World Cup capsules: Sunday

Group D

Serbia vs. Ghana, Pretoria

Time: 7 a.m. PDT.

TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision Radio: Sirius/XM; KYLL-FM, KDLD-FM, KDLE-FM (in Spanish).

The buzz: Ghana made it to the round of 16 in its World Cup debut four years ago, and the speedy Black Stars say they’re ready to take a major step forward by advancing to the Final Four this year. “Expectations are sky high. We want to get out of our group and get to the semifinals or even further,” midfielder Sulley Muntari said on the official website of his club team, Inter Milan. But the loss of star midfielder Michael Essien to a knee injury could have a say in how far the team goes. Serbia is making its first Cup appearance, though the territory has been here before, first as Yugoslavia and later as Serbia and Montenegro. Striker Marko Pantelic has turned up the pressure on his Serbian teammates by calling the opener a “make or break” game for his squad.

Germany vs. Australia, Durban

Time: 11:30 a.m. PDT.

TV: ABC, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: ESPN 710, Sirius/XM, KYLL-FM, KDLD-FM, KDLE-FM (in Spanish).

The buzz: Australia got a visit from actor John Travolta last week. Sadly, that could be the highlight of the World Cup for the Socceroos. Australia, playing in the World Cup finals for just the third time, start out against the three-time champions, who are favored by many to go far in this tournament as well. Even Australia’s captain, Lucas Neill, is picking Germany. “The Germans are better than us. If they offered us a draw now, we’d bite their hand off,” he said. “They are probably the most consistent team in the world. They defend like a machine. It’ll be really difficult to get a result.” Australia’s best player is its keeper, Mark Schwarzer, the son of German parents and a veteran of nearly 700 professional games. That will give him an edge in experience over a German team that, with an average age of 26, is the country’s youngest World Cup squad in 76 years.

Time: 4:30 a.m. PDT.

TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision Radio: Sirius/XM, KYLL-FM 997.5, KDLD-FM / KDLE-FM 103.1

The buzz: Simply qualifying for South Africa was a major achievement for both teams, who had to win playoff matches they were expected to lose. And with the U.S. and England the next opponents for each, a victory Sunday is vital if either team has aspirations of reaching the second round for the first time ever. What will make that more challenging for Algeria is the fact the team has been overhauled since its playoff win over Egypt and nine players on its roster had never played for the national team before January.

— Kevin Baxter