Germany vs Serbia, First Half: A Collision Between Two Positive Game Plans
As they promised they will, the Serbians started off positively with Kuzmanovic attempting to test Germany’s goalkeeper with a long range strike that couldn’t find the target anyways. Lucas Podolski showed his hunger for goals as well by pushing Serbia’s Stojkovic all the way to the end line in a fight for the ball. Inside the 7th minute of the game, Podolski again had a go with a left footed first time shot that certainly frightened Serbia’s defense.
In response to that, Krasic provided an excellent cross from the right wing which found Ninkovic but the midfielder fired his shot way over the bar. As the Germans tried to multiply their attacks, the Serbians also fought to avoid negativism. But as each side opted to use an offensive game plan, fouls were also committed. Ivanovic and Kolarov for Serbia, and Klose and Khedira for Germany all went into the referee’s book before the half hour mark.
Spanish referee Undiano Mallenco had quite a busy afternoon. At the 30th minute, Bastian Schweinsteiger fed Miroslav Klose inside the penalty box as the Germans thought they had found the breakthrough.
The striker placed the ball across the goal line but the referee’s blow had already gone up for offside. Perhaps the intense noise of the Vuvuzela horns saved Klose from being flashed his second yellow card of the day for continuing his move against the offside call.
But this miserable fate didn’t take time to trap him. The striker reacted like a defender, making a tackle from behind on Stankovic. The referee didn't miss the action and automatically flashed out Klose's second yellow card to send the player out of the battlefield.
And what happened next?
Serbia broke the deadlock, inspired by Germany’s numerical disadvantage. Krasic sent in a great cross inside the 6-yard box which Ninkovic headed onto Jovanovic. The latter simply couldn’t miss from there. His nervous tap in got all Serbian fans on their feet and he congratulated their support by celebrating in the stands.
The Germans pressed on to grab an equalizer just before half time. It was breathtaking to see how Serbia dealt with their counterparts’ resilience. As the Germans took a last minute corner in the first period, goalkeeper Stojkovic came out of his box to punch the ball away.
It fell to midfielder Khedira who smashed a cracking shot against the underside of the crossbar – much to the relief of Serbia’s puzzled defenders. But the danger had not passed away just yet; Bastian Schweinsteiger also tried his luck. In the end, Serbia’s Kolarov executed a good clearance off the line to keep Serbia in the lead at half time.
Looking at Germany’s overall play, many might even forget that they were a man down. The only change was that Lucas Podolski was more adventurous upfront as he had to carry Klose’s job on his shoulders.
Germany vs Serbia, Second Half: Hero Stojkovic Wins The Game For Serbia
The Germans kept their cool, playing like they were still 11 men on the pitch. Lucas Podolski stood out as one of the most dynamic players in the game. But when he squandered a 57th minute glorious chance to equalize for the Germans, pressure started to pile up as he transformed into the most wasteful player on the field. His left foot just couldn’t find the right touch.
It even transformed goalkeeper Stojkovic into a sudden hero moments later. That happened just before the hour mark when Nemanja Vidic became the second Serbian player in a row to concede a penalty following a handball incident in the box. Vidic became the 7th player to be booked in the match, and Germany’s number 10 Lucas Podolski was offered the right to put his side back into the game.
A few steps, and a shot… but Stojkovic impressively went the right way to catch the ball into his hands. For the first time since 1974, the Germans had missed a penalty at the World Cup.
Serbia remained in the lead and almost doubled it up when the influential Krasic ran his way out past Germany’s defense on the right flank of the pitch before lashing a shot. But Germany’s goalkeeper Neuer was saved by the post. Twenty minutes from time, Zigic – who had been quiet for most of the game – popped up with a flying header that bounced off the cross bar before going out for a goal kick. There was still hope for Germany to get something out of this game.
However, despite the inclusion of strikers Cacau and Mario Gomes, the Serbians still kept pushing the game forward at the frustration of the Germans. Another nice attack from Serbia at the 80th minute resulted in Kacar being left unmarked to make it 2-0 but the power in his shot directed the ball high and off target.
Once again, a chance fell onto Lucas Podolski as substitute Marin set him up moving forward. The Bayern Munich striker had the opportunity to redeem himself from his missed penalty but nothing came out of it as goalkeeper Stojkovic wasn’t even worried with the ball rolling well wide.
The three minutes of added time went up with Germany failing to make anything out of them - only to irritate more their coach, Joachim Lowe, who was making angry gestures on the sidelines. The referee’s blow sealed Serbia’s famous win over Germany.
A well taken goal late in the first half and a Lucas Podolski penalty saved on the hour mark earned Serbia three vital points to remain in contention in Group D. The Germans will be disgusted for having failed to emulate the achievement of the Ghanaians whom they’ll face on June 23. Group D is very much open with Germany, Ghana, and Serbia all on 3 points as of now.
