Match Review & Highlights: Germany 0 – Serbia 1

June 18th, 2010 | by: chris | View Comments

Germany will rue the day they met up with Alberto Undiando, while Serbia will be sending fruity baskets. Australia? They’ll be celebrating a little bit of…how you say…schadenfreude.

For the second straight game involving Germany there was a contentious sending off – only this time, the game was still in the balance and this time, Germany didn’t benefit. Miroslav Klose was sent off in the 37th for two fouls which were maybe a combined yellow, one an accident, the other a very common “striker’s foul” in going for the ball. Serbia would immediately equalize and would eventually run out winners tightening Group D heading into tomorrow’s game between Ghana and Australia.

The Germans rolled in with the loftiest of expectations, not only playing the best football of the opening group stanza, but doing so while scoring, too. Expectations soon hit a lull as it became quickly evident Serbia were not going to capitulate and defended strongly and admirably, finally putting their strengths on show. But the focus on the players quickly shifted to the referee when Undiando began handing out yellow cards like stale Halloween candy. It was like Portugal-Netherlands, but without the fouls. And though Germany ultimately saw the worst of it, the yellows for non-fouls were handed to Serbia as well. Worse, it was a tale of two halves, as he suddenly stopped handing out cards in the second half for very worthy challenges.

The Klose sending off was the real turning point in the game, even if Germany largely dominated in possession. Both yellows were questionable and Klose being sent off was rather absurd. But such was also the case with Tim Cahill. You win some, you lose some.

It took the shellshocked Germans one minute to concede the opener and eventual winner through a personnel-design so perfect not even Radomir Antic could’ve scripted it: the winger Milos Krasic crosses, the targetman Nikola Zigic, the second tallest building in Serbia, knocked it down over the gigantic Per Mertesacker and less gigantic Philipp Lahm, and the winger-cum-second striker Milan Jovanonic made was there to put the sitter into the back of the net all alone after Zigic had drawn the defenders. It’s like they were all doing their jobs or something. Extraordinary!

But Germany so nearly equalized when Khedira shook the bar all the way back to sapling and Ozil’s rebound shot, harmless looking though it may have been, would’ve been the equalizer had it not been cleared off the line.

In the second Mesut Ozil turned on the style and put on a show, but it wasn’t enough as Lukas Podolski finally found his Koln form, putting shot after shot wide. And then they earned a penalty off a rather stupid Nemanja Vidic and seemingly intentional handball, for which he received a yellow. Podolski stepped up to redeem himself and…

…rolled it right into Stojkovic’s breadbasket.

The Germans still commanded the game and pressed, with Jogi throwing on strikers and Serbia taking advantage from time to time, but the men in white were just gassed as the game crept on and it was over before the final whistle barring a prayer. Simply too much time down to ten men.

Serbia will be thrilled, and it’s not an undeserved victory – they defended well even if conceding a second unnecessary handball penalty in as many games is cause for worry – but the story going out was Undiando, who completely turned the game on its head with entirely unnecessary cards and forcing defenders to alter their games entirely or risk a sending off. The ref from the Mexican game was bad, but this was just abysmal on both sides of the ball, with Germany just getting the unfortunate decisive blow.

But what it sets up is a classic ending to the group depending on the result tomorrow. Should Australia pip a win, we could see all four teams head into the group finale with an equal three points. Instant excitement, and isn’t that what the World Cup all about?