referees." Um, that makes one of you, Jose-Marcia.

* There are rumors that four North Korean players have defected after they were marked "absent" on an official FIFA teamsheet. However, North Korea is denying they are missing and says it was a clerical error.

* Italy coach Marcello Lippi said his team didn\'t follow orders in their disappointing 1-1 draw with New Zealand.

* No surprise after their seven goal performance against North Korea, Portugal says they love the much maligned Jabulani ball.

* The Nigerian team has asked its government to provide security for midfielder Sani Kaita after his red card during a World Cup loss to Greece prompted more than 1,000 death threats.

World Cup Group Standings (as of 6/23/10):
Group A
Uruguay (2-1-0; 7pts) - Advance to Second Round
Mexico (1-1-0; 4pts) - Advance to Second Round
South Africa (1-1-1; 4pts)
France (0-1-2; 1pt)

Group B
Argentina (3-0-0; 9pts) - Advance to Second Round
South Korea (1-1-1; 4pts) - Advance to Second Round
Greece (1-0-2; 3pts)
Nigeria (0-1-2; 1pt)

Group C
United States (1-2-0; 5pts) - Advance to Second Round
England (1-2-0; 5pts) - Advance to Second Round
Slovenia (1-1-1; 4pts)
Algeria (0-1-2; 1pt)

Group D
Germany (2-0-1; 6pts) - Advance to Second Round
Ghana (1-1-1; 4pts) - Advance to Second Round
Australia (1-1-1; 4pts)
Serbia (1-0-2; 3pts)

Group E
Netherlands (2-0-0; 6pts)
Japan (1-0-1; 3pts)
Denmark (1-0-1; 3pts)
Cameroon (0-0-2; 0pts)

Group F
Paraguay (1-1-0; 4pts)
Italy (0-2-0; 2pts)
New Zealand (0-2-0; 2pts)
Slovakia (0-1-1; 1pt)

Group G
Brazil (2-0-0; 6pts)
Portugal (1-1-0; 4pts)
Ivory Coast (0-1-1; 1pt)
North Korea (0-0-2; 0pts)

Group H
Chile (2-0-0; 6pts)
Spain (1-0-1; 3pts)
Switzerland (1-0-1; 3pts)
Honduras (0-0-2; 0pts)

World Cup Viewing Parties for Group Stage games in DC Area:
(We will add others soon via advertisers - click here to advertise with us)

Wednesday, June 23 - 9:30am (USA v Algeria)
O\'Faolain\'s Irish Pub - 20921 Davenport Drive, Sterling, Va. (Join PSW Staff!)
BlackFinn - 1620 I Street NW, Washington, DC
Fado - DC - 808 7th Street NW, Washington, DC
Pour House - 319 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Washington, DC

TV Schedule for upcoming week (all times are EST):
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Slovenia v England - 10:00am - ESPN2 (Group C)
USA v Algeria - 10:00am - ESPN (Group C)
Australia v Serbia - 2:30pm - ESPN2 (Group D)
Ghana v Germany - 2:30pm - ESPN (Group D)

Thursday, June 24, 2010
Paraguay v New Zealand - 10:00am - ESPN2 (Group F)
Slovakia v Italy - 10:00am - ESPN (Gropu F)
Cameroon v Netherlands - 2:30pm - ESPN2 (Group E)
Denmark v Japan - 2:30pm - ESPN (Group E)

Friday, June 25, 2010
Portugal v Brazil - 10:00am - ESPN (Group G)
North Korea v Ivory Coast - 10:00am - ESPN2 (Group G)
Chile v Spain - 2:30pm - ESPN (Group H)
Switzerland v Honduras - 2:30pm - ESPN2 (Group H)