serbia

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

Germany V Serbia Preview

Kick-off: Friday, 18th June – 12:30 GMT
Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco
Group D

Germany

Germany didn’t have too many friends in the outright market before the tournament burst into life, with the withdrawal of influential captain Michael Ballack seemingly crushing their hopes of regaining the title they had won on three previous occasions, with the Germans continuing to drift ever so slightly in the days leading up to the finals. Joachim Loew’s players didn’t have to wait long before they got their chance to convert the many now non-believers, giving Asian side Australia a good old-fashioned drubbing in Durban as many began to flock back as a result to declare their support for this new German revolution.

It was a riot in Durban, although Australia’s deceivingly lean defensive record in qualifying, having conceding just one goal to Asian opponents, meant the German extravaganza came as a surprise. Lukas Podolski leathered home their first, but it was their second which was perhaps more poignant, as Miroslav Klose headed home his eleventh World Cup goal to put him just four shy of Ronaldo’s (Brazil) record of 15. In the second half, Thomas Muller and the Brazil born Cacua completed the rout, as Germany began their 2010 World Cup campaign in some style.

Round 1 certainly went the way of Germany, as with the first set of group fixtures now completed no-one got anywhere near winning in such an authoritative manner like the Germans. It’s all good and well dishing out a football spanking in your first game of the finals but if you don’t carry on performing in the same ruthless manner then it will count for nothing when the awards are handed out on July 11th. It was, though, a performance to really inspire folk however, none more so than the Germany players themselves ahead of two difficult remaining group encounters against Serbia and Ghana. First up is the Serbians, who despite losing 1-0 to Ghan in their opening game of the tournament, have one of the leanest defences around and it will take a similarly destructive performance from Germany if they are to overhaul the Serbians in a game they, Serbia, simply have to win.

The fact Serbia have little option but to attack Germany in a bid to obtain the three points they so desperately crave won’t matter much to Joachim Loew and Germany, who will go about their business with their usual German swagger. They, too, also need the win as victory for them would all but guarantee them a rightful passage into the last-sixteen, where a tasty looking tie with England could await them should Germany top their group, as they are now fancied to do, and England settle for second in Group C. After the way they destroyed Australia in game one, Germany won’t be phased in the slightest at the prospect of facing one of their fiercest of international rivals.

Serbia

Following their shock 1-0 loss to Ghana in Pretoria, Serbia, many people’s idea of the tournament’s ‘Dark Horse’ to reach the latter stages of the tournament, have rapidly seen their chances of even making the knock-outs diminish beneath their feet. Radomir Antic and his players now know that anything less than two victories from their remaining two Group D fixtures probably won’t be enough to carry them through to the last-sixteen, so it’s a ‘nothing to lose’ type of scenario for a team which prefers to air on the side of caution and not play gung-ho football.

It’s strange to think that one loss and a team which had high hopes of being a big player in South Africa now have little chance of making an impact, but that’s the situation Serbia find themselves following their poor start to the tournament. The Serbians were favourites to clinch all three points against Ghana, who themselves had big aspirations of going far in the competition against the odds, but came away from the Loftus Verfeld stadium with zilch. They were, however, to blame for their own demise, as with less than 15 minutes of the game left to play, Serbia were first reduced to ten men when Lukovic was sent off for a second bookable offence only to give away a rash penalty when Kuzmanovic, one of the less experienced player in the team, handled inside his own area to gift Ghana an opening. The African side never looked back, while if Serbia looked back all they would see is the forlorn figure of Australia, bottom of the group by virtue of an inferior goal difference.

Serbia have 90 minutes in Port Elizabeth to redeem themselves, although what awaits them at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a Germany team in the shape of a mountain, a mountain Serbia must climb if they’re to conquer their elimination fears. If you compare Serbia’s opening loss to Germany’s emphatic win then there’s no winner, no point in even turning up frankly, but it’s a new day and a fresh set of 90 minutes and you would expect Serbia to be fired up for this clash, a game which looks likely to define their 2010 World Cup whatever the result. However, should Serbia lose and Ghana beat a deflated Australia, the Serbs will be left battling it out with Australia for the right not to own Group D’s wooden spoon.

Radomir Antic may well ring the changes on Friday, although we don’t see that happening in fairness. He fielded his strongest possible eleven against Ghana but they simply didn’t bother to turn up and perform to the high standard which seen them see off France in qualifying. One would argue that Nikola Zigic is ripe for a change, with the tall, bulky forward continuing where he left off in those pre-World Cup friendlies, playing very badly and struggling for goals. Their key players, the ones who played a significant role in getting their country this far; Milan Jovanovic, Milos Krasic, Marko Pantelic all need to show their true worth on Friday afternoon whilst praying their so often dependable back four, one that includes Premiership pair Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic, remain rock-solid and watertight throughout if they wish to nick a result against all the odds here.

World Cup Preview – Germany V Serbia Betting Tips

Match Odds:

Germany – 1.67 Bet365
Draw – 4.00 bWin
Serbia – 6.00 SkyBet

Our Prediction: Germany to WIN – 1.67 Bet365

It’s difficult to oppose the Germans after watching them dismantle the Australians in their first outing, furthermore when you watch Serbia’s defeat to Ghana back over. However, the Serbians are a resilient bunch and it wouldn’t surprise us at all were they to bounce back in some fashion. Their defence has the stars, the big names to repel all German invaders and if they can produce a defensive performance worthy of knighthood status, a scruffy strike at the other end, probably the so far dismal Nikola Zigic, then Serbia could complete the turnaround and pick their last-sixteen hopes back up from the floor.

That’s one possible scenario for you, although we don’t believe Germany will go that far backwards as to let Serbia beat them when they are so close to securing progression from the group themselves. Joachim Loew’s men can almost smell the knock-outs, a stage of the competition they so often come into their own and we don’t see them letting up now. We doubt it will be another 4-star production but we do see the Germans reigning victorious once more.

Our Recommended Bet: Germany to WIN by 1 Goal – 3.60 Bet365

Serbia V Ghana

Kick-off: Sunday, 13th June – 15:00 GMT
Stadium: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Referee: Hector Baldassi (Argentina)
Group D

Serbia

The Serbians were mighty impressive during qualification, fending off the challenge from France – 2006 FIFA World Cup finalist – and finishing top of their group. Coach Radomir Antic guided Serbia to two defeats in ten qualifiers and has quickly helped the country establish a respect reputation for being extremely tough to beat. However, in the weeks leading up to the finals Serbia suffered a couple of poor results and didn’t record a win over France during qualifying, so are Serbia really a team ready for the big stage or has their reputation been built upon them thrashing the small guys?

The fact Serbia failed to beat France in two attempts does worry me a lot, especially as they lost 2-1 in Saint Denis. After all, France were beginning their quest to South Africa off the back of limping out of the 2008 EURO’s and were clearly not the force of old which seen them win the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and eight years later become runners-up for the first time at Germany in 2006. In retrospect, Serbia qualifying group was fairly simple, and their ability to finish top of that weak group has perhaps added to their hype of which we truly believe shouldn’t exist.

Serbia have a solid enough core, a hardened backbone which starts from the defensive duo of Ivanovic and Vidic up to their bulky forward of Nikola Zigic. Around the edges they do have some bright individuals, with the likes of Zoran Tosic, Milos Krasic and Jovanovic all looking to impress over the summer. But as a whole, collectively, we do see enough flaws to concern punters. Granted their defence has often proven to be very solid and dependable, but their forward play at times has been woeful. They rely heavily on the rangy figure of Zigic up front and it has become far too predictable for opponents; runs down the flanks, touch the byline and whip in a high cross so Zigic can stand head and shoulder above most defenders and have a free header. They do this time and time again and while Zigic is almost impossible to thwart in the air, teams with two quality full-backs could quite easily nullify Serbia’s main route to goal.

Even with our negative thoughts about Serbia, and that’s not taking anything away from what is a highly talented defence, this game is very much winnable. Ghana aren’t a whole different to Serbia in many respects in that they try their utmost to remain tight and compact at the back and build from there. A little bit of patience though, added with some persistence and tenacity and Serbia, providing they remain alert at the back, could maybe edge ahead at some point and then it should be a case of man the barricades.

Ghana

It was only four months ago that Ghana were competing in the final of the African Cup of Nations, losing on that occasion 1-0 to Egypt. However, there’s a weird vibe around South Africa that one of the continents other teams could spring a surprise and make some serious inroads this summer. Consider Egypt failed to book their tickets, doesn’t that automatically make Ghana Africa’s biggest hope of ending what is an 80 year baron run in FIFA World Cup’s.

Four years ago at Germany and Ghana were stunning the footballing world with their progression from a tricky group containing Czech Republic, United States and the eventual winners of the tournament, Italy. In fact, it took two of the world’s biggest footballing nations to despatch of the ‘Black Stars’ as Italy and Brazil remained the only two teams to beat Ghana at the finals, whilst victories over Czech Republic and the USA ensured Ghana’s name wouldn’t be forgotten in a hurry.

If Ghana are to follow the same route in the 2010 World Cup, victories are to be expected against Serbia and Australia before falling to the inevitable defeat against Germany. Of course, that’s merely a spooky speculation but Ghana proved four years ago that they were certainly no mugs and that if any team underestimates them, like a few did in the 2006 finals, Ghana will punish them. After all, Ghana did sail through their qualifying group, booking their plane tickets to South Africa with two games to spare.

If you haven’t already heard, Michael Essien won’t feature at all for Ghana in South Africa, as the combative Chelsea midfielder was ruled out of the finals several weeks before the grand opening. His battling presence in the middle of the park, as well as his knowledge of the most demanding league in the world – The Premier League, will be sorely missed but it’s worth mentioning that Essien barely featured for his country during the African Cup of Nations at the beginning of the year and they still made it all the way to the final. There’s no doubting how crucial Essien’s role in the team is, but Ghana have proven they can cope without their icon and will have to do so once more at South Africa.

Match Odds:

Serbia – 2.20 SkyBet
Draw – 3.30 Ladbrokes
Ghana – 4.00 BetFred

Our Prediction: Draw – 3.30 Ladbrokes

I won’t highlight the draw unless I can see no way two teams can be separated. This match falls into that category and it will probably take something special to split these two apart. What we have is two teams who work their socks off to ensure their opposite numbers don’t get any time on the ball and aren’t allowed to settle. Serbia will look to break through Ghana’s rearguard by lumping balls into the box and hoping Zigic gets on the end of them, while Ghana will do the complete opposite and will try and use the pace and energy of Matthew Amoah and Asamoah Gyan to penetrate the Serbia goal.

Our Recommended Bet: Both Teams to Score – 2.10 Bet365

Serbia

Pre-World Friendly Form:WDL

Serbia 0-1 New Zealand
Serbia 0-0 Poland
Serbia 4-3 Cameroon

The Serbians went over 180 minutes before finding the goal in an international, but when they did Serbia began to find their way again, locate the sort of form and ruthlessness in front of goal which seen them finish above France in qualifying.

It all began in worrying fashion when Serbia fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to New Zealand, this despite coach Radomir Antic fielding a strong starting eleven. It was, though, Serbia’s first warm up encounter whereas it was New Zealand’s second, if that’s any consolation. With 90 minutes under their belts, and a bitter defeat to spur them on, Serbia were once again disappointing against the Polish. A fabulous opportunity o wipe away some forward cobwebs was passed up by Serbia. However, in their final game before the finals, Serbia’s forward play finally began to flourish, although at the same time their defence was showing some early signs of vulnerability. As Serbia found the net four times through Krasic, Stankovic, Milijas and Pantelic, at the other Stojkovic in the Serbia goal was left exposed and ended up conceding three goals.

While the victory over Cameroon was a welcome relief, the three goals they conceded will be of great concern for the coach, who has built up a solid, resolute and consistent side and won’t want to see defensive lapses creep into their play.

Slovakia

Pre-World Friendly Form:WD

Slovakia 1-1 Cameroon
Slovakia 3-0 Costa Rica

Following the disappointment of drawing with an out-of-sorts Cameroon, with Kamil Kopunek scoring in a 1-1 draw, Slovakia eased some of the worries back home with a resounding win in their final international friendly, routing Costa Rica 3-0 in Bratislava, Slovakia, with goals from Vittek and Stanislav Sestak. The latter was especially lively in both encounters.

On the whole, Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss will be pleased with how their preparations went following two unbeaten friendlies. The ‘Slovaks’ will now nosedive into their World Cup opener with New Zealand on June 15th feeling confident of their chances.

Slovenia

Pre-World Friendly Form: WW

Slovenia 4-1 Qatar
Slovenia 3-1 New Zealand

Although the quality of opposition hasn’t been great, Slovenia have done their hopes of springing  surprise in Group D no harm with a quick-fire double. Forward Noavkovic opened the scoring against Qatar in a 4-1 romp while Novakovic was once again the player to open the scoring this time against New Zealand as he accounted for two of Slovenia’s three goals against New Zealand.

It will be beneficial to have this winning mentality instilled into the players but Slovenia will face far bigger tests in South Africa against the likes of Algeria, the United States and Group C favourites England.

South Africa

Pre-World Friendly Form:WWWDW

South Africa 4-0 Thailand
South Africa 1-1 Bulgaria
South Africa 2-1 Colombia
South Africa 5-0 Guatemala
South Africa 1-0 Denmark

South Africa coach Carlos Alverto Parreira pencilled in a variety of games against a mixture of teams, ranging from Asian side Thailand to European’s Denmark. They started in a positive manner, obliterating Thailand 4-0, before finalising their preparations on home soil with a hugely impressive 1-0 win over Denmark. In fact, South Africa remained undefeated after five pre-World Cup internationals, recording 4 wins and a draw. They’ve also been scoring plenty of goals, mostly against the ‘lesser’ nations however, but their 13 goals in five games will only aid the forwards in their quest to fire South Africa into the knock-out stage, thus avoiding becoming the first host nation not to qualify from the groups. It was also nice to see some team spirit and togetherness in their games, and from a nation which needs little excuse to party, Bafana Bafana’s enthusiastic manner on the pitch will likely prove infectious around the ground.

Spain

Pre-World Friendly Form: WW

Spain 3-2 Saudi Arabia
Spain 1-0 South Korea

The favourites to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the reigning European Champions. Spain haven’t been at all convincing nor have they justified their strong favouritism in the betting rings with their performances in recent friendlies. It took an injury time winner from Fernando Torres back-up Fernando Llronte to spare their blushes against Saudi Arabia, while Jesus Navas’ beautifully curled effort was once again a lifesaver for the Spanish, who now won two games on the spin but only by a one goal margin.

Against Saudi Arabia, there were enough errors at the back to have Vicente Del Bosque worried, while they were equally as disappointing and lacklustre against South Korea although the fact Spain are in arguably the easiest group of the lot in South Africa should allow the Spanish team to cut out there mistakes and build up some winning momentum before they really get tested in the knock-out stages.

Switzerland

Pre-World Friendly Form: DL

Switzerland 0-1 Costa Rica
Switzerland 1-1 Italy

Swiss fans were in dismay when their team fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to North Americans Costa Rica. In a scrappy game, where chances were few and far between for both sides, a mistake at the back led to Costa Rica’s opener and eventual winner, as Switzerland suffered a bitter blow ahead of the finals. They did, however, make amends in their next friendly, their last, by holding the reigning world champions Italy to a 1-1 draw in Geneva, Switzerland, thanks to a goal from midfielder Gokhan Inler, who has scored Switzerland’s last two international goals, his only goals in 34 appearances.

Uruguay

Pre-World Friendly Form: W

Uruguay 4-1 Israel

Uruguay, who need a play-off against Costa Rica to book their tickets to South Africa, only played one international in preparation for what they hope will be an enjoyable and fruitful stay in South Africa. A 4-1 win over Israel, with the La Celeste in control throughout in the Uruguay capital of Montevideo, led to joyous scenes at the end of the game as the Uruguay players and fans rejoiced at their qualification for the World Cup. That game was over a fortnight before Uruguay play their opener against France on Friday, June 11th, and there could be question marks over the lack of match practice Uruguay have had.

USA

Pre-World Friendly Form: WWL

USA 2-4 Czech Republic
USA 2-1 Turkey
USA 3-1 Australia

Following their 4-2 defeat to the Czech Republic on home soil, many were beginning to write off USA’s chances of even making the knock-out stage of the competition. Two wins the rafters though and Bob Bradley’s Americans are well and truly back in contention in Group C and will arrive in Rustenburg for their opener against group favourites England full of confidence and in high spirit after back-to-back victories over Turkey and Australia.

The biggest surprise to come out of USA’s warm up results was the amount of goals they scored – 7 in 3 games – as many, including us, weren’t exactly buzzing over their striking prowess. Somehow though, through their usual industrious and workmanlike attitudes, the United States have thumped in seven, with an impressive three of those coming in their final warm up match against Australia in a 3-1 win. Against Turkey, however, the American’s showed great tenacity and togetherness when coming from a goal behind, in a game they were being completely outplayed in, to record a much needed win. A sign that the Americans  have a tonne of fighting spirit within their camp.

 Serbia V Cameroon

Saturday, 5th June – 19:30 GMT
International Friendly

Serbia Focus

Serbia were one of several to shake up the European round of qualifying by topping Group 7. Radomir Antic, the Serbia coach, masterminded Serbia’s qualification to South Africa when guiding the country to seven wins from ten qualifiers. As a result, Serbia finished above the 1998 World Cup winners France by a solitary point, thus avoiding the need for a play-off but also raising the expectation levels with their automatic route into South Africa.

Antic has got the very best out of Serbia using discipline and stability as the foundations to a successful World Cup path. Throughout the course of qualifying they were remarkably well organised, rock-solid at the back and often too strong up front. On paper, it wasn’t actually too difficult to spot why Serbia were so successful. In defence they have two players of high Premiership standard in Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, with the latter almost always mentioned in the ‘best defender in the world’ debates. These two provide the lower support for what is a solid Serbian core, with Inter Milan veteran Dejan Stankovic in the centre of the park and bulky centre-forward Nikloa Zigic – a staggering 6ft 7incs tall. It’s a pretty lean spine, one which comes across as stern and unbreakable almost.

They aren’t just about solidity and power though, as with players such as Krasic, Tosic and Pantelic in the team Serbia do have the trickery in their locker to forage deep into the oppositions half. However, for whatever reason, their successful tactical formula which worked during qualification hasn’t been baring fruit in these early Friendly warm up encounters, with Serbia failing register a win as of yet and potentially about to nosedive straight into the tournament on a couple of sour notes.

On May 29th, Serbia were defeated by one of the ranked outsiders in New Zealand, with that result alone putting the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of just how good an E/W punt Serbia are, as they are one of the more popular outside bets right now. On June 2nd, Serbia fans were again left frustrated and concerned after seeing their side conjure a miserable looking 0-0 draw with Poland. It means Serbia are without a win in their last two internationals after previously enjoying a run of six straight wins, and could potentially head into their Group D opener against Ghana with no momentum and very little confidence. They do, though, have one final opportunity to change all that when they take on another nation with poor pre-World Cup form, Cameroon.

If Serbia are to restore some faith, some momentum which has been lost because of this recent poor two-game run, they simply have to beat a Cameroon side who themselves are without a win during this Friendly period, after two draws and a loss.

Radomir Antic may need to withdraw the services of Nikola Zigic if Serbia are to enjoy some success in front of goal after a miserable spell recently, with Serbia without a goal even in their last two internationals against fairly mediocre teams. Instead, Liverpool-bound Milan Jovanovic could be the call, a player with a more enthusiastic attitude and one which will ensure the Cameroon defence remain on their toes throughout. While Zigic is a menace in the air, he’s so easy to mark and to keep tabs on. Jovanovic will give Serbia something different, a player which can make a chance for himself instead of Zigic relying on everyone else doing his dirty work.

Match Odds:

Serbia – 1.95 bWin
Draw – 3.30 WilliamHill
Cameroon – 4.00 SkyBet

World-Cup-Betting Bet: Milan Jovanovic FGS – 6.00 PaddyPower

Zimbabwe 0-3 Brazil

Goals: M. Bastos, Robinho, Elano

Greece 0-2 Paraguay

Goals: E. Vera, L. Barrios

Azerbaijan 0-0 Honduras

Serbia 0–0 Poland

Wednesday wasn’t the best of days for World Cup sides, with Greece, Honduras and Serbia all failing to picking up some valuable winning momentum.

Brazil were the first to kick off Wednesday’s proceedings with a 3-0 win over in Zimbabwe. The scoreline will have armchair punters assuming it was a cruise for Dunga’s men. That wasn’t the case however, as Zimbabwe were sprite and lively in attack and caused Brazil’s defence plenty of problems. Goals from Bastos, Robinho and Elano were enough for the five-time champions to record their first international win ahead of the finals.

The Greeks were beaten 2-0 by South Americans Paraguay – Lucas Barrios scoring his third goal in as many internationals – While Manchester City’s Roque Santa Cruz also picking up some valuable pitch minutes. Greece have now gone two friendlies without a win after drawing with North Korea in their last outing, while Paraguay pushed on from their Ivory Coast comeback, clawing back a two goal deficit against Les Elephants to earn a 2-2 draw, to register a win which should boost the confidence levels of the players.

Honduras were held to a 0-0 draw by Azerbaijan despite the Europeans being reduced to 10 men in the latter stages. That’s now the second pre-World Cup friendly draw in a row for the North Americans following their 2-2 draw with Belarus last week. Rueda’s men have yet to face a team of real international quality and the concerns over their chances in South Africa next week are mounting after two hugely disappointing results.

Serbia continued where they left off against New Zealand, frustrating their hostile followers with another poor result. The Serbians were beaten 1-0 by the Kiwi’s last week, one of the biggest turn ups thus far during this friendly warm up period, resulting in Serbia supporters throwing missiles onto the pitch in an act of disgust. This recent setback, a 0-0 draw with Poland, won’t have gone down at all well with the supporters either, and whereas Serbia were shaping up as one of the possible ‘Dark Horses’ for the summer’s showcase event, they are instead looking like a fish out of water.

Serbia coach, Radomir Antic, will be looking for a quick response from his players, after their 1-0 loss to New Zealand in Klagenfurt, Austria, on May 29th dented their World Cup prearations. A Shane Smeltz goal ensured Serbia would start their World Cup warm up in disappointing fashion after previously enjoying a six match winning streak in internationals. Moreover, Smeltz’s goal, a scruffy one at that, ended a run of four games without conceding, so that Kiwi loss has certainly halted the Serbian momentum heading into the finals.

Today, however, the Serbian players will have the chance to make amends against the Polish. The ‘Poles’ were massively disappointing during qualifying for South Africa and even finished behind Northern Ireland as well as Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. They are, though, unbeaten in their last four internationals and will be gearing up for the Euro 2010 qualification campaign which starts in a few months time. And after a miserable time of things in qualifying for South Africa, finishing well below where they expected, they’ll have high hopes of a more fruitful EURO campaign, while the players should display some eagerness and eandeavour to impress in front of their coach, Franciszek Smuda, ahead of qualifying. Their recent results include a 2-0 win over Bulgaria and a 0-0 draw with Finland,although both were on Polish soil, losing just once in 2010 against Denmark over in Thailand 3-1. Key players for them will be forward Robert Lewandowski, defender Michal Zewlakow and pacey winger Jakub Blaszczyjkowski.

Those which featured in that 1-0 defeat to New Zealand will want to restore some faith the manager has bestowed upon them, with the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Branislav Ivanovic, Marko Pantelic and Nikola Zigic all aiming to perform to a far higher standard this afternoon. The Serbia defence should be fairly strong, as it appears on paper, but against the Kiwi’s it was sloppy and untidy at times. In midfield, more openings need to be created to a higher standard so that Zigic, a giant compared to most defenders, can get on the end of everything. The newly signed Birmingham City player became isolated up front against New Zealand because of the irregularity of the service into him and it was evident that he wasn’t happy with proceedings, as were the Serbian fans, who displayed their frustrations by hurling missles onto the pitch minutes before the final whistle. In the end captain Nemanja Vidic, a rock in the heart of the Manchester United defence over in England, had to get on the microphone and calm their irrational fans down. if the Serbian players want to avoid another distrurbing performance from their fans, they’ll need to keep them happy on the pitch with victory.

Radomir Antic is likely to start with the same team which started the game with new Zealand, more or less. Zigic will once again lead the line up front by himself, although Pentlic and Tosic will play off him. Talented CSKA Moscow play-maker, Milos Krasic, was merely a second half substitute against New Zealand last week, but his promising display may have earned him a call up to the starting eleven. Veteran Dejan Stankovic, whose vast experience will benefit the entire camp, was another introduced in the second half against the Kiwi’s and could be in line to start from the off as coach Antic aims to avoid another fatal slip up. Subotic, Vidic, Ivanovic and Kolarov will more than likely be the starting back four.

Match Odds:

Serbia - 1.80 Boylesports

Draw – 3.60 Bet365

Poland - 5.00 WilliamHill

New Zealand shown plenty of promise in their first pre-World Cup friendly against locals Australia despite losing 2-1 down under. It was a bitter defeat for the Kiwi’s to take as it was one they certainly didn’t deserve, and with their stoic display against the Aussies still fresh in the minds, perhaps a small turn up for the books against a rusty Serbia was a genuine possibility. Well, it certainly paved out that way as with just 22 minutes on the clock, Smeltz had New Zealand fans in raptures when his low driven shot  found a way into the bottom left-hand corner of the Serbia goal, thus handing the Kiwi’s a shock 1-0 lead.

Before kick-off, Serbia were a general 4/9 to record a somewhat routine win over their apparently ‘lesser’ opponents, but it was New Zealand who were making a mockery of their starting odds, by far and the way the team with the more attacking intent and adventure in the opening exchanges and had chances in the first half to increase their advantage, although neither were clear cut and none were put away. However, the sheer fact New Zealand were causing the Serbian defence all sorts of problems, asking questions of  aback four which contained Man Utd’s Nemanja Vidic and Borussia Dortmund’s Subotic, will have pleased coach Ricki Herbert and raised a few eyebrows with the neutrals.

During qualifying, Serbia made a quick name for themselves for their superb organisational skills and superiority from set-plays. There were signs that the former characteristic may have been true, with most of New Zealand’s opening scrappy at best, but they average at best when it came to set-pieces, with their formidable record from set-plays in qualifying – scoring eight goals from set-plays en route to South Africa – almost non-existent. In fact it was New Zealand who were first to every aerial ball, a tactic Herbert clearly instilled into his players before kick-off, emphasising that the New Zealand coach has done his homework and will do more over the coming weeks.

As the game dwindled out into a surprising New Zealand victory, although not before the Serbian fans caused trouble with their flares and dashes onto the field, we were disappointed with what we seen from Serbia, who have a growing reputation at international level. Chances for them were few and far between, with their usually potent giant striker Nikola Zigic kept quiet throughout. We actually pinpointed Zigic as a weak link in regards to Serbia’s forward plays. Granted his ‘BFG’ like figure is useful when set-plays arrive, or long balls over the top, but the former Valencia striker just isn’t mobile enough for our liking and isn’t quick enough to react when the balls from the wings finally arrive. Getting forward wasn’t a huge issue for Serbia, but their final balls were lousy and it’s an area which definitely needs looking at by coach Weiss, with Zigic in particular off the pace.

Yet again it was another pleasing performance from New Zealand’s, a nation which has endeared itself to the footballing world further with another valiant display. Rory Fallon was a constant nuisance for the Serbia defence, fearless in the tackles and not afraid to get stuck in with a robust Vidic and Co. Chris Wood was another of the Kiwi forwards which shown absolutely no fear regardless of the daunting prospect of facing an organised and experienced Serbia back line. However defensively, New Zealand were fantastic considering Herbert opted for three centre-backs in a 3-4-3 formation. Resolute wasn’t the word as they repelled anything dangerous from Serbia whilst riding their luck at times.

Those teams in Group F; Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia better sit up and take notice of New Zealand’s performance today, as while their odds to progress are huge, the Kiwi’s put in a high-calibre display, one which suggests New Zealand do have a shock of two in them ahead of the finals next month. For Serbia, though, it’s back to camp. Rusty, unimaginative, lacklustre, all words we could use to describe their performance today. They do however have a little under a week to sharpen their match fitness and perfect their style of play before the finals.