Germany vs. Serbia World Cup Soccer Match, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth South Africa 7:30 AM EST Friday June 18, 2010
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Germany 1.55 / Serbia 6.00 / Draw 3.80
Over/Under: 2.5
Moneyline: Germany -200 / Serbia +500 Draw +300
In a very important Group D match up on Friday afternoon Germany faces Serbia. The Serbians did not have a good World Cup debut when they were upset by a Ghana team 1-0 that was without their best player. Now they will have to beat an elite German squad to have any chance to make it to the knockout phase.
Germany had major injury issues before the World Cup, but they came out in their opening round match and scored the most goals so far beating Australia 4-0. Serbia had the second best odds to win Group D and many, including me, saw them as a dark horse to go far, but they are in danger of flaming out of the World Cup if they lose this match.
The Germans played a great team match in their win over the Aussies with 4 players each scoring one goal. They only had 6 more shots than Australia, but they made count.
Serbia was stymied by Ghana, but they also played great defense and it looked as if the match would have been a draw. However in the 84th minute Zdravko Kuzmanovic mishandled a ball and it resulted in a penalty kick, which Ghana buried.
Serbia was shorthanded for mush of the second half when Aleksander Lukovic was sent off with a red card after his second yellow card. Serbia will have to play a great match to beat Germany and if they make these types of mental mistakes again they will be killed.
Australia is the weakest team in the group and if Ghana can beat them then Serbia will have to win this match.
Serbian head coach stated they are not afraid of the mighty Germans saying, “People say they are the favorites to win this group,” he said, “but I know we have quality as well. We believe in ourselves and we are not afraid of them.” You should know though that he made this statement before they lost to Ghana.
Germany Recent Form:
6/13/2010 Germany 4 Australia 0 (World Cup)
6/3/2010 Germany 3 Bosnia & Herzegovina 1 (Friendly)
5/29/2010 Hungary 0 Germany 0 (Friendly)
5/13/2010 Germany 3 Malta 0 (Friendly)
Serbia Recent Form:
6/13/2010 Serbia 0 Ghana 1 (World Cup)
6/5/2010 Serbia 4 Cameroon 3 (Friendly)
6/2/2010 Serbia 0 Poland 0 (Friendly)
5/30/2010 New Zealand 1 Serbia 0 (Friendly)
Serbia will have to play another strong defensive match and they will need to push forward more than they did against Ghana since they really need this win. Germany does not have a strong central defense, so look for Serbia to attack the middle.
Manchester United defender Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic has to play well in this match, as Germany has a solid attacking squad.
Germany central MF Bastian Schweinsteiger played deeper than usual in the match against Australia, which allowed the Germans to dictate the flow of the match. Don’t look for that to happen again since the Serbians have a good defense and a solid midfield.
The main weakness of Serbia is their lack of firepower up front. They will look for counter-attacking chances, but they will not get many, as Germany will not push up as much as they did against Australia.
German G Manuel Neuer kept a clean sheet in the match against Australia, but since Serbia will be desperate for goals and be all out on the attack he will not have one in this match.
Jason’s Pick: Germany not only won their opening Group D match, but their last 2 friendlies as well and both wins were against solid teams. The Germans know how to go far in international tournaments and even though Serbia will score in this match Germany is simply too good to pass up a chance to advance to the knockout phase. Look for Germany to win this match by a score or 2-1 or 3-1.
