Ghana won twice on Sunday, thanks to a lot of help.

First, Ghana was all but gifted the win after a foolish penalty afforded a PK late in the action against Serbia that resulted in a 1-0 win. Then Sunday evening, while Ghana was no doubt enjoying a victory dinner, Tim Cahill was sent off with a red card against Germany, and that will keep him out against Ghana on Saturday. It was at best a borderline call.

Take nothing away from the Germans. Germany came out firing and scored early and had chances often. Miroslav Klose did his magic again, and helped Germany pull away for the easy win. Ghana can now enter it’s match against Australia with three points and the advantage of not facing Cahill, which should provide a big boost.

In the holdover match from Group C, another gift was granted. Underdog Slovenia advanced with a 1-0 win thanks to foolish play from Algeria in a sloppy match. Slovenia now has an edge with three points in the Group, compared to one for the US and England. However, neither Algeria nor Slovenia showed anything on Sunday that should make either the English or Americans too worried about their chances to advance.