Fortaleza, June 22
The young pretender had his fun against an imploding Portugal but when Germany needed an old dog for the hard road, Joachim Loew released Miroslav Klose, the joint top-scorer in World Cup history. This was a very hard road the world’s No 2 ranked team were walking against a Ghana side fighting for their World Cup lives. In a hot and sticky Fortaleza, Germany, led by Thomas Mueller, the hat-trick hero against Portugal, were in danger of coming unstuck.

They had gone ahead early in the second half through Mario Götze only to concede two goals in nine minutes to the Black Stars, first Andre Ayew then Asamoah Gyan threatening to upset Germany.

But enter Klose, the only conventional striker in the German squad, to nudge home his 15th World Cup goal to join Cristiano Ronaldo at the pinnacle of World Cup scorers. In truth he should have had his 16th in the 90th minute of an absorbing match but he dragged a right-foot shot wide from 18 yards when unmarked.

Loew’s side were playing in swift triangular patterns, looking to release a player running from deep, but while Götze and Mesut Özil were almost found on the surge, the first real chance fell to Ghana. Kwadwo Asamoah spread a long ball across the field to Christian Atsu but the Ghana captain’s shot from seven yards was well off target.

Ghana’s high line was always going to present opportunities for Germany’s nippy attackers but John Boye and Jonathan Mensah were performing heroics to protect new goalkeeper Fatau Dauda’s goal. The influential Toni Kroos had a shot blocked after being teed up by a clever Mueller backheel, Boye was doing a fine line in last ditch interventions and Mensah performed one flying overhead interception to cut out a Kroos through ball.

Most of these chances were stemming from the Ghanaian left flank where Juventus winger Asamoah was a little too casual in possession and too lax in his marshalling of the interchanging Özil and Götze.

However, by the time Götze managed Germany’s first shot on target in the 38th minute, a 20-yard effort straight at Dauda, Ghana had forced Manuel Neuer in the German goal into two sharp saves — first from Chelsea winger Atsu and then former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari from outside the area.

The interval upset the rhythm of the Ghanaian defence, however, and within six minutes of the restart Germany were ahead, Götze evading the marking of Harrison Afful to bundle a Mueller cross home via his head and then his knee.

After scroring second goal Ghana were in the ascendancy and when Germany lost possession in midfield, Muntari released the to-that-point ineffective Gyan, who smashed a right-foot shot over the shoulder of Neuer. It should have been three or four but first Jordan Ayew failed to square to Gyan and then his older brother missed a free header. — The Independent

Fortaleza, June 22
With his first touch two minutes after coming on, Miroslav Klose poked home at the back post from a Toni Kroos corner in the 71st minute to move level with former Brazil striker Ronaldo (15th World Cup goal). He becomes only the third man after Uwe Seeler and Pele to score in four World Cups. “Twenty (World Cup) matches and 15 goals is not bad at all,” Klose said.

With one goal down, Loew turned to Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger and it proved an inspired switch with Klose keeping the Germans in contention to reach the second round for a 16th consecutive World Cup.

The 36-year-old celebrated his goal with a somersault, reminiscent of his younger days. He landed on his backside but it hardly seemed to matter as his jubilant team mates buried him under a pile of bodies. This was the 800th match in the tournament's history that began in 1930. It marked Mertesacker's 100th German cap and Gyan's 10th World Cup match. It also saw the Boateng half-brothers face each other for the second World Cup in a row. Jerome played the first half for Germany while Kevin-Prince played for Ghana. — Reuters

Belo Horizonte, June 22
At the very least, he justifies all the debate, all the fuss about him. He also wins matches, and may yet go a long way to deciding the destination of this World Cup trophy. Lionel Messi seized this tournament in the most assertive and symbolic manner possible. Just when his team needed him, and after a largely poor display, he came up with a last-minute moment of glory.

That Diego Maradona was watching only added another dimension. A goal like this may yet become one of the defining images of this World Cup.

One of the enduring images of the first half was Messi moving back towards the halfway line, picking up the ball and seeing all 11 Iranian players in front of him. That is a situation not too frequent for a forward who plays so high up the pitch. One other enduring image, however, was Messi strolling around the opposition half with very little urgency. That is becoming very frequent. In that regard, the Argentine play-maker is no longer quite the sonic blur of energy he used to be when Barça were at their peak between 2009 and 2011. There is a much greater languidness to his game. Some would say laziness.

At the end of Barça’s disappointing 2013-14 season, his low mileage stats became an increasing topic of debate. Similarly, it has been argued around Camp Nou that this is all a further consequence of the overbearing influence and ego Messi is developing. It is something that has come under further scrutiny in the last week, as debate has grown about whose decision it exactly was to change formation back to 4-3-3.

The difference is that on the occasions when he decides to do something Messi still tends to show why exactly he may have developed that ego. The eventual goal proved that.

He can go from a heavy afternoon to a lightning storm in an instant. The burst of acceleration remains devastating. The touch is still immaculate. His first action of note in the game displayed all of that. That it came as late as the 18th minute showed his lack of rigour, but the eventual move was marvellous. — The Independent

Brasilia, June 22
Stuttering Brazil will look to clinch their berth in the last 16 of the World Cup as they host already-eliminated Cameroon in their final Group A match at the National Stadium in the capital here tomorrow.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side have beaten Croatia and drawn with Mexico in their two games to date, struggling to convince in either match, but both the coach and his players have claimed in recent days that the World Cup hosts are "evolving" as the tournament goes along.

Brazil head into their final group game — their 100th at the World Cup — still not certain of a place in the knockout rounds, but goalkeeper Julio Cesar insisted during the week that the quality of opposition they have come up against so far has helped the Selecao. "This is a tough group, but that's great for us. We prefer to play against these sides and face these difficulties because it gets you focusing right from the start, which is important in short-term competitions," he said.

The pressure on Brazil to do well at these finals is enormous, but Scolari's team need not panic about their situation in the group. They lead the group on goal difference from Mexico, and a draw will be enough to take them through to a second-round clash with either Chile or the Netherlands.

Indeed, they would still progress even in defeat, as long as Mexico beat Croatia in the group's other game. In any case, the prospect of Brazil losing to a Cameroon side in complete disarray seems slim in the extreme.

Volker Finke's men have already failed in their attempts to become the first Cameroon team to advance from their group since 1990, and their campaign has been beset by trouble since the very beginning.

A row over bonuses overshadowed their build-up to the finals, and they became one of the first teams to be eliminated after following up a 1-0 defeat to Mexico by losing 4-0 to Croatia last Wednesday. While Samuel Eto'o struggles due to a knee injury — he has not trained since the Mexico game — Finke saw Alex Song's tournament come to a premature end after he was sent off for a needless elbow in the back of Mario Mandzukic against Croatia, before left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto head-butted team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo on the pitch near the end of the game. "The behaviour of some of the players was not at all satisfying. It's unacceptable to see that kind of thing," bemoaned coach Finke. Of his team's performances he said: "There have been some situations where we have lacked concentration and we also lacked a finishing touch against Croatia but we can do better against Brazil."

Despite the problems, Brazil are wary of Cameroon for what will be the nations' first competitive encounter since the Indomitable Lions stunned the then world champions 1-0 in the 2003 Confederations Cup in France. "Cameroon are coming without any responsibility but they will still be playing for pride and looking for a reaction after the first two games," said Brazil defender David Luiz. — PTI

Sao Paulo, June 22
With the loser likely to face hosts Brazil in the next round, the Netherlands and Chile will go all out for victory when they meet in their Group B match on Monday, even though both teams are through to the last 16.

While coaches studiously avoid discussing anything but the next game, what lies ahead adds a tantalising twist to a contest between European thoroughbreds and a Chile team that has surpassed expectations by ousting champions Spain.

That 2-0 win at the Maracana stadium in Rio sent shockwaves through the tournament and will ensure that the Netherlands take their opponents seriously when they meet in Sao Paulo.

Robin van Persie, who like fellow striker Arjen Robben is joint top scorer in Brazil with three goals, was impressed with what he saw of the South American opponents. "They looked very good. They looked fit, they look strong, they play together," Van Persie said.

"I think that four or five players made Spain's life very hard. So we've got a big task. It will be very hard to at least draw against them," added the forward, who will miss the clash after picking up two yellow cards in the first two matches.

His absence is a blow to the Dutch, whose 5-1 destruction of Spain in the opening game was followed by a far less convincing 3-2 win over Australia, who are out. — Reuters

SPIELBERG (Austria), June 22
Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix in a Mercedes one-two finish on Sunday to stretch his championship lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton to 29 points after eight races.

Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, who had started on the front row, finished third and fourth respectively on a sunny afternoon at the Red Bull Ring in the southern Styrian hills.

The victory was Rosberg's third of the season and his team's seventh. It was also their sixth one-two finish of the year and came after Massa had ended their run of seven successive pole positions.

Rosberg now has 165 points to Hamilton's 136 in the drivers' standings with 11 rounds remaining. "It was not the easiest of races, trying to manage certain things which were right on the limit on the car. But in the end I had a very, very fast car again," said Rosberg, interviewed on the podium by former Red Bull racer Mark Webber. — Reuters

London, June 22
To most tennis players, Wimbledon's inviting lush lawns represent green and pleasant land. For Rafa Nadal, however, dangers lurk around every nook and cranny of the famed grass arena.

A champion at the All England Club in 2008 and 2010, memories of those joyous days when he lifted the gilded Challenge Cup now seem like a lifetime ago.

A man considered to be almost unbeatable on clay and the owner of almost every record worth having on red dust has proved to be very, very beatable on grass. So beatable in fact that his record on grass since 2012 stands at played 4, lost three. A second-round hammering at Wimbledon in 2012 was followed by a first-round mauling 12 months ago.

The swift two-week switch from clay to grass has never been easy for Nadal and his overworked knees but for the first time in three years, he feels in good shape coming into Wimbledon. "I am feeling better this year than last couple (of) years. Personally, I feel that I am doing things better. I am able to move myself more freely now ... I'm not scared about my knee. That's the most important thing for me," the 28-year-old said as he prepared to launch his bid for a 15th major title. — Reuters

Today’s matches

Men: 3-Andy Murray (Britain) v David Goffin (Belgium); 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v Andrey Golubev (Kazakhstan); Tomas Berdych (Czech Rep) v Victor Hanescu (Romania)

Women: 2-Li Na (China) v Paula Kania (Poland); Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia); Venus Williams (US) v Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (Spain)

Mumbai, June 22
An 18-member Indian team led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today left for England to compete in the five-match Test series, starting at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on July 9.

The England tour commences on June 26 with a three-day game in Leicester. The Test series will be followed by a five-match ODI series and a Twenty20 International from August 25 to September 7. — PTI

Rio de Janeiro , June 22
Divock Origi sent Belgium into the last 16 of the World Cup when the teenager struck an 88th minute winner to secure a 1-0 victory against Russia in a largely lifeless Group H match at the Maracana on Sunday.

He rifled in just minutes after Kevin Mirallas crashed a free kick against the base of the Russian post to give Belgium six points from two games.

Apart from a rousing finale when Belgium finally awoke from their lethargy, the match was one of the poorest in the tournament so far with both teams regularly booed by the 73,000 crowd.

Despite a few flashes of inspiration from Belgium's right-winger Dries Martens in the first half and their attacking finish at the end, the match never rose above the largely forgettable. Mertens did his best to spark Belgium into life before the break giving left back Dmitry Kombarov a torrid time, but although he was a constant threat, none of his work produced a goal.

He fired into the side netting and had another effort across the face of goal before the break as Belgium sought the victory that would put them into the knockout stages. Russia had what appeared to be a decent penalty claim turned down when Toby Alderweireld appeared to catch Maksim Kanunnikov just inside the area and missed a great chance just before halftime when Alexander Kokorin miscued his header wide.

Belgium skipper Vincent Kompany recovered from a groin strain to take part and made some typically robust defensive tackles, but his left-back partner Thomas Vermaelen injured his knee in the warm-up and although he started the game he was replaced by Jan Vertonghen midway through the first half.— Reuters