Good Win for Serbia
First of all, despite the defeat, Germany were still really good. They passed the ball neatly, ran into goal creating channels and were able to execute on a positive level. Having said that, Serbia stuck to their script, never game in and pounced when the opportunity presented itself.
For the first half hour Germany were very much on top with the ball rarely leaving the Serbian half. With the Serbian defence much more fleet footed than the static Australians and playing much deeper, the neat triangles that Mesut Ozul and Sami Khedira used to such great effect in their first game, were absent. Still they moved the ball with purpose and created several chances that could have resulted in goals.
Serbia, to their credit, stood firm, remained positive and worked the ball whenever the got possession. Having defended against the initial German onslaught they stung like a coiled cobra once the Germans were a man down; thanks to striker Miroslav Klose's errant challenge. Pumping the ball upfield, Serbia used Milos Krasic to send in a high cross, Nikola Zigic won the header against a diminutive Phillip Lahm and Arne Friedrich, at which point an unmarked Milan Jovanovic volleyed home. Great counter attacking goal against the run of play.
Germany still came forward and had the balance of play even with ten men but Serbia were resolute at the back. Both sides hit the wood work twice thereafter. However, when Nemanja Vidic stupidly handled a long high ball in the box, again, to hand a penalty to the Germans, you felt they had undone all their hard work. Luckily for them, Lukas Podolski missed the penalty as goalie Vladimir Stojkovic palmed the ball to safety and Serbia held on for the win.
Klose can't call himself unlucky, already on a yellow, he tackled from behind. By the letter of the law that is a red card offence on its own and the referee had to at least give him a yellow. With his second yellow, Klose was forced off as two yellows in athe same match mean a red card. Luckily, he misses one game and not two.
Finally, what was Vidic thinking ? This was the third World Cup game in a row that Serbia conceded a penalty on account of a handball. You have to go back to Milan Dudic's handball against the Ivorians in 2006 to find the first of this unwanted hat trick.
Serbia join Germany on three points but the latter have a better goal difference.
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Okay, honestly, are you that surprised ? Knowledgeable fans in the know, the World over, have all bemaoned/written off (depending on your persuasion) the English team's ability to create chances and score goals.
To win you need to score goals.
To score goals you need to create good chances on a consistent basis.
To create chances you need players who can 'invent' the game.
England cannot do part two and do not have part three. So really, how did they expect to beat USA and Algeria ?
England looked toothless and generally anaemic. Everyone played terrible. Algeria actually looked more virile and zesty for the first half and if it weren't for some premature shooting, when clsoe to goal, may have even won the match.
England plumbed new depths in slumping to their second draw in a row and join the Americans on two points.
A win against group leaders Slovenia, whom England beat in a friendly last September, is the minimum required to progress.
As General Cornwallis once said over 200 years ago, how did it come to this ? Their players are mostly to blame, playing without any spark or passion, devoid of any seeming desire to win the game.
They should join the French on the early plane home.
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I told you Slovenia were good. And how close did they come to stamping their passage to the next round ?
As per their pre-match 'guarantee', Slovenia took an early lead and then doubled it before half time as they dominated USA in all parts of the field. Then, showing the typical mercurial inconsistency that plagues all teams from the former Yugoslavia, they promptly went to sleep to hand the game and the initiative back to the Americans.
USA should have won the game. That third goal should have counted.
Slovenia's opener from Valter Birsa was a beauty with a long range curler that dipped past Tim Howard. Smooth, silken and composed, the Slovenes ran rings around the Americans.
Zlatan Ljubijankic's second was more meat and drink but the cultured finish was the perfect ending to some excellent build up play. Robert Koren and Milivoje Novakovic were pulling strings in the attacking third and the nation of two million, were very much in control.
And then it all went to hell.
Post half time break, the Americans came out determined. First, Landon Donovan ran like freight train to the near post where he smashed home the opening goal. Then Michael Bradley scored a torrid equalizer from inside the box as the Americans won the first and second balls off a long pass into the area. A potential late third, that Maurice Edu sent home, was ruled out for a phantom infraction, but the Americans went home with a share of the spoils.
And they deserved it too.
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