Tournament News
Ger, Eng resume fierce rivalry
2010-06-27 12:41
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Bloemfontein - The fierce rivalry between Germany and England resumes at the World Cup when both fight for a place in the quarterfinals on Sunday, while Mexico seeks revenge on Argentina for knocking it out of the 2006 tournament.
South Africa police have promised tight security for the Germany-England match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, promising a "no nonsense" approach to crowd control. Authorities say riot police and water cannons will be deployed if necessary.
Police officials say it will be the biggest security operation for a sports event in Bloemfontein - a quiet city in central South Africa surrounded by farmland and which is more used to rugby games. Alcohol sales won't be restricted, which officers have said could make their job more difficult.
The old adversaries are meeting in a World Cup for the first time since the Germans knocked out England in a penalty shootout in the semifinals of the 1990 tournament in Italy. Germany also eliminated England in a shootout during the 1996 European Championship semifinals.
England famously won the 1966 final at Wembley 4-2 after extra time although the Germans remains convinced the second goal of Geoff Hurst's unique hat trick never crossed the line.
Mexico vs Argentina
Mexico and Argentina have a more recent rivalry. At the 2006 World Cup, Argentina beat Mexico 2-1 - thanks to an extraordinary goal by Maxi Rodriguez in the round of 16, and fate has conspired to match the two sides at exactly the same stage of this year's tournament.
Mexico midfielder Rafael Marquez, who took part in the 2006 match, has said he has "a thorn" in his side from that result, and he hopes to remove it when both sides meet at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
But the challenge will be formidable against Diego Maradona's team, which has won all three of its matches and has been attack-minded so far.
Mexico will not only have to contain Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez. Maxi is playing in midfield and will be looking to repeat history.
Sunday's matches come a day after Uruguay and Ghana became the first two teams to qualify for the quarterfinals at the expense of South Korea and the United States.
Ghana is the only African team left at the continent's first World Cup, and it will meet Uruguay on July 2 after beating the United States 2-1 in extra time Saturday. Uruguay beat South Korea by the same scoreline.
The other round of 16 matchups through Tuesday are Netherlands-Slovakia, Brazil-Chile, Paraguay-Japan and Spain-Portugal.