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Group D Fear of The Titans
'Group of death' may be a well-worn tournament standard but it could apply to this section between Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. Germany, who shares the record for most FIFA World Cup finals with Brazil, will cast a shadow over their rivals' preparations given their tradition of high achievement at this level. Yet the semi-finalists from 2006 were hardly alone in taking the fast lane to South Africa, with Australia, Ghana and Serbia all reigning supreme in their qualifying pools.
Date-Time Venue Results
13/06 20:30 Durban - Germany VS. Australia
13/06 16:00 Tshwane/Pretoria - Serbia VS.Ghana
18/06 13:30 Nelson Mandela Bay/Port
Elizabeth - Germany VS. Serbia
19/06 16:00 Rustenburg - Ghana VS. Australia
23/06 20:30 Johannesburg - Ghana VS. Germany
23/06 20:30 Nelspruit - Australia VS. Serbia
Battle for Brilliance!
Joachim Low's Germany team are not top seeds for nothing. They showed their form in a clinical and unyielding Group 4 qualifying campaign in which the seven-goal Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack and company accounted for Guus Hiddink’s Russia. Given also their seemingly effortless march to the last UEFA European Championship final, in 2008, you can expect another show of class from the seven-time FIFA World Cup finalists and three-time winners. As the first African team to reach the 2010 finals and their continent's only representative in the knockout rounds of the last FIFA World Cup – when they made an impressive tournament debut – Ghana arguably merit the tag of second favourites in this pool. Coach Milovan Rajevac's Black Stars easily navigated the final round of African qualification, losing a goal and a game only after the job was done. The midfield trio of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah could make them a match for anyone.
Another one bites the dust!
Radomir Antic's men from Serbia were last out of the hat in the Group D draw but should not be taken lightly. The White Eagles beat France to pole position in their qualifying section, earning Serbia's maiden FIFA World Cup appearance as an independent entity with a 5-0 thrashing of Romania. Any side boasting the talents of Nemanja Vidic, Dejan Stankovic and Milan Jovanovic deserves respect; add the historical pedigree of a nation with ten previous FIFA World Cup appearances (as Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro) and you have definite dark-horse material. It took the Socceroos from Australia 32 years to regain the world stage they had first trod in 1974. But, four summers on from their impressive showing under Hiddink in Germany, the Australians make a quick return to the elite tournament. Now under the tutelage of another canny Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, this pragmatic and strong-willed outfit made smooth progress through their debut Asian qualification competition after the decision to leave the Oceania group. They finished well clear of Japan in the final stage.
The Watchmen
Men of the match to keep your eye on are Miroslav Klose (GER), Tim Cahill (AUS), Matthew Amoah (GHA), Michael Essien (GHA), Milan Jovanovic (SRB) and Marko Pantelic (SRB). With Australia starting their campaign against Germany, this match will be central to the hopes of a Socceroos side who, like Ghana, will realistically be targeting second place. It is a game the Black Stars won’t want to lose either, given they finish off against Germany.
Fact
Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer may have been born in Sydney but his parents are German and he played for Dynamo Dresden and Kaiserslautern after leaving his home country to try his luck in Europe.
The BIG question
No European nation has lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy on another continent. Can Germany or Serbia achieve a historic first?
Information received from http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/standings/group=249727/analysis.html
For more information to book tickets go to The FIFA website
Words: Tashneem Abrahams
About the Author: Tashneem is currently completing her internship
with Hola Cape Town and Hallo Crazy World. She constantly seeks
adventure, new experiences, loves comic books and admits she is a
sci-fi obsessed nerd that lives for music and movies. It has been a
lifelong dream of hers to travel to Asia and Europe and learn about
their different cultures. She lives by the philosophies of treating
people the way you would want to be treated, to just chill out, be
laidback and stress free for its the key to happiness.
The free text listings here have been moved to the Travel Directory (above).
'Group of death' may be a well-worn tournament standard but it could apply to this section between Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. Germany, who shares the record for most FIFA World Cup finals with Brazil, will cast a shadow over their rivals' preparations given their tradition of high achievement at this level. Yet the semi-finalists from 2006 were hardly alone in taking the fast lane to South Africa, with Australia, Ghana and Serbia all reigning supreme in their qualifying pools.
Group 4 qualifying campaign in which the seven-goal Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack and company accounted for Guus Hiddink’s Russia. Given also their seemingly effortless march to the last UEFA European Championship final, in 2008, you can expect another show of class from the seven-time FIFA World Cup finalists and three-time winners. As the first African team to reach the 2010 finals and their continent's only representative in the knockout rounds of the last FIFA World Cup – when they made an impressive tournament debut – Ghana arguably merit the tag of second favourites in this pool. Coach Milovan Rajevac's Black Stars easily navigated the final round of African qualification, losing a goal and a game only after the job was done. The midfield trio of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah could make them a match for anyone.
White Eagles beat France to pole position in their qualifying section, earning Serbia's maiden FIFA World Cup appearance as an independent entity with a 5-0 thrashing of Romania. Any side boasting the talents of Nemanja Vidic, Dejan Stankovic and Milan Jovanovic deserves respect; add the historical pedigree of a nation with ten previous FIFA World Cup appearances (as Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro) and you have definite dark-horse material. It took the Socceroos from Australia 32 years to regain the world stage they had first trod in 1974. But, four summers on from their impressive showing under Hiddink in Germany, the Australians make a quick return to the elite tournament. Now under the tutelage of another canny Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, this pragmatic and strong-willed outfit made smooth progress through their debut Asian qualification competition after the decision to leave the Oceania group. They finished well clear of Japan in the final stage.
Essien (GHA), Milan Jovanovic (SRB) and Marko Pantelic (SRB). With Australia starting their campaign against Germany, this match will be central to the hopes of a Socceroos side who, like Ghana, will realistically be targeting second place. It is a game the Black Stars won’t want to lose either, given they finish off against Germany.
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