The World Cup continues to roll on and the knock out stage picture is becoming more and more clear. Saturday saw three matches as Argentina battled Iran, Germany and Ghana faced off and the day concluded as Bosnia-Herzegovina took on Nigeria. At the end of the day, one team would be through to the next round, one team would be out and there would still be everything to play for in Group G.
Argentina vs Iran: Iran tried to play a strong defensive game in order to ensure that they collected at least a point for their second straight game. Their strategy almost worked but Lionel Messi scored a great goal in the 91st minute to give Argentina the win and clinch their place in the knockout round. Messi had largely been held in check by the Iranian defense all game but found a moment of magic when his team need it most. Ashkan Dejagah looked dangerous for the Iranians, having two great chances to score, but failed to find the back of the net. Argentina are now through to the knockout stage while Iran need to beat Bosnia and hope Nigeria lost to Argentina.
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| Messi's winner |
Germany vs Ghana: The most exciting game of the day saw four goals but took a while to get going. Germany dominated possession on the first half but failed to find the opening goal. Things opened up in the second Mario Götze headed home Thomas Müller's cross in the 51st minute. Ghana countered just three minutes later when Andre Ayew tied the score with a header of his own from Christian Afful's cross. Ghana took the 2-1 lead on the counter attack as the ball found Asamoah Gyan in the box and he slammed it past Manuel Neuer. Things were not looking good for until Miroslav Klose came into the game. In the 71st minute Klose poked home a corner to tie the game at two. He also tied Ronaldo's record for most goals in the World Cup with 15 all-time. Germany had a few chances in the dying minutes of the match but couldn't find a winner as the game finished 2-2.
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| Klose's equalizer |
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Nigeria: This match was back in forth from the beginning as both teams looked to find an early advantage. Bosnia looked to half the first goal but Edin Džeko was incorrectly ruled offside. Nigeria took advantage just a few minutes later as Emmanuel Emenike found Peter Odemwingie on the counter attack to give the Super Eagles the 1-0 lead after 29 minutes. Bosnia spent the final 60 minutes of the match trying to keep their World Cup hopes alive but just couldn't find that final ball. Džeko had a great chance in the final minutes of the game but fail to cash in. Nigeria need only a draw vs Argentina to advance while Bosnia has been eliminated.
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| Dzeko "offside" |
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| Odemwingie scores |
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