Betting on Serbia at the World Cup 2010

World Cup appearances: 11
Best World Cup: Fourth Place; 1930 & 1962
FIFA World Ranking: 16
Manager: Radomir Antic
Captain: Dejan Stankovic

Serbia Team Profile

The Serbians used to be one of thee feared footballing nations when the World Cup was first introduced to the scene, earning a respectable fourth place finish in the very first World Cup back in 1930 before a successful run of attempts during the 50′s, finishing as Quarter-Finalists in 1954 & 1958 before falling at the Semi-Final stage once again in 1962, once again finishing as the fourth best side in the finals. However, they haven’t since been anywhere near as prolific and since the 60′s Serbia have only qualified for four finals, five if you include their successful campaign to reach South Africa this year, when they were previously know as Yugoslavia.

Serbia’s most recent appearance in a World Cup was that of 2006 when the Serbian’s couldn’t manage a single point during their three group games, finishing bottom of what proved out to be a very tough group of Holland, Argentina & Ivory Coast. However, it was against Argentina where Serbia got the most limelight, all of it unwanted though, when Serbia crashed to their highest International defeat after a 6-0 mauling at the hands of the Argentine’s. That humiliating defeat also featured the goal of the tournament as Argentina toyed with Serbia with inch perfect passes before Cambiasso slammed home his driven shot. They then went on to lose their last group game 3-2 with the then new boys, Ivory Coast.

Nickname: Belo Orlovi (White Eagles)

Serbia Key Players

Dejan Stankovic

We’ll be honest enough to say that not too many of the Serbian full-timers ring any bells but Stankovic has caught out eye on more than one occasion during his time at Italian giants, Inter Milan. The playmaker has a tonne of experience, winning experience at that, and has won no less than 14 honours during his six year spell at the club. However, while he plays a more offensive role for Inter Milan, Stankovic tends to play the anchorman for his country due to Serbia’s lack of quality in the midfield. He does, however, have one lethal shot on him and you’ll often see clips of Stankovic scoring 30 yard+ efforts. The Serbia captain has great on-the-ball vision and can pick out an inch perfect pass. He is Serbia’s main source of creativity and attack builder but he’s not getting any younger at 31 years-of-age.

Nemanja Vidic

This guy has come on leaps and bounds since joining English club, Manchester United, back in 2006. His tough, physical style of defending has earned him plaudits from across the European continent and will have plenty of admirers back home in England. Vidic is extremely strong in the air, a great tackler of the ball but, more importantly, has this unique ability to instantaneously read the play. Considering Serbia will spend most of their games on the back foot, the form of Vidic in South Africa will be crucial in how Serbia fare this summer in terms of keeping some of the bigger nations out. Moreover, Vidic is a real goal threat from set-plays and has scored all of his nine Manchester United goals from set-pieces.

Strengths

The Serb’s aren’t a side we’ve watched all too often but the basic make-up of their team looks very solid. Their centre-back pairing of Vidic (Man Utd) & Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), whom both have plenty of first-class experience, is a big asset for Serbian manager, Radomir Antic, while Stankovic & Milias look a decent midfield pairing, especially when going forward. We feel their biggest danger factor will be from set-pieces as they pack a punch in the height department, with the likes of Vidic, Ivanovic & Nikola Zigic all climbing above most defenders in terms of natural height. Their main striker is Valencia forward Zigic, of whom is a big aerial specialist for club and country.

Weaknesses

Serbia do look a little too one dimensional, with height their only real asset. They do have a number of players who do pose some form of danger when going forward but they do and will rely heavily on set-pieces we feel, especially against the nations which get the ball down and play proper, on the floor, football. They are fortunate in that their centre-backs are world class but that’s as good as it gets in our eyes and they’ll need their defence to be in top form throughout the tournament if they are to surpass their previous ever best performance of fourth place.

Serbia Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: European
Group: 1
Position: 1st
Win-Draw-Lose: 7-1-2
Goals Scored: 22
Goals Conceded: 8

Serbia finished qualification as Group 7 winners, fending off the challenges from France & Austria. In all fairness, their group was an easy one on paper but they performed brilliantly to finisher higher than the 1998 winners of the World Cup, France. They lost just two qualifiers along the way, whilst managing a decent +14 goal difference – 5 more than France, a team touted as having more chance this summer then the Serb’s. However, this may also be because Serbia didn’t beat France during qualifying, losing 2-1 in Paris & only managing a 1-1 draw on their own soil.

Milan Jovanovic, a Standard Liege player who is attracting plenty of interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, was Serbia’s more prolific goalscorer during qualifying, scoring 5 goals.

World Cup Potential: 3/5

Serbia are a very solid outfit and do have plenty of class in defence. This alone should stand them in good stead and make them a tough opponent to beat. However, the doubts are over whether the Serbian forwards, who haven’t exactly excelled in recent years, can score enough goals on the biggest stage. The World Cup is a pressured environment and we don’t think the Serb’s will be used to this type of expectation and demand. Still, they do have the potential to be an ‘awkward’ side and they have every chance of causing some sort of an upset.

Serbia World Cup Betting Odds

Serbia to win the World Cup: 225/1 bWin

Before the World Cup the odds on Serbia were 80/1 

Official Serbia World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan Athletic)

Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin)

Andjelko Djuricic (Uniao Leiria)

Defenders

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)

Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich)

Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese)

Ivan Obradovic (Real Zaragoza)

Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio Roma)

Midfielders

Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan)

Nenad Milijas (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow)

Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege)

Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev)

Zdravko Kuzmanovic (VfB Stuttgart )

Zoran Tosic (Cologne)

Gojko Kacar (Hertha BSC Berlin )

Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)

Strikers

Nikola Zigic (Valencia )

Marko Pantelic (Ajax Amstedam)

Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina Novi Sad)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Serbia Fixtures – Group D

World Cup 2010 Group D - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group D Teams: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia. This is a fascinating group, and well worth following as you plan your World Cup Betting. Germany have had their problems during their build up, and this group contains one of the strong dark horse bets of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The big kick off is nearing, and punters across the world should be finalizing their betting strategies. The World Cup brings together 32 teams, 736 players all for the chance to play in the World Cup final at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on July 11th, 7.30 pm GMT. Here we continue our World Cup betting guide to help you find the best value bets in Group D.

Win Market: Germany 10/11 at Blue Square
They have had so many problems during their build up with injury to players, most noticeably Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack, that some shadows were being cast over their progress in the competition. With Philipp Lahm instilled as captain, the Germans are showing a great deal of resilience and have being looking unfazed through their international friendlies being played as tournament warm ups. Coach Joachim Low is certain that his team is almost there, and remember when planning your betting strategies that adversity can usually pull teams together. Their confident 3-1 win over Bosnia showed that the Germans, who already have a great World Cup history, should not face too many problems in playing their way to the top of Group D. While they are back in World Cup Odds there is no reason why Germany cannot easily play their way to at least the semi finals of the competition. Consider that Germany have been at the quarter final stage of their last seven World Cups and that is a record which they should continue. One thing about the Germans in early betting, is that while they are famed for their consistency in tournament football, they are also famous for being slow out of the blocks. Their first match is against Australia, the weakest team in the group, and that could work in their favour, as they build up momentum to face the tougher tasks of Ghana and Serbia. They are well worth a strong bet, and this is good value for a seeded team.

Not To Qualify: Australia 4/11 at Coral
The Socceroos are looking at their enthusiasm and hard, physical play to come good. They will be hoping to catch Germany cold in their opening fixture, but in all honesty, it looks as if they have an uphill task before a ball is even kicked in anger. They did beat World Cup side Denmark in a recent international friendly, but it was a Denmark without their main strikers in action. Granted, the Aussies did dig in to grab themselves a relatively late winner, but were playing an unfamiliar 4-5-1 as they await the fitness of Harry Kewell. They are not going to be short on confidence, and will probably give a decent account of themselves. It is hard to see them having the technical ability though, to beat any of their group opposition. They need to fly out of the blocks against Germany, who, as mentioned are slow starters. However, the Germans are experts at tournament football, and the odds will be stacked against the Aussies picking up any points there. Australia switched to the Asian qualification zone to help them improve their status against better teams. They topped that ahead of Japan, but face some seriously tough opposition in Group D.

To Finish Second: Serbia 2/1 at Boylesports
Serbia have drawn all of the attention of punters looking on a real dark horse bet. They looked an extremely strong technical side through the European qualification zone, in which they topped their group ahead of France. They showed a keen eye for goal, and the ability to keep things tight at the back, scoring 22 goals during qualification, and conceding just 8. How you can weigh this bet up, and look to double your money with the above odds, is that Australia look the rank outsiders in the group, and the Ghana side are missing their key man, Michael Essien, and were thumped 4-1 by Holland in an international friendly. Betting on Serbia at the World Cup is something that should bring returns. If they can get the better of Ghana in their opening fixture, then there should be no reason why they can’t press on and even challenge Germany for top spot in the group. The Germany v Serbia fixture is one of the mouth-watering group fixtures to watch out for. Still, at odds of 2/1 for the Serbians to finish second, really is excellent value.

Most Group Goals Scored: Serbia 3/1 at Bwin
It will be a close call between Germany and Serbia for this one. Germany hit an average of 2.60 goals per match in qualification, while Serbia hit 2.20. Naturally they faced different opposition, so it is something of parity really when it comes to their World Cup group. So why plump for Serbia then? Well, we are looking at the best value odds here and Serbia to fire is pretty well priced at 3/1, with only one team likely to beat them in this field. That makes the 3/1 odds as given above, even more attractive when you sum it up that way. Germany, with their problems, may play a little more conservatively, as they know that they will have a long tournament ahead, whereas Serbia’s chances of progressing will from taking their game to opponents and putting sides under pressure. They will probably have that extra spark and take a few more chances. They have a good balanced side with good attack, so there is no reason why they cannot sneak this one.

To Finish Bottom: Australia 11/8 at Blue Square
Landed themselves in a tough group, and start with the toughest of their World Cup Fixtures. What can the Australians bring to the table? They were lauded as having made a great impression at the 2006 World Cup, but they only won one match out of their four played. They finished second in their group behind Brazil there, and then lost in something of a cruel fashion to Italy in the second round. They are seen as having a better, stronger presence at the World Cup this time, but it is even quite difficult to see where their best chance of winning a game is. Germany are looking strong, and defeat there, would leave the Aussies reeling, because picking up points against Serbia and Ghana is not going to be easy.

There is generally a team which comes out of the shadows of the major players at the World Cup, to bring some unexpected joy to the greatest football tournament on Earth. Naturally betting will lean towards the World Cup favourites of Spain and Brazil, and that is understandable, considering that realistically, the winners of the tournament will only come from a very short list of about half a dozen teams. It is hard to look beyond Spain, brazil, Argentina, England, Germany and Italy to find a winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as however strong the dark horses may be, it is generally never strong enough to reach the final and then win it. So what do you do with dark horse betting at the World Cup? What makes a team a dark horse? A dark horse in betting is a team or competitor who possesses a lot of potential talent to beat top opposition, but there is usually some flaw which stops them being a major favourite. When it comes to international football, that flaw could be inexperience, the reliance upon one or two major stars only or something like historic big match stage fright. So if you are looking at a World Cup betting promotion and wondering if its worth backing a dark horse, here are some things to consider:

If you draw a dark horse out of your 2010 FIFA World Cup sweepstakes, then fine, you will be relatively happy with an outside shot. But is it worth backing one of these dark horses as outright winners, over the likes of Brazil or Spain? Probably not, as history won’t back up that bet very well. There have only been seven different winners of the World Cup, that shows how hard it is to win it. To do so remember, you have to beat the World, and if you aren’t favourite going into the tournament, then you already have an uphill struggle. As strong as the large contingent from Europe seem, like Portugal, Holland, England and Germany, even these are relative outside bets when looking at the Outright Winner of the World Cup. So imagine how far back a dark horse would be. But that does not mean that they should be ignored, as there are plenty of other betting markets available to back these unknown quantities. Here are the top three World Cup bets on dark horses.

Serbia
Individual World Cup Fixtures betting can turn up some great odds, if  you can pick a World Cup dark horse out of the crowd. Serbia are quietly regarded as being one of the strongest dark horses of the World Cup, and being in a group with Germany, Ghana and Australia, there is a realistic chance of them qualifying, even topping the group. Why? Because group favourite Germany are by no means infallible in this group, even though they have great pedigree and usually come through unscathed on the world stage. Remember that Serbia finished ahead of France in their qualification group. It is the group betting which provides great opportunities on World Cup dark horse odds. Serbia are in a prime position to take advantage in a group where the teams on paper look evenly matched. Of all the teams which are considered dark horses here, the most has been said, albeit understated, about the chances of Serbia. England fans should take note of Serbia, because they could potentially meet England in the second round. Led by Radomir Antic, Serbia favour an attacking style of play, something which paid dividends during qualifying. The technical ability is there too, and a defence led by Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, they are solid in all aspects of the game. They also have a tall Peter Crouch type weapon up front in Nikola Zigic.

Chile
Ran a great qualification campaign to finish second to Brazil in the South American zone. Coached by Marcelo Biesla, the Chile national team has come on leaps and bounds since he took over. It has been plain sailing though, as the Biesla introduced a new style of play, once which has made them phenomenally strong all over the pitch. They have the flair expected from a South American team, but they also can battle and dig deep when needed. They were overshadowed by Brazil in both of their qualification encounters, but again looking at a World Cup dark horse betting from a point of view from, they are a good outside bet in the group stages. They are in a group with Spain, Switzerland and Honduras, and not suggesting that they could beat European Champions to top spot, but they would make a solid bet to qualify. They have a great team ethic and at stages during South American qualification, they really were rolling on a wave of great form. They have only won seven of their previous twenty five World Cup matches, but they should be more than capable of chalking up a few more in the win column this year round. The draw has not been that kind to them, and they do have a lot of young talent, which is why they are not worth backing for Outright winner, for they would need to probably beat Spain and Brazil in order to get to the quarter finals.

The Ivory Coast
What difference will Sven Goran-Eriksson make to the national side? Will this increase their chances of progressing from a tough group? They have a wealth of talent available to them, including talisman and winner of the Premier League’s Golden Boot, Didier Drogba. Their strength is in their star players, which come from all across Europe, but that has also been their downfall, in a largely underachieving side. One criticism about the Ivory Coast, clearly on display at the African Cup of Nations, is that they were not able to play together well as a team. Whether this is simply a case of superstars not being able to play together, or the fault of the previous manager in not being able to get them to play together, could be revealed at the World Cup. Their opening salvo must be a firm one against the slightly unpredictable Portuguese. A win there could set them up for progress through to the second round, as long as they can subdue any egos and be efficient against the minnows of the group, Korea DPR. They are not likely to pose a threat to Brazil winning the group, but they make an interesting World Cup dark horse bet, simply because there is the added unknown quantity of the new coach involved. Even if they finish second, then they will probably run into Spain. Not a great position for them, but watch out for them, nonetheless.

Picking out a dark horse for the World Cup simply does not mean picking a team to win the tournament outright. Explore World Cup Betting at Bet365 for example, and you will see the magnitude of bets already available. While there is nothing wrong with plumping for the underdog, don’t be blinded by the long odds on teams like this to be victories at South Africa 2010, but do investigate Group Outright, To Qualify and of course individual match betting. These are the kind of teams which may not grab the headlines, but are great shots for taking second place in the group, and then beyond that, who knows?

Group D World Cup Betting Preview: This is a very interesting 2010 FIFA World Cup group, and one which England fans will be keeping a keen eye on. The winners and runners-up of England’s Group C and this group will come face to face in the last sixteen, and will play a big part in England’s World Cup fixtures.

World Cup Teams: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana

There is a potential clash of England v Germany if one of them wins their group and the other finishes as runner’s-up. Either way, England should well be wary of the threat that the other European team in Group D, Serbia could potentially bring. All expectancy, and betting on Germany at the World Cup, will be on the Germans to win the group. They are the ones with all of the World Cup history, holding the most World Cup appearances along with Brazil. Germany, while fairly comfortable through European qualification, were still pushed all of the way for top spot by Russia. The Germans won out in the end, largely thanks to the heavy goal contribution from Bayern Munich’s Miroslav Klose, who weighed in with seven goals. Germany’s 1-0 win in Russia at the end of the campaign was the crucial turning point which secured automatic qualification for South Africa 2010. Australia did not have any troubles getting through their qualification zone, finishing comfortably ahead of Japan after moving to the Asian qualification zone. The plucky Socceroos will be aiming to make a lively impact in June when they take on Group D. The level of their progress could be determined in the early stages of the competition, as they have to take on Germany in their first game. They will target the other two games as being more winnable, but could in all honesty be struggling not to finish bottom. What can Serbia bring to the World stage? Serbia pushed the French into second place in their qualifying group, and that secured their inaugural appearance at a World Cup. If you want to talk about dark horses out of the teams participating in World Cup 2010, then Serbia could be one of those really good teams to draw out of the office Sweepstakes. Proved that they are a good technical side, with a good eye for goal. Albeit not in the strongest qualification group, they caused a surprise in finishing first and will now grace the World Cup, and should be entertaining. There is no reason for them to have any doubts about picking up second place, and therefore become potential opponents for England in the first knockout stage. African side Ghana will be hoping to build on the modicum of success that they earned themselves at the African Cup of Nations. Plagued with injuries, Ghana fielded a relatively young and inexperienced side at the African Cup of Nations, and still reached the semi finals. If they can field a strong side, then they will be a powerful threat, potentially the strongest of the African nations participating. World Cup betting will have them as favourites to finish in second place behind Germany, but this group will be very tight. Reached South Africa 2010 easily, even being allowed to take their foot off the gas. One of the most intriguing groups in the World Cup and betting may be split. The Germans will be their efficient best, and progress will be expected of them, however, there are serious potentials for a surprise or two here.

Group D Betting Stats (World Cup History form in brackets)
(Final outcomes of Golden Goal, Extra Time and Penalty Shoot Out results count as wins or losses)

Germany: As one of the countries with the most World Cup history, there is not much competitive history between the combatants in this group. Germany did beat Australia 3-0 at the 1974 World Cup in their only encounter, and have not played Serbia as they are at the moment, nor have they encountered the African’s Ghana. Should all make for very interesting viewing. (P92, W55, D19, L18)

Australia: Still relatively inexperienced, but gutsy and sprightly nonetheless. Have only managed one win in their 7 World Cup matches, and in tough, competitive group here. Only that one piece of history against Germany as above, and have not played either Ghana or Serbia. (P7, W1, D2, L4)

Ghana: Strong African side with a lot of potential if they roll out their strongest line up, but even their youth looks promising, even if lacking experience. Have not encountered any of their group opponents in the World Cup before.  (P4, W2, D0, L2)

Serbia: This is their first visit to the World cup as the nation of Serbia. Therefore no history, which makes them great dark horses. (P0, W0, D0, L0)

World Cup Group D - Table

Group Stage Fixture List

World Cup Betting at Ladbrokes for Outright Winner of Group C, has Serbia at 7/2, Ghana at 4/1, Australia at 5/1 and Germany are favourites at 10/11 (and 9/1 to Win the World Cup Outright).

World Cup appearances: 11
Best World Cup: Fourth Place; 1930 & 1962
FIFA World Ranking: 16
Manager: Radomir Antic
Captain: Dejan Stankovic

Serbia Team Profile

The Serbians used to be one of thee feared footballing nations when the World Cup was first introduced to the scene, earning a respectable fourth place finish in the very first World Cup back in 1930 before a successful run of attempts during the 50′s, finishing as Quarter-Finalists in 1954 & 1958 before falling at the Semi-Final stage once again in 1962, once again finishing as the fourth best side in the finals. However, they haven’t since been anywhere near as prolific and since the 60′s Serbia have only qualified for four finals, five if you include their successful campaign to reach South Africa this year, when they were previously know as Yugoslavia.

Serbia’s most recent appearance in a World Cup was that of 2006 when the Serbian’s couldn’t manage a single point during their three group games, finishing bottom of what proved out to be a very tough group of Holland, Argentina & Ivory Coast. However, it was against Argentina where Serbia got the most limelight, all of it unwanted though, when Serbia crashed to their highest International defeat after a 6-0 mauling at the hands of the Argentine’s. That humiliating defeat also featured the goal of the tournament as Argentina toyed with Serbia with inch perfect passes before Cambiasso slammed home his driven shot. They then went on to lose their last group game 3-2 with the then new boys, Ivory Coast.

Nickname: Belo Orlovi (White Eagles)

Serbia Key Players

Dejan Stankovic

We’ll be honest enough to say that not too many of the Serbian full-timers ring any bells but Stankovic has caught out eye on more than one occasion during his time at Italian giants, Inter Milan. The playmaker has a tonne of experience, winning experience at that, and has won no less than 14 honours during his six year spell at the club. However, while he plays a more offensive role for Inter Milan, Stankovic tends to play the anchorman for his country due to Serbia’s lack of quality in the midfield. He does, however, have one lethal shot on him and you’ll often see clips of Stankovic scoring 30 yard+ efforts. The Serbia captain has great on-the-ball vision and can pick out an inch perfect pass. He is Serbia’s main source of creativity and attack builder but he’s not getting any younger at 31 years-of-age.

Nemanja Vidic

This guy has come on leaps and bounds since joining English club, Manchester United, back in 2006. His tough, physical style of defending has earned him plaudits from across the European continent and will have plenty of admirers back home in England. Vidic is extremely strong in the air, a great tackler of the ball but, more importantly, has this unique ability to instantaneously read the play. Considering Serbia will spend most of their games on the back foot, the form of Vidic in South Africa will be crucial in how Serbia fare this summer in terms of keeping some of the bigger nations out. Moreover, Vidic is a real goal threat from set-plays and has scored all of his nine Manchester United goals from set-pieces.

Strengths

The Serb’s aren’t a side we’ve watched all too often but the basic make-up of their team looks very solid. Their centre-back pairing of Vidic (Man Utd) & Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), whom both have plenty of first-class experience, is a big asset for Serbian manager, Radomir Antic, while Stankovic & Milias look a decent midfield pairing, especially when going forward. We feel their biggest danger factor will be from set-pieces as they pack a punch in the height department, with the likes of Vidic, Ivanovic & Nikola Zigic all climbing above most defenders in terms of natural height. Their main striker is Valencia forward Zigic, of whom is a big aerial specialist for club and country.

Weaknesses

Serbia do look a little too one dimensional, with height their only real asset. They do have a number of players who do pose some form of danger when going forward but they do and will rely heavily on set-pieces we feel, especially against the nations which get the ball down and play proper, on the floor, football. They are fortunate in that their centre-backs are world class but that’s as good as it gets in our eyes and they’ll need their defence to be in top form throughout the tournament if they are to surpass their previous ever best performance of fourth place.

Serbia Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: European
Group: 1
Position: 1st
Win-Draw-Lose: 7-1-2
Goals Scored: 22
Goals Conceded: 8

Serbia finished qualification as Group 7 winners, fending off the challenges from France & Austria. In all fairness, their group was an easy one on paper but they performed brilliantly to finisher higher than the 1998 winners of the World Cup, France. They lost just two qualifiers along the way, whilst managing a decent +14 goal difference – 5 more than France, a team touted as having more chance this summer then the Serb’s. However, this may also be because Serbia didn’t beat France during qualifying, losing 2-1 in Paris & only managing a 1-1 draw on their own soil.

Milan Jovanovic, a Standard Liege player who is attracting plenty of interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, was Serbia’s more prolific goalscorer during qualifying, scoring 5 goals.

World Cup Potential: 3/5

Serbia are a very solid outfit and do have plenty of class in defence. This alone should stand them in good stead and make them a tough opponent to beat. However, the doubts are over whether the Serbian forwards, who haven’t exactly excelled in recent years, can score enough goals on the biggest stage. The World Cup is a pressured environment and we don’t think the Serb’s will be used to this type of expectation and demand. Still, they do have the potential to be an ‘awkward’ side and they have every chance of causing some sort of an upset.

Serbia World Cup Betting Odds

Serbia to win the World Cup: 225/1 bWin

Before the World Cup the odds on Serbia were 80/1 

Official Serbia World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan Athletic)

Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin)

Andjelko Djuricic (Uniao Leiria)

Defenders

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)

Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich)

Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese)

Ivan Obradovic (Real Zaragoza)

Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio Roma)

Midfielders

Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan)

Nenad Milijas (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow)

Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege)

Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev)

Zdravko Kuzmanovic (VfB Stuttgart )

Zoran Tosic (Cologne)

Gojko Kacar (Hertha BSC Berlin )

Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)

Strikers

Nikola Zigic (Valencia )

Marko Pantelic (Ajax Amstedam)

Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina Novi Sad)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Serbia Fixtures – Group D

World Cup Group D - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group of Serbia