Just when we thought that the World Cup could not get more interesting, the Serbians rallied to give the Germans a tough time, beating them 1-0 in their Group D encounter. The German side was looking quite good in the tournament, when they beat the Australians in their opening match by 4-0. The Serbians, on the other hand, were beaten by Ghana 1-0 in their opening fixture. This match was regarded as an easy one for the Germans, but the real story was quite different.
The Germans started the match in a similar fashion, with strong attacking and solid defending. In the beginning, it seemed that the Germans would definitely outplay their opponents, Serbia, and emerge victorious. However, there was an early booking as their striker Miroslav Klose, got a yellow card in the 12th minute for a foul on Ivanovic. Klose was again booked in the same half for a foul on the Serbian captain Stankovic, and was ultimately sent off.
After the controversial sending off, the Germans could not hold themselves together. The Serbian winger, Milos Krasic, crossed the ball towards the tall target man, Nikola Zigic, who headed it down towards Jovanovic to provide the finish, just after the two minutes of the sending off. Milos Krasic was the most impressive player in the Serbian attack, as he made good runs on the wing and gave a hard time to the German defenders. He was also able to put the final balls in for Zigic, who is the toughest striker to defend against. Due to his performance, he was also named as the Man of the Match.
Despite the Serbian goal, the Germans showed little commitment to stage a comeback in the game. They were poor in the attack, with Podolski missing a lot of chances, shooting his volleys wide of the goal. But, the Germans had their chances as they got a penalty in the 60th minute of the match. Lukas Podolski, however, took a poor shot and the Serbian and Wigan goalkeeper, Stojkovic, saved the day for his team.
The Serbians, however, showed good commitment in the attack, and soon after the sending off of Klose, they got ruthless to get a win from the fixture. A lot of chances were missed by the Serbians in the second half, once with the ball hitting the pole and at another occasion Zigic’s header found the post, as the goalkeeper was beaten. It seemed like the Germans never got themselves out of the shock sending off and a penalty-miss afterwards, and lacked passion for the last half an hour of the game. The Serbians could not take advantage of the Germans’ lack of spirit, but eventually got the win they desperately needed to stay alive in the World Cup.
The Group D is now wide open, once again. Although it seemed at one point that the Germans would clearly go through the Group, but their charge has been countered by a resilient Serbian team. Although they are still on top of their Group, because of the goal difference, they have shown their weaknesses to their opponents. Ghana also has three points on the table, and is still to play their match against Australia in the second phase of the Group stage. If Australia wins the match, the Group would be wide open once again. However, if Ghana wins it for the African fans, then it would be a tough job for the Germans ahead in the tournament. Next, they face Ghana in the last and the final fixture of the Group stage, and a victory would be required for their progress into the next round of 16.
In short, this match has been one of the most surprising matches of the tournament, where another big team crumbled under pressure. The tactics played in this case were right, as it were the players who let their fans down. Without a doubt, this match and a result in favour of Serbia, truly represents the substance of this year’s World Cup.
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